By Itamar Procaccia, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
Itamar Procaccia is a professor at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, specializing in the Physics of Complex Systems. During his career he worked on and contributed to the study of chaos in physical systems, the turbulence of fluids, the physics of disorder, and the creation of fractal geometries in nature. Besides physics, he is an avid art collector and enjoys bird photography as a serious hobby.
The Negev desert in Israel is very accessible, with excellent roads going to and through the desert. In addition, scattered habitation, pleasant and peaceful places to stay, and gas stations with convenience stores, make a visit of interested bird photographers very attractive. Birds abound – some endemic, some seen in the desert only, and some found in wider arid areas in Africa and the Middle East. Israel is part of the migration routes from Africa to Europe and back, and during migration times the first drinking opportunity for incoming birds from Africa exists in the southern tip of the Negev desert, in Eilat. In this post I describe a small fraction of the birds that can be seen and photographed in the Negev desert, to whet the appetite of bird watchers and photographers that appreciate the serenity and beauty of the desert.
One species that is easily observed throughout the Negev desert from about Sede Boker to Eilat is the Blackstart (Oenanthe melanura). It lives in desert regions in North Africa, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula. It is a resident throughout its range. The Blackstart is 14 cm (5.5 in) long and is named for its black tail, which is frequently fanned to cool itself in the heat of the desert; the rest of its plumage is bluish-grey or grey-brown (North African races being browner, Middle Eastern races bluer). They feed on insects, taken mainly on the ground.
FIG. 1a and 1b. Blackstart in Samar, a Kibbutz north of Eilat where one can find a rare green background.
Tristram’s Starling (Onychognathus tristramii), also known as Dead Sea starling or Tristram’s grackle, is more restricted in its habitat, found in deserts in Israel, Jordan, northeastern Egypt (Sinai Peninsula), western Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman. Places where it can certainly be seen and photographed are around the Dead Sea, like Ein Gedi and Massada.
FIG. 2. Male Tristram’s Starling, photographed near the Amram’s Pillars
Tristram’s Starling is 25 cm long (including a 9 cm tail), with a wingspan of 44–45 cm, and a weight of 100–140 g. The males have glossy iridescent black plumage with orange patches on the outer wing, which are particularly noticeable in flight. The bill and legs are black. Females and young birds are similar but duller, with greyish heads and lacking plumage gloss. The image shown in Fig. 2 was taken near the Amram’s Pillars, where the reddish rocks provide an impressive backdrop to the photographed male specimen. This species is named after Henry Baker Tristram FRS (11 May 1822 – 8 March 1906) who was an English clergyman, Bible scholar, traveler, and ornithologist. In 1858 he visited Palestine, returning there in 1863 and 1872, and dividing his time between natural history observations and identifying localities mentioned in the Old and New Testaments.
A relatively rare and very pretty bird that attracts photographers every winter when they come down from the desert mountains to the lowlands is the Sinai Rosefinch (Carpodacus synoicus). The male has a pink face and breast with a whitish forehead and crown and the female is pale gray-brown overall with a whitish belly. The Rosefinches measure between 14·5–15·5 cm and weigh between 17–24 g. The national bird of Jordan, it has a rather limited habitat from the Sinai through the Negev desert to the Western deserts of Saudi Arabia. Not much is known about the lifestyle of these birds except that when nesting season comes they disappear in the high desert mountains, to come down again in the next winter. Never very numerous, they can be regularly found in Amram’s Pillars and in Ein Salvadora, a spring streaming to the Dead Sea near Ein Gedi. I am told that occasionally these pretty birds are seen also in the Timna park and in Wadi Nefatim.
FIG. 3. Sinai Rosefinch, female (top) and male (bottom). Photographed near Amram’s Pillars
Two additional finches that are relatively abundant in the Negev desert are the Desert Finch (Rhodospiza obsoleta) and the Trumpeter Finch (Bucanetes githagineus). The Desert Finch, a bird of size 14·5–15 cm and weighing 17–28g, is resident in arid regions from the Negev desert through Iran all the way to Central Asia. This species does not migrate except locally. The Desert Finch congregates near rural and remote human settlements, and the well-watered orchard in otherwise arid land is an ideal habitat. It can be found feeding in large flocks of its own species or mixed finch flocks. This species is easily recognized by its strong black beak and characteristic rose streak on the wings, cf. Fig 4.
