SANDGROUSE 1991 Volume 13 Part 1 ay OSME OSME was founded in 1978 as the successor to the Ornithological Society of Turkey. Its primary aims are, e Tocollect, collate, and publish data on all aspects of the birds of the Middle East. @ To promote an interest in ornithology and bird conservation throughout the Middle East. e@ To develop productive working relationships with other governmental and non-govern- mental organisations with an interest in conservation and/or natural history in the region. Publications OSME publishes an annual scientific journal, Sandgrouse, containing papers on all aspects of Middle Eastern ornithology. The biannual OSME Bulletin contains more popular articles, letters, Society news, and other news and information from around the region. Both are issued free to members. Meetings An Annual General Meeting is held in London at which guest speakers provide new perspectives on ornithology in the region. OSME usually joins forces with other societies for a second meeting each winter and organises occasional special meetings of its own; some meetings take place outside the UK. Projects OSME organises field expeditions to collect data on birds in little-known parts of the region and in areas where OSME can assist by teaming up with local societies. In addition, the Sites Register Scheme collects records from all interested ornithologists of important bird areas in the Middle East. Grants The Conservation Research Committee disburses funds to valuable field projects and desk studies that further the conservation of birds in the region. Grants have been awarded to 25 such projects since the Conservation Research Fund was set up in 1982. Membership OSME is open to all, and its membership spans over 40 countries. Annual membership Life membership individual £7 (£10 airmail outside Europe) Individual £150 (£75 if 60 Family £10 (£13 air mail) for two or over) members, plus £3 for each Family £200 additional family member Please add £3 if payment is made in non-sterling currency. For details of payment by banker’s order, and for any other information on the Society, write to the Secretary at the address below. Vice Presidents Sir Derek Barber M. D. Gallagher Dr G. Tohmé N. Yazgan Prof. W. Buttiker Prof. H. Mendelssohn Sir William Wilkinson Council J.S.M. Albrecht M.1. Evans DrM.R.W.Rands G. R. Welch S.M. Andrews P.C. Heathcote Chairman Library,Secretary . Publicity P. A.D. Hollom C. Tucker (co-opted) H. J. Welch Dr M. Boyd R. P. Martins Membership Secretary, Library Bulletin Editor Turkey Bird Report F. E. Warr (co-opted) D. J. Brooks T. Nightingale Sales Sandgrouse Editor _R.F. Porter Con- R. Webb (co-opted) Maj. D. J. R. Counsell servation Research Turkey Officer Treasurer ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE MIDDLE EAST clo THE LODGE, SANDY, BEDFORDSHIRE, SG19 2DL, UK SANDGROUSE Volume 13 Part 1 1991 Editor Editorial Committee Duncan J. Brooks Mark Boyd P.A.D.Hollom Assistant Editor Michael C. Jennings Rod Martins Michael Evans R. F. Porter Contents Dae CLAYTON The Little Owl Athene noctua and its food in Kuwait 7 HADORAM SHIRIHAI The invasion and breeding of Dunn’s Lark Eremalauda dunni in the Arava valley, Israel 14 MOHAMMED SHOBRAK AND ASAD RAHMANI Notes on the Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs in Saudi Arabia 24 GEOFF AND HILARY WELCH The autumn migration of the Steppe Eagle Aguila nipalensis 34 NABIL H. KHAIRALLAH Notes on the autumn raptor migration over the Lebanon in 1981 Notes 42 GERNANT MAGNIN A record of Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis from Turkey 44 WILLIAM S. CLARK AND ROSEMARY PARSLOW A specimen record of Shikra Accipiter badius for Saudi Arabia 46 ZEV LABINGER, EDNA GORNEY, AND ROSEMARY PARSLOW First record of Shikra Accipiter badius in Israel 49 YAKOV LANGER AND AvI ROCHMAN Recoveries of Pied Wagtails Motacilla alba in Israel and abroad 53 MAGNUS ULLMAN First record of Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla in Jordan 54 STEVEN M. GOODMAN Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus breeding in the Makran area of Baluchistan, Pakistan ISSN 0260-4736 © 1991 Ornithological Society of the Middle East Sandgrouse (1991) 13: 2-6. The Little Owl Athene noctua and its food in Kuwait IDB We GAN NC ION Summary The diet of the Little Owl Athene noctua was investigated by collecting part-consumed animal remains and 97 pellets from two pairs of owls that inhabited gullies in the Jal-Az-Zor escarpment of Kuwait. Vertebrate prey were predominantly rodents (Meriones, Jaculus, and Gerbillus), but included some reptiles and birds. Invertebrate prey were predominantly insects, the commonest of which were beetles of the genera Pimilia, Erodius, and Nnematium; some scorpions and solifugids were also taken. The two pairs studied were the first cases of proved breeding in Kuwait. ESPITE BEING the commonest, most widespread, and most diurnal of the owls of Arabia (Hue and Etchécopar 1970; Hollom et al. 1988), the Little Owl Athene noctua is still rather poorly known there. Two individuals have been ringed near Riyadh in Saudi Arabia (Jennings 1979), but in general only distributional data are available and the species is now known to occur widely through the peninsula with the main exceptions of the large northern and southern desert regions Jennings 1981; Raby 1981; Hollom et al. 1988). Details of its diet and feeding behaviour in Arabia are only available as generalities. Hue and Etchécopar (1970) noted only that for its size the owl takes quite large prey, and Gallagher and Woodcock (1980) gave the diet as ‘beetles and small vertebrates, etc.’, while Meinertzhagen (1954) considered the food to be mainly large insects, with frogs and small snakes freely taken, rodents and birds rarely. Jennings (1981) stated that Little Owls take any prey that they can overpower, including quite large rodents, and that beetles are the staple winter diet when nothing else is available. Heatwole and Muir (1982) recorded only a variety of unidentified small arthropods as prey in Tunisia, and Goodman (1988) analysed a collection of pellets from Egypt and reviewed further scattered Middle Eastern data from the literature, but there is no quantified information on the diet of the Little Owl in Arabia—though Nader (1969, 1973) has given some data for the Barn Owl Tyto alba in adjacent Iraq. In Kuwait the Little Owl is a fairly common resident of hills, wadis, and gullies (Haynes 1979), though, prior to the present report, breeding in the country was only a presumption. One area occupied is the Jal-Az-Zor escarpment, the main topographical feature of the country, which is composed of soft sedimentary sand and limestone rocks (Fuchs et al. 1968) and lies to the north of Kuwait Bay within Kuwait’s National Park (Taha et al. 1982). In general terms, residual gravel plains or stony desert are found to the north of the escarpment, and slope deposits, sand sheets, and coastal sabkha are found to the south, bordering Kuwait Bay (Khalaf et al. 1984). In living in the gullies of the Jal-Az-Zor, the Little Owls of Kuwait are typical of those found throughout desert Arabia. Raby (1981), for example, recorded breeding pairs in Wadi Al Miyah in eastern Saudi Arabia, a well vegetated sandy desert area with regular escarpments. Meinertzhagen (1954) and Gallagher and Woodcock (1980) also noted similar habitat preferences. Sandgrouse 13 Little Owl Food in Kuwait METHODS In late 1986 several pairs of Little Owls were located on the cliff faces of gullies in the Ghudhay and Mdairah regions of the Jal-Az-Zor escarpment, but irrespective of the size of the gully occupied by the owls there were never two pairs in the same one. Where it was possible to find nearest neighbours the birds were usually over 1 km apart. Two pairs were chosen for study, partly on the basis of ease of access and partly to give a contrast in the size of gully occupied. One of these pairs inhabited a wide deep gully with vertical sides some 40 m high, and the other pair occupied a deep but narrow gully where the cliff faces were only 10-15 m high. The two gullies were approximately 7-5 km apart. At both locations the owls had a nesting burrow which consisted of a natural hole or crevice extending into the cliff. Additionally there were several perching sites where there was evidence of food being eaten. The owls were not seen feeding at all these sites, however, and their use as feeding sites was inferred from the presence of regurgitated pellets nearby, the remains of meals, and faecal stains on the rocks. Some of these sites were on the sides or the top of the cliffs, while others were on isolated boulders on the floor of the gullies. Rarely were any sites less than 2 m above the gully floor. While all gullies are natural carriers of flood water only the narrower of the two gullies is marked as a water run-off area on maps (Kuwait Series, 1:50,000, Sheet 5549-II, Ministry of Defence, Kuwait). There had been little rainfall in recent years and the narrow gully was filling with sand so that by May 1987 the sand had reached the level of the burrow, with severe consequences for the resident owls. This pair were rearing chicks, but in May two disembowelled, down-covered chick corpses were found on the floor of the gully. The culprit could not be established with certainty, but tracks of the desert monitor lizard Varanus griseus were much in evidence, some leading to the breeding crevice. Collections of regurgitated pellets and part-consumed food were made during visits predominantly in the winter and spring between January and May 1987 and again in September 1987. While it was intended that each pellet collection should be representative of an owl’s food consumption over the period since the last collection, it quickly became apparent that this might not be the case. Some pellets could easily be identified as fresh, but others couid not, and some of those found were probably old ones that had been buried and then re-exposed by wind action on the sand drifts present at the bases of all the sites. As a test of this, two fresh dark pellets were left to dry in the open during May and within two weeks became indistinguishable from old white and dry ones. All pellets collected were soaked in (initially) boiling soapy water. Skeletal structures were separated, and the various remains were identified using reference collections of local vertebrates (crania, jaws, and limb bones) and insects. RESULTS All collections contained an assortment of vertebrate and invertebrate remains. Of the 97 pellets that were sorted 30 contained only vertebrates, 29 contained D. A. Clayton Sandgrouse 13 predominantly vertebrates with some invertebrates, 25 had both in equal amounts, seven were entirely invertebrate, and six were predominantly so but contained a little vertebrate material. Most of the vertebrate material was mammalian and only pellets collected in April and September contained feathers and other clearly identifiable avian material. Stones were found in 40 pellets including solely invertebrate pellets and included some too large to have been ingested by accident (as for example in the fur of prey). The fragility of most reptilian skeletons probably precluded their survival to pellet stage and such remains were found for only one species—the jaws of a nocturnal gecko Stenodactylus sleveni. Table 1 lists the frequency of occurrence of the identified