26 July 2015

Both sub-species of Arabian Babbler – Sabya

Whilst birding the Sabya area in summer 2015 I came across Arabian Babblers in nearby areas with different bill colours. In the filed guide to the region it says these are different subspeics with the yellow-billed birds the Yemen race. HBW, however, does not mention bill colour as a distinguishing feature between the races, so I do not know which is correct. The bird with the dark bill was seen at Phil’s Fields and the one with the yellow bill at Sabya Waste Water Lagoons only about ten kilometres away.