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PLATE 75: ORIOLES, DRONGOS AND BABBLERS
Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus PM
L: 24. Male unmistakable; female and immature male greenish above with olive-brown wings
and tail, rump yellowish-green, underparts yellowish-white, indistinctly dark-streaked. Appears
relatively short-tailed in flight, with woodpecker-like undulations, but strong and fast; often changes
direction, tilting and angling wings accordingly. Heard more often than seen. Indian Golden Oriole
O. kundoo may visit (collected Iran; reported, but not accepted, Oman); longer-billed with black
extending behind eye, male with tertials and inner secondaries broadly tipped yellow; female and
immature with extensively yellowish-washed underparts and finer streaks than Eurasian. Voice
Song loud yodelling tjoh-wlee-kleeooh, the last note (often given alone) emphasised and descending;
alarm hoarse, mewing kra-eik. Habitat Parks, gardens, broad-leaved woodland. Note Passage
hatched; occasional in winter Oman, UAE.Black-naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis V
L: 26. Similar to Eurasian Golden Oriole, but black line through eye and nape in both male and
female. Male is bright yellow with greenish-yellow back and wing-coverts. Female is similar but
greenish-yellow instead of yellow. Voice Harsh, cat-like call. Habitat Parks, gardens, broad-leaved
woodlands. Note Vagrant Oman.Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus V
L: 29. Similar to Black Drongo but plumage greyer and bill proportionally longer and slimmer; lacks
white rictal spot. Adult glossy dark slaty-grey above; dark grey below; ear-coverts contrastingly
darker depending on light. First-winter birds, palest on belly, have matt smoky-grey underparts
without white fringes, latter also absent above (white blotches or fringes present above and below in
first-winter Black Drongo); undertail-coverts white-tipped, eye fairly bright red (garnet in young Black
Drongo). Crown flattish, nape slightly peaked (more rounded in Black Drongo). Hunts from within or
under canopy, less often from exposed open perch. Migrant subspecies longicaudatus recorded.
Voice Alarm an abrupt, short, harsh, dry rattle. Habitat Woodland, parkland. Note Vagrant Kuwait,
Oman, UAE.Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus V
L: 28–30. Adult glossy blue-black; long, deeply forked tail curves outwards towards end; small
white rictal spot in all ages, bill heavy. First-winter duller with white tips on mantle, flanks, rump
and especially belly feathers. Sits upright on conspicuous perch, making aerobatic aerial sallies
in pursuit of insects. Voice Harsh, throaty schweep-schweep, also high-pitched whistles and
clicks; vagrants usually silent. Habitat Trees, scrub, cultivation, often near habitation and water.
Note Formerly bred SE Iran; vagrant Iran, Oman, UAE.Arabian Babbler Turdoides squamiceps RB
L: 26. Greyish-brown, lightly streaked, often with head appearing ‘moth-eaten’; faint dark mottling
on throat and breast; bill blackish with paler base, legs brownish to dark grey. (Birds in Yemen
lowlands and some highland areas have variable off-white face with whitish eye-surround and bill
varying from orange-red to yellowish-orange.) Most often in close-knit groups, on ground, in bush or
tree. Voice Typical squeaky or piping calls, including high-pitched piu-piu-piu-piu-piu, decelerating
towards end. Habitat Dry scrubby areas, wadis, arid hills and open wooded savanna, especially
acacia, from sea level to 2,400m; also irrigated plantations, shelterbelts. Note Recent range
expansion in Arabian Peninsula.