remains. No pellets contained the skeleton of a whole animal and 13 pellets contained parts that could not be identified. Also included in the table is some indication of the months in which the various species were found, but this information is tentative because of the inaccuracy in determining the freshness of the pellets. For example, the absence of Meriones in pellet collections during January is probably not a true reflection of the owls’ diet, but rather more likely to be due to the fact that only six pellets were collected that month. Table 1. Frequency of occurrence of animal remains in 97 pellets of Little Owls Athene noctua in Kuwait, January—May and September. Number of Months pellets Meriones libycus Libyan jird 44 (45%) Feb—May, Sep Jaculus jaculus lesser jerboa 18 (19%) Feb-—May, Sep Gerbillus cheesmani Cheesman’s gerbil 13 (13%) Jan—May Stenodactylus sleveni gecko 5 (5%) Feb-Apr, Sep Pimilia arabica darkling beetle 16 (16%) Jan-Apr, Sep Erodius sauditus dune beetle 6 (6%) Mar—May Nnematium rotundipennis dung beetle 6 (6%) Apr—May Scarabaeus sacer dung beetle 2 Apr-May Podalgus reichei dung beetle 2 Mar-Apr Calosoma olivieri ground beetle 2 May Bothynoderes weevil 2 Mar Schistocerca gregaria desert locust 2 Mar, May Cataglyphis maculatus ant 1 Apr Andronoctus crassicauda scorpion 1 Apr Scorpio maurus scorpion 1 Sep Galeodes arabs solifugid 1 Apr The part-consumed material found at the feeding sites also included bird remains: Roller Coracias garrulus and Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe in February, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops superciliosus in April, and Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius in May. At other times of the year (January, March, September) the hind limbs and/or tails of jerboas Jaculus jaculus were collected, as were a part-consumed leaf-nosed snake Lytorhynchus diadema (March) and the amphisbaenid lizard Diplometopon zarudnyi (April). Sandgrouse 13 Little Owl Food in Kuwait DISCUSSION The food items are typical of those taken by Little Owls in general (Cramp 1985) and those of the Soviet sandy deserts in particular: Little Owls in Kazakhstan appear to take few birds, but, like those in Kuwait, do take jirds, lizards, and grasshoppers, and dung, darkling, and ground beetles (Dementiev and Gladkov 1951). Several bird species, however, were reported to be eaten by Little Owls of the Western Desert of Egypt (Goodman 1988). The diet of the Little Owls found in the gullies of the Jal-Az-Zor escarpment shows them to be opportunist predators that take primarily mammalian vertebrate prey and other vertebrate and invertebrate material when it is available. The dung and dune beetles, for example, are only seasonally available between March and May (Clayton 1990), and the bird prey (or at least those recorded as food in this study) are only present during their migration. In comparing the diets of owls of the genus Athene in a number of mediterranean- type habitats, Jaksic and Marti (1981) noted that while invertebrates were the commonest prey items they only constituted a small fraction of the total prey by weight; further, invertebrates were consumed in proportion to their relative availability. The first of these observations, and probably the second also, apply as well to the present study, but it should be noted that the owls were exercising some choice of prey items. While two beetle genera in the diet, Pimilia and Erodius, were among the commonest in the owls’ habitat, other genera were also present but not taken. This could be for a variety of reasons. Blaps and Anthia, for instance, are nocturnal and have chemical defences; Ocnera is also nocturnal, and covered with many hairs, and it is probably the irritant quality of these three genera that prevent their selection. Adesmia is diurnal, but its coloration and behaviour mimics that of Blaps and it may be avoided because of this Batesian mimicry. Among the arachnids, scorpions have previously been reported as prey in Spain (Valverde 1967 in Jaksic and Marti 1981), Italy (Zerunian et al. 1982), and Egypt (Goodman 1988), but there are no previous records of solifugids Galeodes being taken. However, this only serves to emphasise the catholic diet of this extremely versatile predator. The small size of some of the prey items is not unusual, for ants and small beetles (2 mm) are known to be taken by Little Owls foraging on the ground as well as from perches (Cramp 1985). For reasons given above, the data presented here are difficult to link precisely to time of year, but even in the limited period of this study it is possible to see that the seasonal variation in prey species availability plays an important role in determining the Little Owl’s diet. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank P. Cowan and M. D. Gallagher for their comments on an earlier draft and W. Al-Houti, E. N. Arnold, and M. D. Gallagher for confirmation of prey identifications. REFERENCES CLAYTON, D. A. (1990) Assortative mating in the dune beetle, Erodius sauditus (Tenebrionidae: Erodiini) in Kuwait. J. Arid Environments in press. D. A. Clayton Sandgrouse 13 CRAMP, S. (ed.) (1985) The Birds of the Western Palearctic Vol. 4. Oxford University Press. DEMENTIEV, G. P. AND GLADKOV, N. A. (1951) Ptitsy Sovietskogo Soyuza Vol. 1. Moscow. Fucus, W., GATTINGER, T. E., AND HOLZER, H. F. (1968) Explanatory Text to the Synoptic Geological Map of Kuwait. Geological Survey of Austria, Vienna. GALLAGHER, M. D. AND WOODCOCK, M. W. (1980) The Birds of Oman. Quartet, London. GOODMAN, S. M. (1988) The food habits of the Little Owl inhabiting Wadi el Natrun, Egypt. Sandgrouse 10: 102-4. HAYNES, P. R. (1979) Notes on the status and distribution of the birds of Kuwait. Ahmadi Nat. Hist. Group Newsl. 20. HEATWOLE, H. AND Mur, R. (1982) Population densities, biomass, and trophic relations of birds in the pre-Saharan steppe of Tunisia. J. Arid Environments 5: 145-68. HoLLom, P. A. D., PORTER, R. F., CHRISTENSEN, S., AND WILLIS, I. (1988) Birds of the Middle East and North Africa: a companion guide. Poyser, Calton. HUE, F. AND ETCHECOPAR, R. D. (1970) Les Oiseaux du Proche et du Moyen Orient. Boubée, Paris. Jaksic, F. M. AND MartI, C. D. (1981) Trophic ecology of Athene owls in mediterranean-type ecosystems: a comparative analysis. Canadian J. Zool. 59: 2331-9. JENNINGS, M. C. (1979) Bird ringing report 1976. J. Saudi Arabian Nat. Hist. Soc. 24: 26-30. JENNINGS, M. C. (1981) Birds of the Arabian Gulf. George Allen and Unwin, London. KHALAF, F. I., GHARID, I. M., AND AL-HASHASH, M. Z. (1984) Types and characteristics of the recent surface deposits of Kuwait, Arabian Gulf. j. Arid Environments 7: 9-33. MEINERTZHAGEN, R. (1954) Birds of Arabia. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh. NADER, I. A. (1969) Animal remains in pellets of the Barn Owl Tyto alba from the vicinity of An-Najaf, Iraq. Bull. Iraq. Nat. Hist. Mus. 4: 1-7. NADER, I. A. (1973) Dr Nader collecting owl pellets. J. Saudi Arabian Nat. Hist. Soc. 10: 16. Rasy, R. (1981) Notes from eastern Saudi Arabia. Orn. Soc. Middle East Bull. 6: 9. TAHA, F. K., OMAR, S. A., CLAYTON, D. A., AL-BAKRI, D., AL-MUTAWA, S., AND NASSEF, A. (1982) Selection and Criteria for Establishment of National Parks/Nature Reserves in Kuwait Desert. Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. ZERUNIAN, S., FRANZINI, G., AND SCISCIONE, L. (1982) Little Owls and their prey in a Mediterranean habitat. Boll. Zoologie 49: 195-206. David Clayton, Department of Zoology, Kuwait University, PO Box 5969, 13060 Safat, Kuwait. (Currently exiled to: 2 The Quay, Tuckenhay, Totnes, Devon TQ9 7EQ, UK.) Sandgrouse (1991) 13: 7-13. The invasion and breeding of Dunn’s Lark Eremalauda dunni in the Arava valley, Israel HADORAM SHIRIHAI Summary — Since the 1970s Dunn’s Lark Eremalauda dunni has been known in Israel as a rare and irregular accidental, especially in desert areas, between October and May. In winter 1988-9 an invasion of hundreds of birds occurred in the Arava valley, apparently linked to unusually high rainfall in the previous winter. Most birds departed in the spring, but eight pairs remained to breed, the first records for Israel. One pair was studied closely: eggs were laid on about 12 April; incubation period was estimated at 13-16 days; song-flight and the behaviour of adults and young at the nest are described. Of four pairs, three fledged five young and one fledged four. HE NOMINATE race of Dunn’s Lark Eremodites dunni breeds discontinuously along the southern Sahara; the other race, eremodites, seems to breed in extensive areas of Arabia and in a limited area of Jordan, and is of occasional occurrence in Sinai and southern Israel, and accidental in northern Israel and Lebanon. The habitat is low-lying, open desert with sparse grass and other low vegetation. Birds appear to be mainly resident, but are subject to occasional eruptive or nomadic movements. Prior to the present study, data on only two active nests of this species had been published, from Mauritania—clutches of two and three. (Cramp 1988.) Up to April 1988, there had been six records of the species in Israel, between October and May: five birds on 30 March 1978, two of which were males in song; one photographed at Ma’agan Mikhael on 7 April 1980; one photographed on 24 May 1980 at En Gev; three on 22 October 1983 at Nizzana; one on 14 December 1987 at Moshav Qatif in the Gaza Strip; four photographed about 30 km north of Eilat on 3 April 1988, and apparently the same individuals sighted a few days later at Eilat (Round and Walsh 1981; Shirihai in press). INVASION IN WINTER 1988-9 A remarkable event in November 1988 was the influx of hundreds of Dunn’s Larks into the Arava valley in south-east Israel, where they remained for the winter and where, the following summer, some were found breeding. On 6 November I and others found four individuals near Beer Ora about 30 km north of Eilat, and these were also sighted on the next and following days by a bird-tour group (Shirihai et al. 1990). During November and December several people were involved in a survey of most open areas in the Arava suited to Dunn’s Lark and 210 different individuals were found between En Evrona and Beer Menuha, scattered in groups of two to 30 individuals. The largest concentration was found in Qa Sa’idiyin (Bigat Sa’idiyin) in the central Arava, 70-90 km north of Eilat, where daily counts ranged from 30 to 110—a variation presumably due to the birds alternating between sites in the Israeli and Jordanian parts of the Arava. They preferred open, quite flat desert H. Shirthai Sandgrouse 13 Plates 1-2. Dunn’s Lark Eremalauda dunni, Arava valley (Israel), November 1988. (Hadoram Shirthat) areas, somewhat sheltered by low hillocks with very low, dry vegetation. Cross-border observations using telescopes showed that most such areas in the Arava are situated on the Jordanian side, with only the fringes of the good areas falling within Israel. Assuming that all suitable areas were occupied, and estimating from the size of suitable areas and the density of birds in each type of area, probably at least 500-1,000 individuals arrived in the whole Arava, on both. sides of the border. In most places they were mixed with flocks of Bar-tailed Desert Larks Ammomanes cincturus and occasionally with Desert Larks A. deserti. Within a 2-km stretch near Kibbutz Yahel on various dates