Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia
12 October 2014
Sinai Agama - Wadi Juwwah, Jizan
This photo was taken in Wadi Juwwah in May where the animal was seen
sitting on a roadside boulder. Although drab and inconspicuous throughout much
of the year, during the breeding season the male Sinai agama becomes instantly recognizable
for its vivid sky-blue colouration. This colouration can extend over the entire
head and body or just the head and throat, while the tail and body remain
brown. The females and juveniles retain the brown colouration throughout the
year, but usually have a red crescent-shaped spot on the flanks, behind the
forelimb. Other distinctive features of this species include a large ear
opening behind the eye, long limbs and a thin, cylindrical tail that is over one
and half times the length of the body. A fast and agile climber, the Sinai Agama
is well adapted to its arid, rocky habitat where it is normally found amongst
foothills and mountains. As hunting takes place during the day, this species
relies on its long legs to raise its body off the hot substrate while waiting for
insect prey to emerge. Ants and other small insects are commonly taken, often with
large quantities of sand. The Sinai agama has a relatively large range
extending from south-east Libya, east through Egypt, Sinai, Israel, Jordan and
Syria, as far as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and south as
far as east Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.