FIG. 4. Trumpeter Finch, photographed near Amram’s Pillars (top), Desert Finch, photographed in Ezuz (bottom).
The Trumpeter Finch is of similar size and weight to the Desert Finch and is recognized by its orange beak and delicate overall pink shades that are amazingly close to the colors of the rocks of the Eilat mountains, cf. Fig 4.
The Trumpeter Finch has a relatively wide distribution and is found in arid regions of Africa, the Sahara desert, and in dry and warm regions of the Mediterranean basin and the Asian continent. In the Negev, it can be found in many localities, including the Ramon crater, the ”meishar”, and the Eilat region.
An extremely rare bird that is also very localized in the Negev is the Black Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas podobe). Outside the Negev desert, it is found in dry regions of Africa and the Middle East, but the first specimen was observed in Israel only in 1981, and until 2015 there were no known nests. This winter (2024-2025) I was told by the local expert that there exist eight specimens in Kibbutz Samar and maybe a few more in the ”Hai-Bar” Yotvata Nature Preserve. Apparently the numbers are growing slowly, but remain very localized. Photographing this bird with satisfactory results is not easy. Although it has hidden maroon feathers and a wonderful tail decorated with a ladder of white markings, if it does not display these, it seems just black. Since it prefers to spend its time on the ground or low branches, if not hidden in the thicket, one needs patience and determination to expose its special beauty. Its size is about 20-23 cm, with a particularly long tail that is frequently held up. Its variable song is sweet and melodious, often including trills and rattles. Calls include a pleasant, descending “jweeee” and chattering notes. When you visit Samar, where the photos of Fig. 5 were taken, you hear their calls before you see the birds that are usually hidden in the undergrowth.
FIG. 5. Black Scrub Robin, photographed in the Kibbutz Samar, where the rare green background can be found. Side view and back view to show the tail markings and the maroon wings when spread out.
FIG. 6. Desert Lark photographed near Amram’s Pillars.
In contrast to the Black Scrub Robin, the Desert Lark (Ammomanes deserti) is easily observed and is very widely spread – it breeds in deserts and semi-deserts from Morocco to western India. It appears to face no obvious threats, and surveys have shown that it is slowly increasing in numbers as it expands its range. Unfortunately, this is not always a good sign, since it indicates increased desertification of areas that had more benign conditions in the past. The causes of desertification are a combination of natural and human factors, with climate change exacerbating the problem. Despite this, there is a common misconception that desertification is solely the result of natural causes like climate change and soil erosion. In reality, human activities like deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable agricultural practices contribute significantly to the issue.
The Desert Lark is about 15-16.5 long, weighing about 25 grams. Its feathers are colored light brown like the sand in which it seeks its food, which is mainly seeds that it cracks with its strong white beak. Occasionally it would also eat insects.
The Negev desert is an excellent location for observing and photographing a number of different Wheatears (of the genus Oenanthe). I will focus on two that reside permanently in the desert, the Hooded Wheatear (Oennanthe monacha) and White-crowned Wheatear (Oenanthe leucopyga). The Hooded Wheatear is a resident breeder in un-vegetated desert from eastern Egypt through the Arabian Peninsula. It used to be in UAE and Oman as a scarce breeder, in the Hajar mountains to Iran and Pakistan. This Wheatear has a body length of 15.5–17 cm, a wingspan of 29–30 cm, and weighs 18–20 grams. In the Negev, it is easy to photograph since it is not afraid of humans, and it can be often seen hunting for insects in flight. Although precise population counts are not available, my impression is that the population size is large enough.
The White-crowned Wheatear is slightly larger with a length of 17–18.5 cm. It breeds in stony deserts from the Sahara to Arabia and across to Iraq. It is considered a “true” desert bird, being able to survive in areas that lack any vegetation. Like the Hooded Wheatear, it feeds mainly on insects.