between December 1988 and March 1989 up to 110 Dunn’s Larks were found within a mixed flock of larks whose composition varied between five and 11 species. In January 1989 I ringed and measured seven individuals, with wing lengths of 84-96 mm. Cramp (1988) describes the eastern race eremodites as measuring 85-101 mm (n=25), in contrast to 76-87 mm (n=17) for the Saharan nominate. Thus it seems most likely that the invasion into the Arava was from the Arabian—-Jordanian population, as would be expected. It appears that the influx was influenced by an exceptionally heavy rainy season during the previous winter (1987-8) in desert areas of Israel, mainly the Arava, where annual precipitation totalled 200-300 mm, ten times the average. This unusual rainfall was followed by much growth of flowering annual herbs that covered open areas and plains, and presumably left a heavy seed crop to be available as a plentiful food source the following winter. BREEDING DATA Contrary to expectations, not all birds left the wintering sites in spring 1989, although numbers had decreased by March and dispersal into smaller groups or Sandgrouse 13 Invasion and Breeding of Dunn’s Lark in Israel pairs occurred. Song was heard intermittently throughout the winter, increasing in strength during March. Up to then birds sang only from the ground, but for a short period at the end of March and during the first half of April eight pairs found within territories were engaged in courtship, with males seen in aerial song. Song given on the ground is reminiscent of that of the Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra, but the aerial song in contrast is rippling and continuous with rising and falling whistles, mimicking the song of the Hoopoe Lark Alaemon alaudipes and Desert Lark. It is delivered while hovering with quivering wing-beats at a height of 10-30 m. Immediately upon landing after singing the male often engages in a kind of courtship dance around the female while spreading his wings, stretching his neck, and fanning his tail; after a few seconds the birds copulate. On one occasion, when I was sitting very close to a nest (see below), my imitation of the song brought the male and female, in turn, to hover for a few seconds just 10 cm in front of my face. During breeding the male is extremely territorial and chases away other lark species, except Bar-tailed Desert Larks; there was almost never fighting or other aggression between these species, even though their nests were as little as 50 m apart. During the nestling period each Dunn’s Lark territory covered about 5,000 m*, and adjacent pairs were separated by a minimum of 500 m and a maximum of 5 km, widely spread from the mouth of Nahal Paran to Qa Sa’idiyin. The pairs displayed behaviour suggestive of incubation, but despite exhaustive observations I never located a nest with eggs because of the birds’ unobtrusive behaviour. One pair in particular was studied, and during courtship and copulation slight plumage differences were noted between the male and female so that it was possible Plate 3. Breeding habitat of Dunn’s Lark Eremalauda dunni, Arava valley (Israel), spring 1989. (Hadoram Shirthat) ci H. Shirihai : Sandgrouse 13. to tell them apart during the remainder of the study: the male’s ear-coverts were more rust-coloured and his whole plumage pattern was more distinct than in the female. The male stopped singing regularly on 11 April, by which time the female was no longer being seen, evidently because she was incubating. Thereafter the male occasionally performed song-flights and guarded his territory, but as he appeared alone throughout the day it appears either that he did not participate in incubation or that he incubated for very short periods only. On 1 May I discovered the nest while observing the parents taking food to the chicks (Shirihai 1991). It lay in a shallow hollow on the ground beneath low shrubby vegetation, though exposed on one side. The loosely woven cup, made from herbage and dry grass, had an external diameter of about 12 cm and the depth of the cup was 2 cm. It contained five chicks which I estimated to be three to five days old, and the pair had thus incubated for an estimated 13-16 days, approximately 12-27 April. An obvious difference in size between the youngest and oldest chicks indicated that hatching had been asynchronous. | Pe < —> aS : ee _ —— ae ae 2 . a 55 : z i a =F al Be : a4 PEL. es me = ae = — = F ses Sd ag i 2 : a ine Plate 4. Nest-site of Dunn’s Lark Eremalauda dunni, Ar y 1989. (Hadoram Shirihat) After locating the nest-site I spent many hours watching and photographing the birds; a hide was not needed, and eventually I could approach the nest to within less than 1 m without causing obvious disturbance. The parents fed the chicks on adult and larval insects, including various kinds of butterflies, gathered within 200 m of the nest. Both adults were involved in this work, but 70-80% was done by the female. In many instances when the male and female met at the nest, both with food, the female would feed the chicks first and then take the male’s food and feed that to them. In instances when both brought food simultaneously but 10 Sandgrouse 13 Invasion and Breeding of Dunn’s Lark in Israel met 5-10 m from the nest, the female would give a special call and the male would then stop at that point; after the female had fed the chicks and left the nest the male would approach it and deliver his own food to the young. A few days before the chicks fledged they would run about 20 cm out from the nest to meet the approaching adult and then, after being fed, return to the nest and join their siblings. When feeding the young the parents approached the nest in a secretive ies Plate 5. Dunn’s Lark Eremalauda dunni at the nest, Arava valley (Israel), May 1989. (Hadoram Shirihai) way to try and avoid disclosing its position, and one parent would usually be on guard making warning sounds. Each time that they fed the young they collected their faecal sacs, and in a few instances first approached the hind quarters of a chick and preened its vent; this caused an immediate discharge and the parents collected the sac before it fell. Concentrated chick-feeding occurred in the morning up to 09.00 hrs, and in the afternoon—every three and a half minutes on average; in contrast during the day between 10.00 and 15.00 hrs the chicks were fed every 10-20 minutes. The chicks left the nest in order, one after the other, from the oldest to the youngest, about ten days after hatching, and flew only 3-6 days later. I also found three other pairs with young that had fledged in mid-May, and, of all four pairs, three had five juveniles after fledging and one had four. Adults left the breeding sites a week after the young fledged, and the young left 7-10 days later, being seen The inclusion of colour plates has been subsidized by Subbuteo Natural History Books Ltd 11 H. Shirthat Sandgrouse 13 Plate 6. Nestling Dunn’s Lark Eremalauda Plate 7. Adult Dunn’s Lark Eremalauda dunni dunni, Arava valley (Israel), May 1989. collecting faecal sac from nestling after (Hadoram Shirihat) preening its vent, Arava valley (Israel), May 1989. (Hadoram Shirthat) at breeding sites up to the first week of June. By the second week of June all Dunn’s Larks appeared to have left the Arava. DISCUSSION It is of note that, although the Lesser Short-toed Lark Calandrella rufescens does not usually breed in the Arava, hundreds of pairs entered the valley at the end of the 1988-9 winter and bred successfully in the same areas as the Dunn’s Larks, leaving in June. In that year also, about 30 Spotted Sandgrouse Pterocles senegallus bred in the Arava for the first time. Previously, such irruptive breeding in Israel was known only in a very few species, being recorded most often for the Crossbill Loxia curvirostra (Shirihai in press). Although unusually high rainfall and its effect on the vegetation in the previous winter must have been a factor in encouraging the Dunn’s Larks to stay in the Arava once they had arrived, it would be interesting to receive data on the weather, vegetation, and population levels in their normal range, as some or all of these factors must have been the cause of them forsaking it. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks to all those who have observed Dunn’s Larks with me in the Arava, in particular the Israel Trust for Ornithology and the Sunbirder tour group; also Avner Rothschild, Assaf Meroz, Noam Weiss, Ehud Dovrat, Yaron Baser, Rami Mizrahi, Dan Alon, Bill Laird, and Merav Gellert, all of whom travelled a long way to come and watch and help count Dunn’s Larks. Many thanks to my wife Lilly who helped in the nest observations and the ringing and to Doreen Levy who translated the article from Hebrew, then typed and edited it. Finally, thanks to Michael Evans and Duncan Brooks, Editors of Sandgrouse, for their revision and editing of the paper. REFERENCES CRAMP, S. (ed.) (1988) The Birds of the Western Palearctic Vol. 5. Oxford University Press. ROUND, P.D. AND WALSH, T.A. (1981) The field identification and status of Dunn’s Lark. Sandgrouse 3: 78-83. 12 Sandgrouse 13 Invasion and Breeding of Dunn’s Lark in Israel SHIRIHAI, H. (1991) Dunn’s Lark breeding in Israel [in Hebrew]. Teva Va-aretz 33 (3): 12-13. SHIRIHAI, H. (in press) The Birds of Israel. Helm, London. SHIRIHAI, H., MULLARNEY, K., AND GRANT, P. (1990) Identification of Dunn’s, Bar-tailed and Desert Larks. Birding World 3: 15-21. Hadoram Shirihai, PO Box 4168, Eilat 8102, Israel. 13 Sandgrouse (1991) 13: 14-23. Notes on the Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs in Saudi Arabia MOHAMMED SHOBRAK and ASAD RAHMANI Summary There have been no records of Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs in Saudi Arabia since 1977, but surveys from 1987 to 1990 on the Tihamah plain bordering the Red Sea confirmed that a widespread but sparse resident population still exists. Birds were present in most Tihamah habitats, especially in small vegetated wadis and adjacent stony plateaus; also in sandy areas with low vegetation, cultivated areas with sorghum and millet, small wadis in the foothills, and open Acacia woodland. 