Graceful prinia and her neighbours on the Mediterranean seashore

This story was conceived as a short story about a bird that is very common but rarely noticed and recognized. But then its neighbours added up to the story and it became more and more complex.

Graceful prinia and her neighbours

Discovering Israel, Animals of Israel

Short film by Evgeniy Shmukler

Сast in order of appearance:
1. Graceful prinia (Prinia gracilis)
2. Palestine sunbird (Cinnyris osea)
3. Violet dropwing (Trithemis annulata)
4. Black desert ant (Cataglyphis nigra)
5. Woodlouse hunting spiders (Dysdera sp.)
6. Big-headed ant alike (Pheidole sp.)
7. Unrecognized grasshopper (Acridomorpha sp.)
8. Palestinian fox (Vulpes vulpes palaestina)
9. Common myna (Acridotheres tristis)
10. Monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
11. Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops)
12. Willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)
13. Indian silverbill or white-throated munia (Euodice malabarica)
14. Starred agama or the roughtail rock agama (Laudakia stellio)
15. Common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
16. White-spectacled bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthopygos)

Consultants on species
—
Insects:
Ariel Leib Leonid (Laibale) Friedman,
Department of Zoology, Tel-Aviv University,
Steinhardt Museum of Natural History
Dr Zohar Yanai — Curator of aquatic insects collection,
Research associate at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History
Prof. (emeritus) Abraham Hefetz —
School of Zoology, George S Wise Faculty of Life Sciences,
Tel-Aviv University
Dr Armin Ionescu-Hirsch — Department of Zoology, the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences,
Tel-Aviv University
Birds:
Evgeny Koblik — Lomonosov Moscow State University
Olga Kalashnikova — Timiryazev Biological Museum, Moscow
Serge Sukhov
Lara Sharier — Administrator at “Flora and Fauna of Israel”
Maria Tortuga
Mammals: Zoya Brook — Guide, Biologist

Narration editors:

Svetlana Blagodarskaya
Brenda Prai

Special thanks to:

Mike Mostovsky, Tel-Aviv University,
Steinhardt Museum of Natural History

Ariel Leib Leonid (Laibale) Friedman,
Department of Zoology, Tel-Aviv University,
Steinhardt Museum of Natural History

Viktor Gordon, Netanya

Sources:
IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species
iNaturalist.org
The Ornithological Society of the Middle East
Israel Breeding Bird Atlas
AntWiki
A checklist of the ants of Israel (Hymenoptera: ormicidae) —
Merav Vonshak and Armin Ionescu-Hirsch, Israel Journal of Enthomology
40% of Worker Ants Are Actually Lazy Slackers, But They Have Their Reasons
Nature, 11 September 2017, ByPeter Dockrill
Haaretz: Crab Invasion in Israel Captured in Unprecedented Footage
Reuters: Prickles and a paunch: Israel's overweight hedgehogs go on diet
The Jerusalem Post: Non-native parrots causing substantial damage in Israel

Imagery sources:
q1057.com: “Look! New York State Is Home To The World’s Smallest Inhabited Island”
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™
www.palyam.org
IMDb
news.uchicago.edu : “Oriental Institute Museum showcases ancient Egyptians’
veneration of birds”
Map Creator: SPS Global – “Key military actions in the Israel Palestine conflict:
a regional overview
”
Time Magazine: “How Israel and Its Allies Lost Global Credibility”
Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images

Filming locations:
Eilat, Southern Negev District
Netanya, Central District
Nature Reserve Hula,
Ein Kamonim,
Korazim — Northern District
Salt lakes near Atlit, Kiryat Yam —
Haifa District

Music:

Kevin MacLeod —
“Spacial Harvest”, 2013;
“Myst on the Moor”, 2016


Israel, 2024