Author(s)

Abdel Fattah N. Abd Rabou^1*, Bashar S. Jarayseh², Lara M. Sirdah³, Mandy M. Sirdah³, Sinaa A. Ababsa⁴, Daoud I. Al-Hali⁵, Ayman W. Dardona⁶, Ashraf A. Shafei¹, Nedal A. Fayyad¹, Abdallah S. Awad⁷, Wael I. Almeshal⁸, Samer S. Abuzerr⁹, Inas A. Abd Rabou¹⁰, Othman A. Abd Rabou¹¹, Mohammed A. Abd Rabou¹², Sabah A. Abu Sharekh¹³, Mohammed R. Al-Agha¹⁴, Maged M. Yassin¹⁵, Abed Al Qader I. Hammad¹⁶, Norman A. Khalaf¹⁷, Walid F. Mohamed¹⁸

¹Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
²Environmental Education Center, Beit Jala, West Bank, Palestine.
³Wildlife Documenter and Photographer, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
⁴Wildlife Documenter and Photographer, Kafr Kanna, Galilee, Palestine.
⁵Qimmah Secondary School, Jerusalem (Al-Quds), Palestine.
⁶Environment Quality Authority, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
⁷Center for Desert Agriculture, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
⁸Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
⁹Department of Medical Sciences, University College of Science & Technology, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
¹⁰Department of Nursing and Health Sciences, University College of Applied Sciences, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
¹¹Department of Journalism and Media, Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
¹²Department of GIS, University College of Applied Sciences, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
¹³Department of School Health, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
¹⁴Department of Environment and Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza, Palestine.
¹⁵Faculty of Medicine, Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
¹⁶Department of Geography, Al-Aqsa University, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
¹⁷Department of Environmental Research and Media, National Research Center, Palestine.
¹⁸Department of Biological and Geological Sciences, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Roxy, Cairo, Egypt.

Bird fauna checklists are important tools in ecology, biology, and conservation planning for scientists, stakeholders, and decision-makers. Despite its small area, the Gaza Strip (365 km²) has a relatively large variety of resident and migratory bird fauna. Therefore, the current study aimed to provide an updated checklist of all bird fauna living in or inhabiting the Gaza Strip. Direct field observations using binoculars, continuous visits to zoos, pet stores and biology museums, discussion with bird hunters, follow-up of news and social networking sites, review of scientific publications and photography were the main tools to satisfy the purpose of the study. At least 250 bird species collected from different sources occur in the Gaza Strip and are included in the checklist. This list will not be static, but is inevitably subject to additions and changes in the face of times. The current 250 bird species of the Gaza Strip represent 45.4% of the 551 species of birds living in Palestine. The bird species were found to belong to 21 orders and 61 families. The Passeriformes (passerines) represented the largest order with 96 species of birds (38.4%), followed by the Charadriiformes 54 (21.6%), the Accipitriformes 18 (7.2%), Anseriformes 17 (6.8%) and Pelecaniformes 14 (5.6%), while the other orders represented the remaining percentage (20.4%). With regard to families, the Scolopacidae represented the largest family with 22 species of birds (8.8%), followed by the Anatidae and Accipitridae 17 for each (6.8%), the Muscicapidae 16 (6.4%) and Chariidridae and Fringillidae 11 for each (4.4%), while the other families represented the remaining percentage (62.4%). According to the IUCN regional threat categories, 226 species (90.4%) were Least Concern (LC), 12 (4.8%) were Near Threatened (NT), 6 (2.4%) were Vulnerable (VU), 4 (1.6%) were Endangered (EN) and 2 (0.8%) were Critically Endangered (CR). In conclusion, the study recommends a sustainable control of bird hunting and trafficking in addition to building prestigious centers and museums for studying and documenting birds in the Gaza Strip.

Bird Fauna, Checklist, Bird Hunting, Conservation, IUCN Categories, Gaza Strip

Abd Rabou, A. , Jarayseh, B. , Sirdah, L. , Sirdah, M. , Ababsa, S. , Al-Hali, D. , Dardona, A. , Shafei, A. , Fayyad, N. , Awad, A. , Almeshal, W. , Abuzerr, S. , Abd Rabou, I. , Abd Rabou, O. , Abd Rabou, M. , Abu Sharekh, S. , Al-Agha, M. , Yassin, M. , Hammad, A. , Khalaf, N. and Mohamed, W. (2023) Checklist of the Birds of the Gaza Strip—Palestine. Open Journal of Ecology, 13, 155-182. doi: 10.4236/oje.2023.133011.