85 faecal samples, December-—February, contained beetles (Coleoptera) and grasshoppers (Orthoptera). Foraging and other behaviour is described for two birds watched for extended periods; one foraged for 67% of ten and a half hours’ observation. Local Arabic names for the species are given. The population is threatened by severe overgrazing and by hunting, but the species is now listed as protected in Saudi Arabia and protected areas have been designated. ESPITE BEING one of the largest breeding birds of the Arabian peninsula, the Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs is among the least known. No detailed study has been done on the species, and there are very few data on its mating system, social structure, breeding biology, movements, voice, longevity, foraging behaviour, or diet (Cramp and Simmons 1980; Urban et al. 1986). Four subspecies are recognized: A. a. lynesi of Morocco, A. a. butleri from southern Sudan, A. a. stieberi from Sénégal across to northern Sudan, and A. a. arabs from Ethiopia, Djibouti, north-west Somalia, and the coastal Tihamah plain of south-west Arabia. Arabian Bustard formerly had an extensive distribution through this range, but, like most bustard species, it has undergone a severe decline almost everywhere as a result of hunting and habitat deterioration. Alarmed by the critical status of the species in Saudi Arabia, in 1987 the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD) initiated a long-term project to study this species in the Kingdom and to protect some of its habitats. This paper presents some preliminary results of that study. STATUS IN ARABIA Observations from Saudi Arabia during the last 20 years show that the Arabian Bustard has become increasingly rare. According to Meinertzhagen (1954) its main stronghold was the Asir Tihamah of Saudi Arabia, where it was apparently a resident bird. Philby secured three specimens, a female and two males, shot in Wadi Fatimah, near Hadda between Jedda and Mecca during 7-23 December 1934 (Figure 1; Bates 1936). Popov et al. (1972) reported seeing a pair in December 1971 in Wadi Hali, and until the present study the last confirmed sighting in Saudi Arabia was in 1977 between Ad Darb and Jabal Labibah (King 1978; Gasperetti and Gasperetti 1981). Even during an eight-day survey in the Asir Tihamah region in 14 Sandgrouse 13 Arabian Bustard in Saudi Arabia 1985, no bustards were seen (Porter and Goriup 1985). In 1985 at least 17 different individuals were recorded at three sites on the Tihamah of northern Yemen during the OSME expedition to that region, and, though it is a scarce and local bird there, its position seems reasonably secure (Brooks et al. 1987; R. P. Martins, R. F. Porter pers. comm.). Last century, Yerbury (1986) found it fairly common at Lahej in southern Yemen, though its present status there is unknown. ae aoe pce Plate 1. Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs, Djibouti, March. (Alain Laurent) SURVEY METHODS AND RESULTS In the first phase of the study, four surveys were made in the Tihamah and adjacent foothills between the Red Sea and the Sarawat mountains to search for Arabian Bustards and to locate suitable areas where the bird could be studied in a more detailed second phase. Bustard sightings During the 45 days’ field work of the initial surveys 50 sites were visited; three birds were seen and tracks were found in several places as follows. October-November 1987 Over two weeks, 20 sites were visited in the Tihamah ‘region between Al Lith (20°20’N 40°25’E) and Wadi Dahan (16°40'N 43°10’E). One bird was sighted in Wadi Aramram and tracks were found in two additional spots. The inclusion of colour plates has been subsidized by Subbuteo Natural History Books Ltd 15 M. Shobrak and A. Rahmani | Sandgrouse 13: SAUDI. ‘ARABIA A| Baha eciDire Ss Ei is / As Soffah »Wadjt. x * @ ee x* Habib | \ Banedeeb x% Sightings _--~ Wadis _— Roads Abu,’Arish@! ” Jizan eA Figure 1. Records of Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs in Saudi Arabia from the 1987-90 surveys, and locations of earlier records. Inset shows world distribution (after Urban et al. 1986). 16 Sandgrouse 13 Arabian Bustard in Saudi Arabia November 1988 A one-week survey covering five sites in the coastal plain of the Tihamah between Al Qunfidah (19°10'N 41°10’E) and Sabya (17°00'’N 42°40’E). Two birds were located: the first sighting was south of Ad Darb, the other was 500 m north of Wadi Rim. Tracks of two Arabian Bustards were also found 1 km north of Wadi Rim. March 1989 20 days’ field work covering 19 sites from Al Lith (20°20’N 40°25’E) to the borders of Yemen (16°25’N 42°50’E). Fresh tracks were found at Al Lith and in the Hali area. October 1989 A five-day survey covering six sites in Wadi Al Lith (20°20’N 40°30’E) and Wadi Hali (18°45’N 41°30’E). Further tracks were seen in the Hali area and the remains of one bird were found—-according to local people, it had been shot by hunters in June 1989. As a result of the last two surveys we selected an area near Habib Banedeeb village, 27 km east of Kiyad (Figure 1), to be the site for a further intensive study, and from 9 December 1989 to 22 February 1990 a fifth survey was carried out in this area (18°33'N to 18°45'N and 41°23’E to 41°38’E). Here we made nine sightings of Arabian Bustards, involving at least five different individuals. Twice we were able to observe birds at length (see below), and tracks were seen in many places. The method used in all five surveys consisted of: (1) driving slowly through the area and scanning the surroundings for bustards, frequently stopping at elevated spots to search more thoroughly; (2) walking in the wadis, especially in those areas where driving was difficult or impossible; (3) sitting on a hillock for one or two hours and thoroughly scanning the surrounding area with binoculars and telescope; (4) interviewing local shepherds and bedouins. Most of the searching was done early and late in the day—for at least four hours in the morning and three hours in the evening, thus totalling a minimum of seven hours’ field work per day on each of the 100 days which the five surveys involved. On 20 February 1990 we carried out aerial surveys from a helicopter in the Habib Banedeeb study area. This was done from 08.00 to 10.00 hrs and again in the evening from 15.00 to 18.00 hrs, covering 200 km in the morning and 250 km in the evening at an altitude of 30-50 m. We saw no bustards, although many other birds were seen, and in the light of this we concluded that the Arabian Bustard was not present in the areas surveyed, for it seemed unlikely that we would have missed it. AR has seen the closely related Great Indian Bustard A. nigriceps flying away at the approach of a helicopter, and Arabian Bustard could be expected to behave in a similar manner. However, on the morning of 21 February, when we conducted a ground survey in the area which we had twice flown over the previous day, we found two old bustard faeces and some tracks 2-3 days old, proving that the bustards were still in area although we somehow missed seeing them from the air. Enquiries among local inhabitants showed that the Arabian Bustard occurred in most areas from Al Lith to the south of Sabya, and reported sightings of chicks and of displaying males indicate that the bird still breeds in certain areas. The people knew the bird very well, accurately describing it and its various calls. At least nine local names for the Arabian Bustard exist in Arabia (Table 1), and in the 17 M. Shobrak and A. Rahmani Sandgrouse 13 Table 1. Local names for the Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs in Arabia. See Figure 1 for location of places. Area Local names Northern Saudi Arabia Habrow Al Lith to Al Muzaylif Khirb Al Muzaylif to A! Birk Korab Ad Darb to Sabya Karab, Khirb, Suwad, Rawa Assaid South of Abu ’Arish Korab, Khirb, Allawam, Neisf Ashshah, Gutah Southern Yemen Al Balawan Ad Darb area there is a traditional children’s song with the lyric Ya suwad arini rags al-’azabah (Bustard, show me the dance of the beautiful woman), which is sung while the children mime the movements of the Arabian Bustard. Habitat Birds were found in most of the habitats represented on the Tihamah, and we differentiated five types. 1. Stony plateaus and small wadis covered with acacia trees and tufts of Pennisetum grass. In this type of habitat the bustards were more or less permanently present. Many tracks were found, and birds were flushed three times. 2. Undulating sandy areas dominated by Salvadora persica and grasses. One bird was seen in this habitat only 1-5 km from the sea coast. 3. Cultivated areas. One bustard was flushed from a vehicle track between fields. Sorghum and millet fields seemed to be frequently used (see below), and this is the habitat which appears to be favoured also in adjacent northern Yemen (Brooks et al. 1987). Plate 2. Small vegetated sandy wadi with adjacent stony plateau—typical habitat of Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs in the Tihamah of Saudi Arabia. (Mohammed Shobrak) 18 Sandgrouse 13 Arabian Bustard in Saudi Arabia 4. Small dissected wadis in the foothills of the Tihamah. The relief of these wadis makes them almost inaccessible to vehicles. Vegetation includes Acacia tortilis, Aerva javanica, Limeum arabicum, Cleome, Zygophyllum simplex, Indigofera spinosa, Stipagrostis, and Panicum turgidum. Three birds were seen in this type of habitat. 5. Open woodland in sandy areas, consisting of Acacia tortilis, A. ehrenbergiana, and A. asak, with some Ziziphus spina-christi trees. Tracks of Arabian Bustard were seen here and the remains of one bird were found. 1 AA eT, i Z sis il ly Ph. os Mahl a | PAC HI Plate 3. Cultivated area frequented by Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs, Tihamah (Saudi Arabia). (Mohammed Shobrak) A a: aa Suitable habitat can be found even very close to inhabited areas, and one bird was seen less than 500 m from the village of Habib Banedeeb, where we set up our camp. However, large parts of the Tihamah have become severely overgrazed in recent times; this is due to the vast increase in the numbers of livestock which has followed stock-owners’ new-found ability to afford supplementary feeding and to transport water even to the remotest areas. Food and feeding habits 85 faecal samples were collected during the fifth survey, mainly from the study area. Most of the samples were full of the remains of beetles (Coleoptera) and grasshoppers (Orthoptera). On 23 January 1990, when we watched a bustard continuously for ten and a half hours, 67% of its time was spent foraging (Figure 3). Often it ran after grasshoppers and other insects which we could not identify, and it also pecked frequently at plants (Heliotropum pterocarpum and, a few times, Leptadenia pyrotechnica), possibly taking insects. Three times it pecked at the trunks of acacias; the Kori Bustard A. 19 M. Shobrak and A. Rahmani | Sandgrouse 13 kori of Africa is known to feed on acacia gum (Urban et al. 1978), but we cannot be sure that our bird was not taking insects. Bustard tracks were frequently seen inside fields of millet and sorghum. The attraction of these might be their use as cover or as a source of insect food, or the crops themselves might be eaten. Sorghum is a regular item in the diet of the Great Indian Bustard (Ali and Ripley 1969; Rahmani 1989). | Time budget In spite of our efforts, only twice could we observe bustards at length. On the first occasion, a bustard, possibly a juvenile male or a female, was observed continuously from 15.45 to 18.16 hrs on 29 December 1989 (Figure 2). Most of its time was spent 100 Foraging 80 Loafing L777) Resting 60 40 Percentage of time 20 16.00-17.00 Sirocco = 18.00-18.16 Time Figure 2. Activity pattern of an Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs, 29 December 1989. Figure 3. Activity pattern of an adult male Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs, 23 January 1990. 100 Foraging ass 80 Loafing Resting ) er) is 60 Preening re) ® D i) 5 Oo 40 ®D ao 20 08.