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PLATE 96: ROBINS
Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin Cercotrichas galactotes PM
L: 15. Skulking; long tail, often cocked and spread. Upperparts grey-brown in subspecies syriaca
(Turkey, Near East) and familiaris (Iraq, Iran, Arabia) contrasting with rufous rump and tail, the
latter showing prominent black subterminal-band and white tips, obvious above and below;
head distinctive with white supercilium contrasting with blackish eye-stripe. Juvenile has faintly
mottled breast and flanks. Not shy but usually close to cover; often feeds on ground. Voice Song
delivered from concealed or exposed perch or in butterfly-like songflight, is slow, clear, thrush-
like, melancholic; often varied and musical, recalling lark or nightingale. Calls include a hard teck,
a low rolling schrrr, and sibilant drawn-out iiiip; a distinctive penetrating ssweep when agitated.
Habitat Semi-desert, cultivations, scrub, gardens, palm groves. Note Passage hatched; very rare in
winter. [Alt: Rufous Scrub Robin]Black Scrub Robin Cercotrichas podobe V
L: 18. Entirely sooty-black, with prominent white tips to undertail-coverts and outer tail feathers,
readily visible when lengthy tail is swept upwards over back and fanned. Skulking or close to
cover, often on the ground, but sings from exposed perch. Voice Song melodious with thrush-like
whistles similar to Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin. Call a hoarse squeak, or liquid chatter. Habitat Desert
fringe, dry scrub, cultivation, wind-breaks. Note Range expanding. Vagrant Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman,
Qatar, UAE.European Robin Erithacus rubecula V
L: 14. Plump, upright, brown chat with diagnostic orange-red face and breast, large dark eyes and
short wings. Tail often cocked. Usually hops on or close to ground, often shy. Voice Song short but
crystal clear and plaintive with abrupt changes in pitch and tempo. Usual call is a sharp clicking tic
or tic-ik, often repeated; also a thin drawn-out tseer. Habitat Shady gardens, copses, woodland,
reedbeds. Note Winter hatched, but rare in south; vagrant Oman, Qatar.Bluethroat Luscinia svecica PM, WV
L: 14. Breeding male has blue chin and throat framed below by black and rusty bands on breast.
Subspecies assignable only in adult males: throat-patch red in pallidogularis and svecica, white in
cyanecula; but throat entirely blue in magna. Non-breeding male, female and first-winter have pale
throat and black malar stripe joined to dark necklace. Rust-red sides to tail-base diagnostic,
most obvious in flight. Usually in cover on or close to ground; slinks about on foot, often darting back
to cover. Tail often cocked. Voice Song melodic, many notes distinctly metallic or scratchy; mimetic.
Calls a hard tack, soft hweet, an odd dwzeer and a repeated ‘snipping’ note. Habitat Mostly in
reedbeds, tall grass, dense swampy cover. Note Passage and winter hatched; rare in north in winter.White-throated Robin Irania gutturalis pm
L: 16. Size and movements recall nightingales. Striking male has black sides of face and head
framing pure white centre of throat, rusty-red underparts, blue-grey upperparts, black tail and
whitish supercilium. Scarcer variant with paler orange below and black line below white of chin.
Grey-brown female has dark brown tail, ochre-buff sides of body, whitish throat bordered grey-
buff at sides of head and breast. Bill long. Generally skulking, often on ground, with wings held
lowered. Voice Song, sometimes uttered in gliding flight, fast, consists of clear whistles and
scratchy harsh rolling notes mixed together; calls a nightingale-like kerr-r-rr-rr; wagtail-like tzi-lit
with a hard tack in alarm. Habitat Stony hillsides and valleys with scrub in breeding season, usually
1,000–2,200m; on passage in scrub, woodland. Note Passage hatched.