Dubai: Rare animals, including a thread snake, Asian desert warbler and the Eurasian thick-knee have been found in the Bab Al Shams desert recently.
Dr Mohammad Ali Reza Khan, a specialist at Dubai Zoo, and his colleagues found the species during a day-long field trip to Bab Al Shams.
"We had both cloudy and clear skies and the temperature was also good for long-distance walking.
"Among other things we found were a few rare animals. One among these is the very rare thread snake, which was 40 centimetres in length.
"It is non-poisonous and looks more like an earthworm than a snake. It was found under a stone inside the Dubai Municipality Departmental Conservation Area No 8 in Bab Al Shams," he said.
Smallest bird
The second animal found by the team was an Asian desert warbler, which is one of the smallest and rarest birds from the UAE desert.
"It is less than 10 centimetres in length and has prominent yellow eyes and legs. This bird feeds only on insects, their larvae and spiders. It is no doubt a friend of our plants and gardens," said Dr Khan, who also found a rare bird called Karwan during his trip.
"Karwan is the Arabic name for the Eurasian thick-knee. During the last century it used to be hunted by falcons."
Meanwhile, during a walk in Safa Park, Dr Khan said he saw another rare bird, the ashy drongo.
"As I entered Safa Park and took a left turn towards the boating lake approach road I found an ashy drongo chasing a hoopoe bird in a bid to snatch food.
"I watched it several times but could not take a picture as it was moving too much.
"I left the park after a while but came back next morning. "I followed the same road inside the park and found the ashy drongo beyond the barbecue area no 18.
"The drongo was being harassed by the house crows," said Dr Khan.
He said that he had previously seen an ashy drongo at the Sewage Treatment Plant at Al Warsan last December and once in Safa Park during January this year.
"So, this sighting is the third recorded for Dubai and the fifth in the UAE.
"Records show that it was first found in Abu Dhabi and Ain Al Faydah as shown by the bird recorder's information," Dr Khan added.