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00 18.00 20 Sandgrouse 13 Arabian Bustard in Saudi Arabia Plate 4. fabian Basi Ardeouis arabs, northern Yemen, ‘pric or May. (Diana Perkins) foraging at the edge of a wadi with scattered acacias and ground cover of less than 50%. It also foraged very close to an abandoned village where discarded household items were scattered everywhere. It walked to a small hillock about 20 m high and stood there for 15 minutes, preening and looking around. After sunset, it came into an open, treeless sandy area dominated by the herb Dipterygium glaucum and foraged until at least 18.16 hrs when it became too dark for us to follow it. Next morning we reached the spot an hour before sunrise and began trying to find the bird as soon as there was any light, but in spite of four hours’ search we could not locate it. The second observation, of an adult male on 23 January 1990, was more prolonged. We first saw the bustard at 07.15 hrs when it flew away, but at 08.05 hrs it was relocated and we followed it throughout the day (Figure 3). Until 10.00 hrs almost its whole time was spent foraging, but at 10.04 hrs it came to some shade and sat down for two minutes, after which it began loafing. Until 12.30 hrs it rested in the shade, sometimes moving slowly to a different resting spot, and intermittent periods of foraging, loafing, and resting were then observed until 17.00 hrs. During all this period, it remained in a small area of about 4 ha. In the late evening, it came out into a more open area and we watched it foraging very actively until it became too dark to see it. The proportion of time spent foraging (67%) appears high and might have been due either to the poor quality of the habitat or to the need of the bird (an adult male) to build up reserve fat for the breeding season. One day’s observation on a single bird, however, is hardly sufficient to draw any conclusions on this. During the day, goats came close to the bustard but it showed no alarm and continued either foraging or resting. A few times we saw it inflating its neck pouch and raising its crest feathers, but courtship display was not observed. 21 M. Shobrak and A. Rahmani | Sandgrouse 13 CONSERVATION The major causes of the Arabian Bustard’s decline in Saudi Arabia are illegal hunting and habitat degradation through overgrazing and wood cutting. Many previously undisturbed areas have become accessible to hunters through the construction of new roads, including the completion of the coast road from Jedda to Jizan, as well - as through the availability of four-wheel drive vehicles which have allowed hunters much easier access to more areas of the Tihamah. Unless these pressures are removed, the population has no chance of recovery. This study shows that the Arabian Bustard is not yet extinct in Saudi Arabia but is present, albeit in extremely low numbers, over a large part of the Tihamah. It seems that the birds are highly SS aes with one of the threats amah of Saudi Arabia Plate 5. Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs in the Ti to its survival—goats. (Mohammed Shobrak) mobile, moving from area to area, and although many species of bustard are nomadic, especially outside the breeding season, the wandering of the Tihamah population may be due to factors other the bird’s intrinsic nature: human disturbance and impoverishment of the habitat must be playing a major role. If some areas of 10-20 km* could be established where human disturbance is minimized and grazing is curtailed we are convinced that the bustard would colonize these sites and remain there. In such measures it would also very important to eliminate poaching. The NCWCD has taken our recommendations seriously: the Arabian Bustard is now listed as a protected species, and protected areas have been designated. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank firstly Dr A. Abuzinada, Secretary General of the NCWCD, without whose support this study would not have been possible. Furthermore we would like to thank Y. Wutaid from the NCWCD and A. R. Khoja, A. Boug, and P. Symens from the National 22 Sandgrouse 13 Arabian Bustard in Saudi Arabia Wildlife Research Center (Taif) for their help during the preparation for the surveys and in the actual field work. Dr J. Flamand, Dr H. Schulz, J. F. Asmodé, and P. Paillat are thanked for making corrections on a first draft of this paper. REFERENCES ALI, S. AND RIPLEY, S. D. (1969) Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan Vol. 1. Oxford University Press, Bombay. Bates, G. L. (1936) Birds of Jidda and central Arabia collected in 1934 and early in 1935, chiefly by Mr. Philby; with notes by H. St. J. B. Philby [part 4]. [bis (14) 1: 301-21. BROOKS, D. J., EVANS, M. I., MARTINS, R. P., AND PORTER, R. F. (1987) The status of birds in North Yemen and the records of OSME Expedition in autumn 1985. Sandgrouse 9: 4-66. CRAMP, S. AND SIMMONS, K. E. L. (eds) (1980) The Birds of the Western Palearctic Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. GASPERETTI, J. AND GASPERETTI, P. (1981) A note on Arabian ornithology; two endangered species. Fauna Saudi Arabia 3: 435-40. KING, B. (1978) April bird observations in Saudi Arabia. J. Saudi Arabian Nat. Hist. Soc. 21: 3-24. MEINERTZHAGEN, R. (1954) Birds of Arabia. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh. Popov, G., POSKIN, M., AND HARVEY, A. (1972) Jeddah. J. Saudi Arabian Nat. Hist. Soc. 1(3): 18. PORTER, R. F. AND Gorivp, P. D. (1985) Recommendations for Conservation of the Arabian Bustard and Houbara Bustard in Saudi Arabia. Report to IUCN, Switzerland. RAHMANT, A. (1989) The Great Indian Bustard. Report to Bombay Natural History Society. RAHMANI, A. AND SHOBRAK, M. (1987) Arabian Bustard survey—1987. NCWCD Tech. Rep. 1. Riyadh. SHOBRAK, M. AND RAHMANI, A. (1989) Progress Report Arabian Bustard Project. NCWCD, Riyadh. URBAN, E. K., Fry, C. H., AND KEITH, S. (1986) The Birds of Africa Vol. 2. Academic, London. YERBURY, J. W. (1886) On the birds of Aden and the neighbourhood, with notes by R. Bowdler-Sharpe. Ibis 5 (4): 11-24. Mohammed Shobrak, National Wildlife Research Center, PO Box 1086, Taif, Saudi Arabia. Asad Rahmani, Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Shahid Bhagat Singh Rd, Bombay 400 023, India. 23 Sandgrouse (1991) 13: 24-33. The autumn migration of the Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis GEOFF and HILARY WELCH Summary The two races of Steppe Eagle A. nipalensis have markedly different wintering areas: A. n. nipalensis migrates to the Indian subcontinent, A. n. orientalis to Africa. In the case of nipalensis, birds have been recorded migrating over the Himalayas, but little is yet known about the routes used or the number of birds involved. Recent work has shown that orientalis enters Africa at two points, the northern and southern ends of the Red Sea, with at least 150,000 birds reaching the continent each autumn. However, the routes from the breeding grounds to these two concentration points are still unknown. The possibilities are discussed, and the records available are reviewed with regard to the constraining topographical features. URING the last 25 years of research into raptor migration through the Middle East, the Steppe Eagle Aguila nipalensis has proved an intriguing species. Whilst many questions about field identification and concerning breeding and wintering areas have been answered, study of its migration routes has revealed the need for much more research. PROBLEMS OF STUDY The difficulties of studying this eagle remain very basic. Some indecision still lingers about whether the migratory Steppe Eagle merits full species status or whether it HH a lil 5 Me. ae Plate 1. Juvenile Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis, Djibouti, October. H Hilary Welch) (Geoff and 24 Sandgrouse 13 Autumn Migration of Steppe Eagle should remain lumped with the resident Tawny Eagle A. rapax, though consensus of opinion now seems inclined towards splitting the two. The Tawny Eagle is divided into three races, A. r. rapax and A. r. belisarius breeding in Africa, and A. r. vindhiana of India and south-east Asia (Figure 1). The Steppe Eagle has two races, A. n. nipalensis, breeding from the Soviet Altai to Transbaikalia and Mongolia (and wintering in southern Asia where it overlaps with A. r. vindhiana), and A. n. orientalis, breeding from the Black Sea to the Kirgiz steppes (and wintering in Africa where it overlaps with the two resident Tawny Eagle races) (Cramp and Simmons 1980). The field identification of the two species, let alone the races, is so problematical that the field worker remains in difficulties, particularly in the wintering areas. It is only in the most recent field guides that both species are covered in any detail (Génsbel 1987; Hollom et al. 1988). The Steppe Eagle exhibits an array of plumages, varying with age and between individuals, and its size increases in a gradual cline from west to east across its range. Even greater plumage variation occurs in the Tawny Eagle. Apart from size, field differences between A. n. nipalensis and A. n. orientalis are almost non-existent (S. Christensen in litt.), and on the border between their breeding ranges, in an area extending from Iran to north-west India, it is therefore particularly difficult to assign birds to either race. \ 2 want 3 Wa. oy aS * eS PAROS SS aN - svt ROIS > ANUS ato e a ROKR RDO ROM ; SSB SOK OSSINING SOROS $ aS ¥ Dex DOK ZA SBC R < : DS GSAS NOS SENS See > ra ESAs 2 a . ) 4, SX AGE ANANG EAA Z Oa Nte ls . CSAS IRENE ELST ROOKIES OOM PROGRES SSC VRAIN SORES as ee Wintering A.nipalensis rare ay 7 / SENS Ser 3 Ss) Resident A rapax and/or A.nipalensis Figure 1. Distribution of Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis and Tawny Eagle A. rapax (modified from Cramp and Simmons 1980). 25 G. and H. Welch Sandgrouse 13 PATTERN OF MOVEMENTS The geographical dividing line between breeding nipalensis and orientalis is generally agreed to be in the region of the frontier between China and Kazakhstan, running up from the western end of the Himalayas and following the curves of the several mountain ridges to about 50°N. These mountains form a convenient physical barrier for ornithologists and taxonomists, but, since nipalensis has been recorded migrating over the Himalayas, they are evidently not an impassable barrier for the eagles. However, something must decide whether a bird winters in India or Africa, and the north-east to south-west sweep of these mountains would tend to channel the western birds (orientalis) on a long journey towards Africa, while the eastern birds (nipalensis) face the more daunting but somewhat shorter journey over the Himalayas. On these journeys both races would follow a south-west course. There is relatively little documentation of the journey made by A. n. nipalensis into India, but birds have been recorded using various Himalayan passes and also flying west along the southern slopes (Fleming 1983; Inskipp and Inskipp 1985). S. Christensen (in litt.) saw ‘thousands’ in this region in autumn 1985, following a SW/WSW course, and the largest passage yet recorded, 7,852, was west of Pokhara between 20 October and 7 November 1985 (de Roder 1989). The general paucity of records, however, is perhaps not surprising considering the very inhospitable terrain. By comparison, A. n. orientalis has been well studied. In trying to discover the routes used, it is important to identify features which might channel migrating birds and therefore make them visible to ground-based observers. High and extensive mountain ranges and wide expanses of open water are the principal physical obstacles, though regularly unfavourable weather conditions in an area could also influence the choice of route. Since it appears that the world’s highest mountains present an inconvenient but not impassable barrier to Steppe Eagles, it is unlikely that chains such as the Caucasus and Zagros would be sufficient