Palmyra, central Syria (SANA) – A team from the Palmyra Association for Environment and Wildlife Preservation has recently sighted the Namaqua Dove, a rare bird seen for the first time in Syria.

Deputy Chairman of the Association Adib al-Asaad said the discovery of the Namaqua Dove, a long-tailed type of pigeon, was spotted at the Palmyra Oasis, which is an important location for endangered species of birds.

A team of experts from the Association monitored and watched this type of birds for a long time and photographed them, and confirmed after corresponding with a British organization for birds in the Middle East that this is the first sighting of the birds in Syria.

The Namaqua Dove has a long tail and is small in size. It feeds on grains and lives in grassy plains, where it moves among trees and hides in them. It migrates to Syria in the spring and leaves to Africa and Arab Gulf countries after the mating season.

H. Sabbagh / Ahmad Fathi ZAHRA