Bird of the Dead Sea

bird of the Dead Sea
I believe this is a Tristram’s grackle (onychognathus tristramii), a bird that lives in Ein Gedi, an oasis near the Dead Sea. This bird had no problem letting me photograph him on the picnic table in the visiting area. I have such a harder time getting photos of the birds in my own backyard here in New Jersey!

According to the Wikipedia article,

They are omnivorous, feeding on fruit and invertebrates, and can also be observed grooming Nubian Ibex and domestic livestock for parasites.

Note via email from a Highland Park birder: “It looks very similar to our common grackles except for the bill shape and the bit of color on the wing.”

See my photo of an ibex (yael in Hebrew). Fuzzy, cute hyrax photo coming soon.

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