to prevent migration altogether—though birds would probably still be funnelled by passes and river valleys. It would thus appear that the only real obstacles between the breeding grounds and Africa are large bodies of open water—Lake Balkhash, the Aral, Caspian, Black, and Red Seas, and the Arabian Gulf. Over the last 20 years ornithologists have searched for raptor migration concen- tration points in the region of these areas of water. Several have been found and, to varying extents, investigated, and the autumn details for sites relevant to the Steppe Eagle are summarised below and on Figure 2. (It should be noted that the status of Steppe Eagles observed in south-east Arabia has yet to be determined.) When comparing the figures it must be borne in mind that the species’ autumn migration takes place from late September to mid-December, with the peak occurring in late October and early November, so raptor counts carried out at some of the sites dealt with here were rather too early to give a real impression of the number of Steppe Eagles moving through. The locations are listed here by country, from north to south. Turkey Eastern Pontics: 434 counted 11-25 October 1977 (Beaman 1977). Bosphorus: none recorded 14 July to 8 November 1966 (Porter and Willis 1968). Iskenderun: none 26 Sandgrouse 13 Autumn Migration of Steppe Eagle e Bosphorus : Ar easiéen Pontics Vs HN Iskenderun Mediterranean ®SE Caspian v Lebanon Sea / vs Kfar Kasem as Ss Jordan & Iraq °o, \ Ss Suez eo Rect Kuwait _.. VJ wo \ | ee 4 4 aes \ Straits of Pe Ls : ¢ bee ) eee =) Ei men \ Yemen LR y ay rae, BNC @® None recorded = Less than 500 Bab-el-Mandeb & ~~ ae ma More than 1000 0, 500 km Figure 2. The autumn status of Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis at documented raptor migration sites in the Middle East. 2/ G. and H. Welch Sandgrouse 13 recorded 2 August to 23 September 1976 (Sutherland and Brooks 1981); this count was rather early, but even if birds occur the numbers are likely to be low (see figures from Kfar Kasem, below). Lebanon = Harissa area: 20 birds between 23 September and 5 Oct 1969 (Nielsen and Christensen 1970); another rather early count (but see Kfar Kasem). Israel Kfar Kasem: counts made from 1978, with a maximum of 456 between 26 August and 27 October 1987 (Dovrat 1982; E. Dovrat in litt.). Eilat: counts of 24,243 from 25 August to 30 November 1980, 12,199 from 16 October to 14 November 1986, and 1,093 from 15 September to 14 October 1987 (Shirihai 1982, 1987; H. Shirihai in litt.). Jordan/Iraq Iraq Expressway No. 1: on 11 October 1943 large numbers of ‘eagles’ resting alongside the road following an overnight sandstorm; only one specimen obtained, and identified as a probable Spotted Eagle A. clanga (Mackintosh 1949). Egypt Suez: counts of 64,880 from 4 September to 5 November 1981 (Bijlsma 1983) and 17,498 from 5 September to 26 November 1984 (van Diggelen et al. 1987). Kuwait 250 in one weekend is given as an indication of the scale of the movement (Clayton and Pilcher 1983). Ethiopia Central plateau of Eritrea: ‘in thousands’ in November, this including Lesser Spotted Eagles A. pomarina and some Spotted Eagles (Smith 1960). Northern Yemen Tihamah: 2,499 on nine days between 18 October and 18 November 1985 (Porter and Christensen 1987); ‘large’ numbers at Mafraq al Mukha on 26, 28, and 29 October and again on 3 November 1979, plus smaller numbers at other sites including At Turbah on the western end of the Hadramaut (Phillips 1982). Djibouti Bab-el-Mandeb: counts of 60,987 from 15 October to 1 November 1985 and 76,586 from 3 October to 9 November 1987 (Welch and Welch 1988). From this information it is evident that Steppe Eagle migration into the African continent is concentrated at two entry points, both by-passing the Red Sea—in the north via the land bridge at Eilat/Suez, and in the south via the short sea crossing available at Bab-el-Mandeb. It is possible that the birds recorded at Eilat do not fly towards Suez but instead move south through the Sinai to cross the Gulf of Suez in the region of Hurghada, 330 km south of Suez. This is a route which (in reverse) has been suggested for birds moving north in spring (Christensen et al. 1981), but as yet there have been no systematic observations in the area to confirm it in the autumn—though Meininger et al. (1981) found no passage there during three days in late October. However, it is certain that the Eilat/Suez stream is quite separate from that at Bab-el-Mandeb, and therefore—without taking unidentified Aquila eagles into account—the total number of Steppe Eagles entering Africa is an absolute minimum of 150,000. With Smith recording large numbers of Steppe Eagles in Eritrea in various autumns in 1942-8 and 1950-4 it would appear that birds from Eilat and Suez continue their southward journey by following the mountains bordering the Red Sea, travelling through Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Today, however, there is still 28 Sandgrouse 13 Autumn Migration of Steppe Eagle Plate 2. First-year Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis, Djibouti, January. (Geoff and Hilary Welch) no further detail available about the species’ dispersal into Africa, though the adults are known to winter generally further north than the immatures (Brown et al. 1982). The question now arises of what route is used by these 150,000 birds between leaving their breeding grounds and arriving at the Red Sea. NORTHERN RED SEA BIRDS Due to the eastern bias of the breeding range, one would not expect to find many Steppe Eagles using the east Mediterranean route, and this is supported by the findings in Turkey, Lebanon, and northern Israel (see above). As the breeding range abuts the northern edge of the Caucasus, however, one would expect some birds to migrate over or round this mountain range and it is therefore surprising that only small numbers have been recorded in the eastern Pontics. Have the birds which pass through Eilat and Suez crossed the Caucasus to the east of Pontics, or do they originate from further east still and pass round the south-east corner of the Caspian? A noteworthy feature of the observations made at Eilat is that the birds there are frequently recorded arriving from the south-east and leaving to the north-west (Figure 2). This heading, if continued, will take them round the head of the Gulf of Suez, though, as mentioned above, it is possible that they turn south-west down the Sinai and cross the Gulf near Hurghada. Does the south-easterly derivation of the birds at Eilat mean that they have travelled on a south-westerly course from the southern Caspian, a course from which they turn when they see the head of the Gulf of Aqaba? Are the birds seen at Eilat a more eastern/southern arm of the -movement through Suez or are these two separate migrations? The Jordan/Iraq observation given above indicates a large broad-front movement through that central region, but whether the birds’ heading here is south or south-west is unknown. Studies of raptor migration in the area between the Caspian Sea and the Arabian 29 G. and H. Welch Sandgrouse 13. Gulf have so far only hinted at large-scale movements: one round the south-east corner of the Caspian (Rands et al. 1982) and the other round the north-west corner of the Gulf through Kuwait (Clayton and Pilcher 1983). With a landmass 750 km wide lying between these two waters a concentrated migration such as is found at Suez and the Bab-el-Mandeb straits is not to be expected, and thus the sizable figure of 250 Steppe Eagles in two days at Kuwait could be an indication of very large . numbers of birds rounding the top of the Gulf. However, whether such birds have arrived at Kuwait via an eastern route through the Caucasus or round the south-east tip of the Caspian is not known. The raptor route round the south-east Caspian was discovered on 11 October 1978, when 115 eagles, identified as Lesser Spotted, were counted in two hours (Rands et al. 1982). This is a surprisingly late migration date for Lesser Spotted Eagle, particularly so far north, and although no Steppe Eagles were identified on this occasion they have been recorded migrating through here in the spring (S. Christensen in litt.). When one considers their breeding range and the fact that they also winter in this area it would seem likely that they also occur on migration; the scale of any movement, however, remains to be discovered. SOUTHERN RED SEA BIRDS Present understanding of the situation at the northern end of the Red Sea may seem still to leave many loose ends, but in the south there remains even more scope for speculation on the route(s) used. With about half of the breeding range of A. n. orientalis lying to the east of the Aral Sea it would seem likely that these more eastern birds will have a correspondingly more easterly migration route and enter Africa via the Bab-el-Mandeb. Taking the various waterbodies into account, the birds have a choice of three routes: 1. North of the Caspian and through the Caucasus. On the face of it, unlikely to be used by this population as it would involve flying due west for approximately 2,600 km, and would ultimately make crossing into Africa via Suez rather than the Bab-el-Mandeb more likely for the vast majority of birds. This route is likely to be used only by the more westerly breeding birds. 2. Through the gap between the Caspian Sea and the Arabian Gulf. 3. Across the Arabian Gulf at the Straits of Hormuz, a water crossing of approximately 40 km. With no documented observations from the region north and east of Kuwait only circumstantial evidence exists for routes 2 and 3. The Steppe Eagles seen at Kuwait are likely to have arrived ron the east— supporting the use of route 2—but may also comprise birds which have passed through the eastern (or even central) Caucasus. There is little likelihood of a due west route from Kuwait to Eilat, so these birds probably go on to enter Africa via the Bab-el-Mandeb or to winter in the Arabian peninsula. In northern Yemen good numbers of Steppe Eagles have been recorded on active migration along the edge of the Tihamah (see above), and if a suitable count site could be located here it would probably be found that many thousands of raptors 30 Sandgrouse 13 Autumn Migration of Steppe Eagle pass through (Porter and Christensen 1987). These birds may have come via Kuwait, from the central or eastern Caucasus, or they may have overshot from the Eilat/Suez route. Whatever their origin, however, most or all presumably go on to cross the Bab-el-Mandeb straits. The Steppe Eagle winters widely in the Arabian peninsula, being classed as fairly common in Oman (Gallagher and Woodcock 1980), very common in the central region around Riyadh (Stagg 1987), and present in large numbers in south-west Saudi Arabia (Stagg 1984). The south-west Arabian birds could arrive by any of the routes listed above for northern Yemen, but birds wintering in Oman are only likely to have reached the region via the Straits of Hormuz—despite the fact that birdwatchers in Oman have found no evidence of Steppe Eagle migration through the adjacent Musandam peninsula. The presence of birds in Oman from September onwards indicates an active arrival rather than a general dispersal through the Arabian peninsula. Additionally, the alternative, a south-east course from Kuwait, seems much less likely. Plate 3. Adult Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis, Djibouti, October. (Geoff and Hilary Welch) Many feel that the 40-km crossing of the Straits of Hormuz would be avoided by a bird as large as a Steppe Eagle (compared with 30 km across the southern end of the Gulf of Suez in Egypt and 20-27 km at Bab-el-Mandeb). However, Meinertz- hagen (1954) believed that an eagle loses 1 m of height in a 10-m glide, so in order to cover 40 km over water an eagle would need to attain an initial height of 4,000 m, assuming no active flying is undertaken—not an excessive height for a large migrating raptor. Moreover, a Steppe Eagle at Eilat was seen to lose a maximum of only 100 m in height during a glide of 7 km (S. Christensen in litt.), and, as large raptors do frequently flap while on migration, departure heights could in fact be much lower. Other evidence of a Hormuz crossing is as follows: 1. With the increased military traffic over the straits there were reports of collisions between planes and ‘large brown birds’ in September 1987 31 G. and H. Welch | Sandgrouse 13, (General Cazaux, Commander of the French Armed Forces stationed in Djibouti, pers. comm.). 