Birding in Iran

Iran, 18th biggest country of the world, with a rich cultural and natural background may be known by any elite in the world. Iran possesses an extremely diverse flora and fauna. These notably richness, highly related to its great range of habitats from permanent snows to hot deserts and from deciduous forests of north to palm groves and mangroves in the south and also due to its position at a crossroad between three major faunal regions

The avifauna of Iran includes a total of 527 species, of which 2 are endemic, 3 have been introduced by humans, and 14 are rare or accidental. 1 species listed is extirpated in Iran and is not included in the species count. 19 species are globally threatened. Our company provides you specific bird watching tours in different seasons.

Eight major habitat types may be identified, each with its own characteristic bird fauna:

1-Desert :  Spotted and Coroneted sand grouse Pterocles senegallus and P. coronatus, Hoopoe lark Alaemon alaudipes, , Desert wheatear Oenanthe deserti, Hooded wheatear O. monacha,
Macqueen  bustard Chlamydotis Macqueen,


and trumpeter finch Rhodopechys githaginea. And its near endemic  bird, Pleske’s ground jay Podoces pleskei.

2-Semiarid steppe of the desert rim and foothillsLong¬-legged buzzard Buteo rufinus, Black-bellied sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis, Roller Coracias garrulus, several species of lark Alaudidae family.

3-High mountains: : Golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos, Bearded vulture Gypaetus barbatus, Crag martin Hirundo rupestris, Wall creeper Tichodroma muraria, and Caspian snowcock Tetraogallus caspius, which is con¬fined to high mountain ranges in Turkey and Iran, is still locally common on the highest peaks in the Alborz and Zagros

4-Forests and woodland:  Great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major, Tree pipit Anthus trivialis, Red-backed shrike Lanius collurio, Jay Garrulus glandarius, Dunnock Prunella modularis. The drier and more open oak woodlands of the western Zagros lack some of the true forest species and have a Mediterranean element which includes species such as Masked shrike Lanius nubicus, Somber tit Parus lugubris, and  Middle Eastern specialties like White-throated robin Irania gutturalis and Plain leaf warbler Phylloscopus neglectus.

5-The hot southern lowlands: A variety of Oriental/Afrotropical species, such as Indian roller Coracias benghalensis, Little green bee-eater Merops orientalis, Graceful prinia Prinia gracilis, Purple sunbird Nectarinia asiatica. A num¬ber of species of Oriental origin, such as Indian sand lark Calandrella raytal and Sind jungle sparrow Passer pyrrhonotus are confined to extreme southeast Persian Baluchistan and east Hormozgan such as White -eyed buzzard  Butastur teesa, Gray partridge Francolinus pondicerianus, and Sind pied woodpecker Dendrocopos as¬similis. In the west, the riverine poplar thickets and marsh edge habitat of Ḵhūzestān hold several specialties, such as Gray hypocolius Hypocolius ampelinus, Iraq babbler Turdoides altirostris, and Dead Sea sparrow Passer moabiticus.

6-The wetlands: . large winter¬ing populations of Dalmatian pelicans Pelecanus cris¬pus, Greater flamingos Phoenicopterus ruber.  During the spring and autumn migration seasons, large numbers of shorebirds pass through the south Caspian on their way between breeding grounds in the Arctic and wintering grounds in the Persian Gulf and East and South Africa.

7-Persian Gulf and Makrān coast:  The tidal mud-flats, mangrove swamps, sandy beaches, rocky shores, and sea-cliffs of Iran’s south coast support a variety of breeding and wintering waterfowl and sea-birds. Breeding species include Crab plover Dromas ardeola, Great stone plover Esacus recurvirostris (only in the east), several species of herons and egrets such as Indian pond heron Ardeola grayii, Western reef heron Egretta gularis and Goliath heron Ardea goliath (in mangroves). Wintering species include many shorebirds such as Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris  and Pacific golden plover Pluvialis fulva.

8-Offshore islands: The main species are Great crested tern Sterna bergii, Lesser crested tern    S. bengalensis, White-checked tern S. repressa, and bridled tern S. anaethetus, but small colonies of red-billed tropic-bird Phaethon aethereus, Socotra cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis, and Saunders’ little tern Sterna saundersi have been found.

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