Top 20 Most Common Bird in Makkah al Mukarramah

Nestled amid the arid topology of Makkah al Mukarramah, a diverse mosaic of bird species etches a vivid tapestry of life. 20 common bird species thrive in this terrain, each exhibiting unique characteristics and idiosyncrasies, from distinct plumage to varying behaviors and exceptional adaptations. These birds not only contribute to the region's rich biodiversity but also underline the intricate balance of nature's ecosystem.

Most Common Bird

Rüppell's Weaver

1. Rüppell's Weaver

Rüppell's weaver (Ploceus galbula) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae, which is native to the northern Afrotropics. The species is named after the German zoologist and explorer Eduard Rüppell (1794–1884).
House Sparrow

2. House Sparrow

Just as its name implies, the little house Sparrow socializes with humans more than any other bird species. Able to adapt and thrive in almost any habitat, excluding the extremes such as deserts and mountain peaks, this species was once restricted only to North Africa and Eurasia but now is found across the globe. Unfortunately, this opportunistic eater is not completely harmless—it can cause considerable damage to crops.
Rock Pigeon

3. Rock Pigeon

The rock Pigeon is a wild ancestor of all domestic and feral pigeons, inhabiting coasts, cliffs, and caves. Pairs nest in rock crevices, often mating for life. They are known for their ability to fly very long distances to return to their homes, navigating using the sun's position and the earth's magnetic fields. Thanks to this ability, pigeons were used as messengers, particularly during World Wars I and II.
Laughing Dove

4. Laughing Dove

The laughing Dove is a small dove named after its distinctive laugh-like vocalization. This ground-feeding, non-migratory bird is a regular inhabitant of man-altered environments such as villages, gardens, and orchards. In cities, these doves tend to become quite confident. They pair for life and live in very small communities.
White-spectacled Bulbul

5. White-spectacled Bulbul

The white-spectacled bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthopygos) is a member of the bulbul family. It is 20–25 cm (7.9–9.8 in) in length with a wingspan of 20–25 cm (7.9–9.8 in). These birds live in fruit plantations, gardens, and cities. It is the most common member of the bulbul family in Israel and Lebanon. In Turkey, it is mainly found in the coastal Mediterranean region, but its range extends from Patara/Gelemiş near Kaş in the west to Türkoğlu in the east. Breeding populations are found from Central and Southern Turkey to Western Syria, Lebanon, Western Jordan, Israel, Sinai and western, central and southern Arabia. Both sexes are similar; juveniles have a browner hood and less obvious eye-rings than the adults. The nest – a small cup of thin twigs, grass stems, leaves and moss – is generally located in bushes and lined with hair, shredded bark and small roots.
Barn Swallow

6. Barn Swallow

A familiar sight in rural and semi-open areas, the small barn Swallow can often be spotted by its distinctly graceful flight as it travels low over fields. Seemingly unbothered by having human neighbors, they nest unafraid in barns, garages, beneath bridges or wharves. Interestingly enough, they have come to prefer these locations so much that you are unlikely to spot a nest in a place that is not a human-made structure.
Namaqua Dove

7. Namaqua Dove

The Namaqua dove is a tiny sparrow-sized pigeon, typically 22 cm in length with a 28–33 cm wingspan, and weighing 40g. It has a very long black tapered tail, and the size and shape have led to comparison with the budgerigar. The plumage is mostly grey apart from a white belly, and chestnut primary feathers which are visible in flight. The adult male has a yellow and red beak and a black face, throat and breast. The adult female lacks the black and has a red-based grey bill. Young birds are dark blotched on the wings and shoulders, and otherwise resemble the females. The song is a quiet, short, double hoo, higher on the longer second note kuh-whooo, mournful and frequently repeated.
Graceful Prinia

8. Graceful Prinia

The graceful prinia (Prinia gracilis) is a small warbler (in some older works it is referred to as graceful warbler). This prinia is a resident breeder in Northeast Africa (the Nile valley in particular) and southern Asia, from Egypt and Somalia east to Pakistan and North India, where it is sometimes called streaked wren-warbler. This active passerine bird is typically found in shrub or tall grass in a variety of habitats with thick undergrowth, tamarisks or similar cover. Graceful prinia builds its nest in a bush or grass and lays 3-5 eggs. These 10–11 cm long warblers have short rounded wings, and a long tapering tail with each feather tipped with black and white. In breeding plumage, adults are grey-brown above, with dark streaking. The underparts are whitish with buff flanks, and the bill is short and black. The sexes are similar. In winter, adults are brighter sandy brown above with weaker streaking, there is more buff on the sides, and the bill is paler. There are 12 subspecies, of which P. g. akyildizi, of southern Turkey is the darkest, brownest, and most heavily streaked above, and has the brightest buff flanks. The long tail is often cocked, and the flight of this species is weak. Like most warblers, graceful prinia is insectivorous. The call is a rolling trilled breep, and the song is a hard rolling repletion of zerlip.
Spur-winged Lapwing

9. Spur-winged Lapwing

These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are medium-large waders with black crown, chest, foreneck stripe and tail. The face, the rest of the neck and belly are white and the wings and back are light brown. The bill and legs are black. Its striking appearance is supplemented by its noisy nature, with a loud did-he-do-it call. The bird's common name refers to a small claw or spur hidden in each of its wings.
Common Myna

10. Common Myna

The common Myna is a large, stocky starling that prefers to live near humans in towns and suburban areas. It forages among tall grasses for grasshoppers; in fact, its scientific name, Acridotheres tristis, means "grasshopper hunter." The common Myna likes to maintain two roosts at the same time - both a temporary summer roost near the breeding site as well as a year-round roost where the female can sit and brood.
Western Reef-heron

