Yemenis urged to vote for national bird [Archives:2008/1131/Last Page]
February 21 2008
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Voting closes on 31 March, and is considered significant as it is the first time in history that Yemenis have been called upon by their government to elect their national bird.
Yemen is also the first Arab country to choose a comprehensive selection of national wildlife symbols. The significance of involving people in the selection is that it stimulates an interest in conservation, especially among the youth, the country's future leaders. The idea to involve the public came from Paul Scholte, director of the Socotra Conservative Development Program.
The public can vote for one out of four birds, The four birds were selected by a committee including Omar Al-Saghier, Secretary General of the Yemen Society for the Protection of Wildlife, and Abdulkarim Nasher and Masaa al Jumaily, zoology professors at Sana'a University. Advice and recommendations were received from Richard Porter, advisor to BirdLife International, Middle East Division and David Stanton as Chairman of the Yemen Ornithological Society. The candidates were endorsed by Abdul-Rahman al-Eryani, MWE Minister, as suitable candidates because all four are endemic to Yemen, of sufficient conservation interest, and generally recognizable to a good percentage of the Yemeni population.
The candidates for a national bird are as follows:
1) The Golden-winged Grosbeak (Rhyncostruthus socotranus) is one of Yemen's most beautiful birds. Found throughout the western mountains, Al Hawf, and Socotra, the bird is divided into two subspecies, which differ slightly in plumage. Observant people can notice golden-winged grosbeaks in hilly areas and in wadis, where they use their stout beaks to eat small berries and crack tough seeds.
2) The South Arabian Wheatear (Oenanthe lugentoides) is one of Yemen's most familiar birds, and is known to people throughout the mountainous regions of the country. With its distinct black and white plumage, the wheatear is instantly recognizable, especially to Yemen's many farmers, as these birds often nest in holes in terrace walls. Feeding largely on insects, the wheatear helps protect crops by eating many pests.
3) Arabian Partridge (Alectoris melanocephala) is well-known to many as it lives throughout the country in vegetated wadis and mountain slopes. Prized by many rural Yemenis as a delicacy, a responsible approach to hunting partridges can ensure that these birds will continue to delight and nourish future generations of Yemenis forever.
4) Arabian Woodpecker (Dedrocopos dorae) is a strange little bird that prefers acacia woodlands in the mountains, although it can be found in a wide range of habitats from sea level to altitudes of higher than 2,000 meters. This is the only bird in Arabia that makes its living by pecking holes in the trunks of trees as it searches for insects to eat. The woodpecker has specially constructed feet and tail feathers that enable it to cling to the sides of trees, and a shock absorber in its head to keep it from damaging its brain as it hammers its pointed beak into tree trunks.
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