FIG. 7. Hooded Wheatear, photographed in the hills above Ein Akev (top). White-crowned Wheatear, photographed near Amram’s Pillars (bottom)
Another easily found and well-photographed species is the Sand Partridge (Ammoperdix heyi), a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. This partridge has its main native range from Egypt and Israel east to south Arabia. It is closely related and similar to its counterpart in southeast Turkey and east to Pakistan, the See-See Partridge (Ammoperdix griseogularis). This 22–25 cm bird is a resident breeder in dry, open, and often hilly country. It nests in a scantily lined ground scrape laying 5–14 eggs. The Sand Partridge takes a wide variety of seeds and some insect food. It is not uncommon to see a whole family of a male, a female, and a flock of chicks running after the adults. A superb point to photograph these birds is Amram’s Pillars where they got used to human presence. They come close to the night camping site of the Nature Preserve to look for food remains. This is where I took the photos seen in Fig. 08 in a very early morning light.
FIG. 8. Sand Partridge, male (top) and female (bottom), photographed near Amram’s Pillars at a very early morning light, just before sunrise.
In the Eastern part of the Negev desert lies the Arava valley along the Syrian-African fault that contains the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea, going all the way South to Africa’s Great Lakes. There is the Sheizaf Nature Reserve, a very nice region that maintains thriving populations of Arabian Babblers (Turdoides squamiceps) and Arabian Green Bee-eaters (Merops cyanophrys). The Arabian Babbler prefers to settle along dry river beds with few trees and bushes. It is found in eastern, southern, and western Arabia, occurring in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, and western Saudi Arabia but absent from the central and northeastern parts of the peninsula. Its range extends north to Jordan, Israel, and eastern Sinai. The Babblers of Sheizaf were studied extensively by Amotz Zehavi, who described in detail their social behavior. Babblers dance and take baths together, offer each other gifts, clean themselves, and sometimes enter into conflict with each other for the privilege of helping another babbler. They may also feed their counterparts. This peculiar behavior made them a privileged example of ethological theories concerning altruism among animals. As a result of the extensive research many of the Babblers of Sheizaf are banded, see Fig. 9.
Fig. 9. Arabian Babbler in Nachal Sheizaf
The Arabian Green Bee-eater was split from the Asian Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) only in 2014, and its habitat is restricted to the dry areas from the Judean and the Negev deserts through the Arabian Peninsula from Saudi Arabia south to Yemen and east to Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Like all bee-eaters it catches flying insects from butterflies to bees, performing charming pre-breeding rituals when the males offer the females choice delicacies. It is always a pleasure to photograph this pretty member of the Merops family, and you can always trust to find it either in the Nebi Mussa valley of the Judean desert or in the Negev.
Fig. 10. Arabian Green Bee-eater in Nachal Sheizaf
I will end this post with a strong recommendation for a wonderful bird hide in Ezuz. Ezuz is a small community settlement in the western Negev desert, at the corner of Israel, Egypt, and the Gaza Strip. Named for Nahal Ezuz, a dry riverbed, in 2022 it had a population of 86. In Ezuz a lady by the name of Celia maintains a little water pond with an adjacent bird hide. The place is famous for the Sandgrouses that come to drink in the pond. Usually one can photograph four species of Sandgrouses, and I show here two, the Crowned Sandgrouse (Pterocles coronatus) and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata). The former measures about 25-26 cm, whereas the latter is bigger, about 28-32 cm with another 10 cm for the pin tail. It is quite fascinating to observe, during nesting time, when the thirsty chicks are waiting at the nest, the male Sandgrouse would soak its feathers with water, to fly back to provide them with the much-needed water.
Needless to say, there are many more fascinating birds in the desert. I did not even mention here the breeding Griffon Vultures, Egyptian Vultures, and the migrating raptors which are landing in Eilat for refreshing themselves upon arrival from Africa.
FIG. 11. Crowned Sandgrouse (top), Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (bottom). Taken at Celia’s bird hide in Ezuz
In Eilat, there is a well-built and beautifully arranged bird park, with two hides that can be rented by the public. In short, the desert is not empty, it is full of exciting opportunities for bird watchers and photographers.
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