11. Western Reef-heron

This bird has two plumage colour forms. There is an all-white morph and a dark grey morph; morphs can also occur with intermediate shades of grey which may be related to age or particoloured in grey and white. The white morph is similar in general appearance to the little egret, but has a larger yellower bill, extended yellow on thicker legs, and when foraging tends to be very active, sometimes also moving its wing or using it to shade the water surface. The grey morph has a whitish throat and is unlikely to be confused with any other species within the range of this egret with beak and legs similar to that of the white morph. During the breeding season the legs and facial skin are reddish. Breeding birds have two long feathers on the sides of the nape. The nominate subspecies gularis has a range from West Africa to Gabon, with some birds breeding in southern Europe. Subspecies schistacea (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1828) breeds from the Persian Gulf along the coast of India to the east of the India Peninsula. The bill of gularis is more pointed while schistacea has the larger bill especially towards the base. The form on the eastern coast of South Africa is usually separated as the dimorphic egret Egretta dimorpha. The dark and white morph is thought to be controlled by a single allele with the dark character being incompletely dominant over the gene for white.
Nile Valley Sunbird

12. Nile Valley Sunbird

The Nile Valley sunbird (Hedydipna metallica) is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen. In February, the male Nile Valley sunbird assumes his nuptial plumage which he displays in flamboyant fashion. In winter both sexes look alike, tiny, only 9 to 10 cm long, pale grey above and washed-out yellow below, with a long, slender and slightly down-curved bill. By February the male is transformed into a glossy green extrovert with a brilliant sulfur-yellow belly and long tail streamers that add about an extra five centimetres to his length. Once transformed, he will be puffing up and parading his newfound finery and courting his duller mate. The display includes a hovering, accompanied by body rocking and wing-whirring.
Black Scrub Robin

13. Black Scrub Robin

The black scrub robin (Cercotrichas podobe) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Israel, Jordan, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Its natural habitat is dry savanna.
Black-winged Stilt

14. Black-winged Stilt

The black-winged Stilt is a shorebird that is seen in a variety of habitats, but it prefers shallow water. It is not uncommon to see this bird in flooded agricultural fields. It utilizes its long bill to search for small crustaceans and invertebrates in the mud, but don’t be surprised to see the bird dip its head in the water in search of food.
African Collared-dove

15. African Collared-dove

The African collared dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea) is a small dove found in the Sahel, northern parts of the Horn of Africa and southwestern Arabia. Although it lives in arid lands, it is found around water sources. This bird is typically around 26 cm in length. Its upper body, from shoulders to tail, is a pale grayish brown, though the wing edge has a bluish tinge. Flight feathers are darker, and nearly black. Head, neck and breast are pinkish shading to white on the chin and belly. There is little sexual dimorphism. The African collared dove is the species thought to be the wild ancestor of the domestic Barbary dove, though some suggest the Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) may also have been involved. The African collared dove is able to hybridise with the Barbary dove, and it is thought that the increase in the range of colours of Barbary doves available that occurred in the later 20th century was the result of the importation of African collared doves into the United States for interbreeding. It is reported to have been introduced into New Zealand, but it is more likely that the birds there are descended from domestic Barbary doves.
House Crow

16. House Crow

The house Crow is an intelligent bird that is near becoming a declared invasive species. The house Crow is very common in developed areas and can have a bold, aggressive personality. These birds have been known to damage and steal crops, affect local flora and fauna, create excessive noise, and carry diseases and parasites.
Little Green Bee-eater

17. Little Green Bee-eater

The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish. A fine black line runs in front of and behind the eye. The iris is crimson and the bill is black while the legs are dark grey. The feet are weak with the three toes joined at the base. The wings are green and the beak is black. The sexes are not visually distinguishable.
Cattle Egret

18. Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets are short, thick-necked egrets. Their name refers to their preference to follow along with livestock as they forage in fields. Cattle Egrets were native only to Africa until the late 1800s when they somehow made their way throughout the Americas. They can often be found along airport runways waiting for planes to take off and blow insects out of the grass and weeds. They also follow behind farm equipment and do the same thing.
Caspian Tern

19. Caspian Tern

It is the world's largest tern with a length of 48–60 cm (19–24 in), a wingspan of 127–145 cm (50–57 in) and a weight of 530–782 g (18.7–27.6 oz). Adult birds have black legs, and a long thick red-orange bill with a small black tip. They have a white head with a black cap and white neck, belly and tail. The upper wings and back are pale grey; the underwings are pale with dark primary feathers. In flight, the tail is less forked than other terns and wing tips black on the underside. In winter, the black cap is still present (unlike many other terns), but with some white streaking on the forehead. The call is a loud heron-like croak.
Squacco Heron

20. Squacco Heron

The squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides) is a small heron, 44–47 cm (17–19 in) long, of which the body is 20–23 cm (7.9–9.1 in), with 80–92 cm (31–36 in) wingspan. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East.
Cookie Management Tool
In addition to managing cookies through your browser or device, you can change your cookie settings below.
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Analytical Cookies
Analytical cookies help us to improve our application/website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_ga Google Analytics These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here. 1 Year
_pta PictureThis Analytics We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_ga
Source
Google Analytics
Purpose
These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_pta
Source
PictureThis Analytics
Purpose
We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience.
Lifespan
1 Year
Marketing Cookies
Marketing cookies are used by advertising companies to serve ads that are relevant to your interests.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_fbp Facebook Pixel A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here. 1 Year
_adj Adjust This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_fbp
Source
Facebook Pixel
Purpose
A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_adj
Source
Adjust
Purpose
This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year
Download