18 August 2017

Graceful Prinia breeding in Bahrain – Record by Jehad Alamaddi

Graceful Prinia is a very common resident breeder in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, mainly around the edges of the main reed beds. They are not so easy to photograph though as they are fast moving so Jehad has dne well to get good photos of some juveniles from Bahrain. They nest in low tamarisk as well as reed beds and singing has been heard as early as February with the species becoming common in the summer months. They presumably have at least two broods as I have trapped and ringed a female with a brood patch on 27 March, Phil has photographed nestlings in a nest on 2 May and Jehad’s Juveniles are from the end of June. The subspecies occurring is P. g. hufufae from north-east Saudi Arabia and eastern areas of the Arabian Peninsula, including Bahrain, south to Oman as they had a broad, sharply defined black band on tail-tips about 6 mm wide with a narrow white tip and paler upperparts than in P. g. palaestinae. I thank Jehad for sending me the photos and for kindly allowing me to use them on my website.
Graceful Prinia

Graceful Prinia

Graceful Prinia