2. The stable and predictable weather conditions in this area gouley as at Bab-el-Mandeb, make the long crossing feasible. 3. Due to the shape of the straits there are many possible crossing points between Iran and Oman. A migration stream could therefore easily be missed by ground-based observers. Perhaps, though, the most convincing factor supporting the existence of a route here is simply that the straits lie directly in the path of a bird travelling on a south-west course (the shortest route) from Lake Balkhash, in the centre of the Steppe Eagle’s breeding range, to Africa via Djibouti. CONCLUSIONS Whatever one’s personal theories about raptor migration through the Middle East it is certain that there is still a great deal to be learned, particularly about the route preferences of individual species. To this end it would be very valuable if those interested in observing and counting raptors made an effort to identify further migration concentration points, in addition to continuing regular counts at known sites. Not only would this add to the information presently lacking about routes, but at such sites, where raptors are very vulnerable to human persecution, it may prove possible to mount educational campaigns, exploiting the tremendous spec- tacle of large-scale raptor migration for the good of the birds themselves. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper would not have been written without the encouragement of Hadoram Shirihai and the late Don Parr. We are grateful to Hadoram for reading an early draft, but our warmest thanks must go to Steen Christensen whose extensive, authoritative, and extremely helpful criticism improved the paper from start to finish. REFERENCES BEAMAN, M. (1977) Further news on raptor migration in the north east. Orn. Soc. Turkey Bull. 1529: BYLSMA, R. G. (1983) The migration of raptors near Suez, Egypt, autumn 1981. Sandgrouse 5: 19-44. BRowN, L. H., URBAN, E. K., AND NEWMAN, K. (1982) The Birds of Africa Vol. 1. Academic, London. CHRISTENSEN, S., Lou, O., MULLER, M., AND WOHLMUTH, H. (1981) The spring migration of raptors in southern Israel and Sinai. Sandgrouse 3: 1-42. CLAYTON, D. AND PILCHER, C. W. T. (1983) Kuwait's Natural History: an introduction. Kuwait Oil Company. CRAMP, S. AND SIMMONS, K. E. L. (eds) (1980) The Birds of the Western Palearctic Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. | DE RODER, [. E. (1989) The migration of raptors south of Annapurna, Nepal, autumn 1985. Forktail 4: 9-17. DovraT, E. (1982) Summary of 5 years survey of raptor migration at Kafer Kasem. Torgos 2 (1): 63-115. FLEMING, R. L., JR (1983) An east-west Aquila eagle migration in the Himalayas. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 80: 58-62. o2 Sandgrouse 13 Autumn Migration of Steppe Eagle GALLAGHER, M. D. AND WooDcock, M. W. (1980) The Birds of Oman. Quartet, London. GENSBOL, B. (1987) Collins Guide to the Birds of Prey of Britain and Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Collins, London. HO.LLoMm, P. A. D., PORTER, R. F., CHRISTENSEN, S., AND WILLIS, I. (1988) Birds of the Middle East and North Africa: a companion guide. Poyser, Calton. INskipp, C. AND INskipp, T. (1985) A Guide to the Birds of Nepal. Croom Helm, London. MACKINTOSH, D. R. (1949) The use of thermal currents by birds on migration. [bis 91: 55-9. MEINERTZHAGEN, R. (1954) Birds of Arabia. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh. MEININGER, P. L., BAHA EL DIN, S. M., AND MULLIE, W. C. (1981) Some notes on bird migration in the area of the Gulf of Suez (Egypt), autumn 1980. Sandgrouse 3: 84-6. NIELSEN, B. P. AND CHRISTENSEN, S. (1970) Observations on the autumn migration of raptors in the Lebanon. Ornis Scand. 1: 65-73. PHILLips, N. R. (1982) Observations on the birds of North Yemen in 1979. Sandgrouse 4: 37-59. PORTER, R. F. AND CHRISTENSEN, S. (1987) The autumn migration of raptors and other soaring birds in North Yemen. Sandgrouse 9: 121-4. PorTER, R. F. AND WILLIS, I. (1968) The autumn migration of soaring birds at the Bosphorus. Ibis 110: 520-36. RANDS, M. R. W., BOWDEN, C. G. R., AND NEwTON, P. N. (1982) An autumn movement of raptors at the southeast corner of the Caspian Sea. Orn. Soc. Middle East Bull. 8: 3. SHIRIHAI, H. (1982) The autumn migration of Steppe Eagles at Eilat, Israel, 1980. Sandgrouse 4: 108-9. SHIRIHAI, H. (1987) Eilat—an intercontinental highway for migrating raptors. In: Eilat: an Intercontinental Highway for Migrating Birds, 22-80. International Birdwatching Center Eilat. SMITH, K. D. (1960) The passage of Palearctic migrants through Eritrea. [bis 202: 536-44. STAGG, A. J. (1984) The Birds of S. W. Saudi Arabia: an annotated check-list. Stagg, Riyadh. STAGG, A. J. (1987) Birds of the Riyadh Region: an annotated check-list. Stagg, Riyadh. SUTHERLAND, W. J. AND BROOKS, D. J. (1981) The autumn migration of raptors, storks, pelicans and spoonbills at the Belen pass, southern Turkey. Sandgrouse 2: 1-21. VAN DIGGELEN, R., VISSER, J., VAN POELGEEST, R., VAN Os, B. L. J., WALKENBURG, C., OOSTERVELD, E., AND ESSELINK, H. (1987) Raptor migration over Suez in the autumn of 1984. Unpublished. WELCH, G. R. AND WELCH, H. J. (1988) The autumn migration of raptors and other soaring birds across the Bab-el-Mandeb straits. Sandgrouse 10: 26-50. Geoff and Hilary Welch, Minsmere Reserve, Westleton, Saxmundham, Suffolk IP17 3BY, UK. 33 Sandgrouse (1991) 13: 34-41. Notes on the autumn raptor migration over the Lebanon in 1981 NABIL H. KHAIRALLAH Summary Autumn raptor migration along the Lebanon mountain range was investigated between 20 August and 15 October 1981. Migration of soaring species occurred in streams from north to south, mainly following the western slopes of the Lebanon range along a broad front and avoiding the coastal plain and the mountain peaks. Evidence for foraging by migrating raptors was obtained for Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina and Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni but not for Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus. Such foraging was only observed in areas with a low human population density. There was no clear evidence for weather affecting the passage. HE ROUTES used by raptors on autumn migration from the Bosphorus over the Levant to Suez have been well defined for most countries apart from Syria and the Lebanon (Bijlsma 1987). Here information is still scanty, with only two reports for Syria (Pyman 1953; Macfarlane 1978), and a few reports and short-term studies for the Lebanon (Cameron et al. 1967; Nielsen and Christensen 1969, 1970; Vere Benson 1970; Macfarlane 1978)—so a systematic study extending over a number of years was planned for the Lebanon and started in 1981. The aims were: 1. To quantify the raptor migration over the western slopes of the Lebanon range, since most previous observations were made from these slopes. The results would be used as a baseline for future comparison purposes. 2. To define the major routes taken by the birds. 3. To observe some of the habits of migrating raptors focusing mainly on feeding strategies and the effect of the prevailing weather conditions. However, due to conditions beyond my control this project had to be aborted after only one season of observations. The results of the baseline study have been published elsewhere (Khayrallah 1985), while the results obtained under aims 2 and 3 (above) are presented here. GEOGRAPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS Lebanon is situated where bird migration routes between three continents converge. Topographically it consists of a narrow coastal plain and two main parallel mountain chains, the Lebanon and Antilebanon ranges, separated by the flat Bequaa valley (Figure 1). All these features run in a north-south direction and form well-defined potential pathways for raptor migration. The Lebanon range rises for the most part directly from the sea, attaining a height of 1,800-3,100 m, and tapers off gradually towards the south. The southernmost point of the Antilebanon is the highest of that range, attaining over 2,800 m at Mount Hermon; towards the north there are many peaks of over 2,000 m until the range tapers off in a north-easterly direction. Deep valleys are furrowed into and all along the wetter 34 Sandgrouse 13 Raptor Migration in Lebanon Tripoli oo MEDITERRANEAN S we ee. Cedar Mountain A 3093 Jounieh e Harissa Beirut ‘e Mt Knisee e CO Jamhour Chtoura % oleae Dahr-el-Bidar Xe @ Damascus AB Mt Hermon, 2814 Figure 1. Lebanon, showing sites mentioned in the text and in other raptor migration literature. Altitudes are in metres. 35 western face of the Lebanon range, mainly due to the predominance of limestone in the geological constitution of the country. The sides of these valleys provide. good thermal-generating areas and in places excellent updraughts of air occur which are used by the migrating raptors to gain height. Consequently, watching from one of these ridges is ideal, with birds tending to arrive quite low then to stay for a while to soar before continuing south. METHODS The tourist town of Bhamdoun (elevation 1,100 m) was chosen as the location for the baseline study, being well placed on the ridge-top of the southern slope of the huge Beirut valley, facing north. The study ran from 20 August to 15 October 1981 and daily observation, with myself as the sole observer, was maintained from dawn to dusk. This intensive observation programme resulted in days of forced absence (the most important of which was 14 September). 