Whilst birding Jizan Heritage Village we found five Abdim’s Stork on the grassy park area by the sea. This has become a favoured location to see the species and although the light was not good when we were there we were able to approach quite closely by using the ornamental trees as cover. Abdim’s Stork is an uncommon resident breeding species of southwest Saudi Arabia and occurs from Africa south of Sahara, and southwest Arabia. They breed north of the equator, with most of the population spending the rest of the year in eastern and southern parts of Africa. The male is slightly larger, and they have glossed purple and green upperparts with non-breeding adults having the bare parts duller and immatures browner and duller still. They are normally found in open grassland and in areas of cultivation and often occur near water. They mainly nest in villages as is the case in Saudi Arabia. The small population of the Arabian Peninsula, mainly in Yemen but including southwestern Saudi Arabia, is at least partly resident in that region.
