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I found a breeding pair of Greater Painted Snipe Rostratula benghalensis near Sabya in July 2017. Initially I found an adult female at close range at a small wetland and took some photos of the bird. The next day at the same location I saw a male with a small chick indicating they had breed there, only the second confirmed breeding record of the species in the Kingdom.<\/p>\n
Interestingly the female is the brighter plumaged bird and the male the duller unlike most bird species where it is the other way around. The species was only recorded in Saudi Arabia for the first time on 8 July 2010 when three were seen east of Sabya with at least eight their (including 2-3 together) on 11 July 2010.<\/p>\n
There have not been many records since although they have been seen in most years in the southwest of Saudi Arabia. Two were flushed at Malaki Dam and two others seen well near Sabya with a group of four at the same site 16 May 2013, which was the first confirmed breeding of this species in Saudi Arabia. Birds were then seen in similar areas in 2015 and 2017.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n