8-1750 zoom binoculars were used, birds being counted as they glided off the top of the soaring flocks. In every case, flock composition, route taken, and time of passage were noted, plus any additional points of interest. All birds counted were considered migrants, as their flight exhibited all the characteristics of purposeful migratory flight and it was known that this area did not boast any breeding or resident raptors. Porter et al. (1967) was the main reference source for identification, though Vere Benson (1970), Heinzel et al. (1977), and Cramp and Simmons (1980) were also consulted. This part of the study had its limitations due to a variety of reasons, the most significant of which was the distance of birds from the observation point both horizontally and vertically. Very high flying birds could easily have been missed, as some eagles were detected only when passing within the binocular field while lower birds were being watched. Three subsidiary localities, for the survey of possible routes and for behavioural observations, were selected to form a near east-west transect across the Lebanon range. Sites were each visited on five dates, with observations conducted from dawn to dusk. They are listed here from west to east: Jamhour Elevation 250 m. A village on the outskirts of Baabda lying on the main Beirut to Damascus road. Visited on 26 August, 2, 17, and 29 September, and 9 October. Observations were made from the main road overlooking the Beirut river, facing north. Dahr-el-Bidar Elevation 1,600 m. Rugged unpopulated scrubland, visited on 31 August, 12 and 18 September, and 2 and 12 October. Observations were made from a pass between Mount Knisee and Mount Barouk, overlooking the Bequaa valley. Amick area. Elevation 950 m. Mostly marshland with extensive reedbeds, surrounded by flat arable fields bounded by the great Lebanon range to the west. Visited on 29 August, 14 and 21 September, and 6 October. Observations were made from fields around the marshes. 36 RESULTS Passage over Bhamdoun A detailed description of these results is given in Khayrallah (1985), but relevant points are included here for the sake of clarity. The migration pattern was predominantly north to south, and in all 16,703 birds of 26 species were counted (Table 1). Four species made up at least 96% of the passage: Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus (80-:0%), Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes (12:-4%), Lesser Spotted Eagle Aguila pomarina (2:2%), and Buzzard Buteo buteo (1-3%). Honey Buzzards clearly dominated the migration overall, though their passage was concentrated, with about 75% of the total of this species being recorded during two periods a week apart: 5-6 September and 12-15 September. There was a decrease in the number of individuals and an increase in the number of species passing as the study progressed. The Honey Buzzards were the earliest migrants while Levant Sparrowhawks peaked around 19-23 September, with Lesser Spotted Eagles trailing into October. Table 1. Numbers of raptor species recorded at Bhamdoun (Lebanon), 20 August to 15 October 1981. Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus 13,364 Long-legged Buzzard B. rufinus 95 Unidentified Pernis/Buteo 145 Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina 373 Black Kite Milvus migrans 13 Spotted EagleA. clanga 9 Red Kite M. milvus 5 Steppe Eagle A. nipalensis 17 Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus 16 Imperial Eagle A. heliaca 56 Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus 53 Unidentified eagles Aquila 77 Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus 6 Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus 21 Hen Harrier C. cyaneus 5 Bonelli’s Eagle H. fasciatus 13 Pallid Harrier C. macrourus 1 Osprey Pandion haliaetus 1 Montagu’s Harrier C. pygargus 1 Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 4 Unidentified harriers Circus 6 Red-footed Falcon F. vespertinus 2 Goshawk Accipiter gentilis 12 Merlin F. columbarius 1 Sparrowhawk A. nisus 85 Hobby F. subbuteo 11 Levant Sparrowhawk A. brevipes 2,066 Peregrine F. peregrinus 2 Buzzard Buteo buteo 221 Unidentified falcons Falco 22 Total 16,703 Migration at the subsidiary sites Jamhour 26 August. No migrants. 2 September. No migrants. 17 September. 257 Honey Buzzards. 29 September. 36 Buzzards Buteo buteo, seven Lesser Spotted Eagles, three Kestrels Falco tinnunculus, and a Hobby Falco subbuteo. 9 October. Seven Lesser Spotted Eagles, three Buteo, and a falcon Falco. These results indicate some passage here, with a suggestion of an increase in the numbers of individuals and of species as the season progressed. The birds seen oF were widely scattered, not in concentrated streams, but nevertheless exhibited all the signs of purposeful migratory flight. : Dahr-el-Bidar 31 August. No migrants. 12 September. No migrants. , 18 September. One Lesser Spotted Eagle hunting and two more possibly so. 2 October. Four Buzzards hovering, flying, or perched. 12 October. No migrants. In addition, a few Kestrels, not obviously migrating, were recorded on each date. There was no sign of passage streams here on the spine of the Lebanon range, which might suggest that Dahr-el-Bidar is used by migrants only for feeding and resting. Amick 29 August. No migrants. 3 September. One Honey Buzzard flying low at 08.10 hours. 14 September. 215 Honey Buzzards in two soaring flocks, plus other scattered groups; a male Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus was found shot; three large falcons were seen. 21 September. Small groups of migrating Honey Buzzards passed all day; 27 Lesser Kestrels Falco naumanni were hunting, and they and three Honey Buzzards roosted in a nearby plantation of poplars Populus. 6 October. Several single Buzzards. This demonstrates a small raptor passage in progress on the eastern side of the Lebanon range. In addition, a few non-migrating Kestrels were present on most days. Foraging strategies My observations were in line with those published elsewhere (e.g. Brown 1976) which indicate that migrating raptors follow two different feeding strategies: 1. The smaller species, which rely less on soaring (harriers, sparrowhawks Accipiter, falcons), feed frequently en route and/or at dusk. 2. The larger raptors fast for long periods, but when favourable areas are met they may spend some time replenishing their fat reserves before moving on. It was noted that those birds hunting during the daytime (Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle, and Kestrel at Dahr-el-Bidar, Kestrel and harriers at Amick) were selecting relatively large prey (small mammals). Birds feeding intensively at dusk on the other hand (Lesser Kestrel, Kestrel, and Montagu’s Harrier, mostly at Amick) were taking smaller items (large insects) which can be particularly abundant at that time of year. Though Honey Buzzards are specialized ground feeders and thus not easily observed hunting,’it may be that they do not stop to feed at all, since, in spite of the large numbers seen in this study, they were never observed hunting either at dawn or at dusk, while during the day their flight was characteristic of active migrants. 38 — cy ba) Effect of weather The weather was generally warm, clear, and calm, with light breezes and some haze, though during the latter part of the study it became cool with some cloud cover. There were also days with morning mist or fog, and four days when east to north-east winds were blowing. During days of strong wind or fog, the recorded passage was subdued or greatly reduced (Table 2). Birds were noted to adopt diverse behavioural tactics in attempts to alleviate the extremes of wind conditions. On days with south to south-west winds, the few Table 2. Relationship of raptor passage to weather at Bhamdoun (Lebanon), 1981. No. of No. of Date Weather birds species 30 Aug Hot, calm, clear 66 1 1 Sep Hot, calm, clear 627 3 3 Hot, calm, clear 236 1 Hot, calm, clear, slight haze 2 2 3) Hot, calm, clear, slight haze 3,182 5 6 Hot, calm, clear 1,308 4 7 Hot, NE wind, thick fog (below observation point) 646 3 8 Hot, strong NE wind, clear 5 | 9 Hot, calm, haze 161 4 10 Cool, calm, fog a — 11 Cool, calm, haze 698 4 12 Warm, calm, haze 1,041 1 13 Cool, calm, clear 2,074 10 15 Warm, calm, clear, slight haze 2,432 12 16 Coolish, calm, haze 270 rf 18 Coolish, calm, haze then clear 194 6 19 Cool, calm, clear 967 12 20 Warm, calm, clear 910 15 22 Warm, calm, clear 273 14 23 Warm, calm, clear 265 11 24 Warm, E wind developing, clear 142 4 25 Warm, strong, NE wind, clear 6 4 26 Warm, calm, haze, no cloud Zor 9 27 Warm, calm, cloud 143 12 28 Warm, calm, cloud, haze fs) 3 30 Cool, calm, clear 4 2 1 Oct Cool, calm, clear 1 1 3 Cool, calm, fog 189 13 4 Cool, calm, haze 133 11 S Cool, calm, clear 74 1 7 Cool, calm, clear 19 6 8 Cool, calm, clear 124 9 10 Cool, calm, clear 6 4 11 Cool, calm, clear 9 5 13. Cool, calm, clear — _— 14 Cool, calm, clear — — 15 Cool, calm, clear — — 3g birds passing flew very close to the ground and with extreme difficulty—thus presenting very easy targets to the ever-present shooters (for a discussion of the extent of such hunting in the Lebanon, see Bijlsma 1987). On one day with an east wind, however, a Honey Buzzard was seen to soar at the usual height, maintaining the proper heading, and at a safe distance from the ground. It appeared that birds flew over ground of lower elevation on cool days or at dusk, when the lifting power generated by thermals was reduced. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS The results of the baseline study (Khayrallah 1985; Table 1) showed some similarity in species composition with those given for the Bosphorus (Porter and Willis 1968; Fisher and Walsh 1976; Somcag 1981), the Belen pass in southern Turkey (Sutherland and Brooks 1981), and Kafer Kasem in northern Israel (Dovrat 1982), suggesting that Bhamdoun lies on the general route followed by birds crossing the Bosphorus. However, the larger proportion of Honey Buzzards in Lebanon than in the more northerly counts cited above may indicate that raptors from other routes such as the eastern coast of the Black Sea (Bijlsma 1987) are using the Levant in their southward migration; this hypothesis has also been used to explain the phenomenal numbers of Lesser Spotted Eagles passing over northern Israel as described by Dovrat in 1983 (see Porter 1984). Previous observations in the Lebanon have been too incomplete for detailed comparison with the present study, though data on species composition appear to be consistent. The low numbers of migrating raptors over the Bequaa (as observed in this study and others: Cameron et al. 1967; Macfarlane 1978) and over Dahr-el- Bidar, and the much higher numbers over Bhamdoun and Jamhour, suggest that the birds migrate on a wide front over the western slopes of the Lebanon range, avoiding the coastal strip and higher ridges of the mountains. As already mentioned, these streams of birds may possibly be joined by raptors from more eastern routes, perhaps crossing over the low passes between the mountain peaks (see also Pyman 1953, Macfarlane 1978), although this phenomenon was not observed at the pass of Dahr-el-Bidar during this study. As a feeding ground, the Bequaa valley appeared to be attractive to solitary, agile species with low dependence on thermals, such as harriers and falcons, but not to sparrowhawks, however, which are rarely recorded outside the wooded regions prevailing on the western slopes of the Lebanon range. The latter fact may indicate that the availability of habitat and therefore of prey is important to the smaller raptors which require to feed frequently during migration (though no evidence of Levant Sparrowhawks feeding was found during the present study). Reports relating raptor movements to weather conditions are varied. Steinfatt (1932), Nisbet and Smout (1957), Cameron et al. (1967), and Flaxman (1982) did not find any obvious link between the two. However, Sutherland and Brooks (1981), Bijlsma (1983), and Porter and Beaman (1983) suggested that weather had some influence on passage. I feel that point observation studies such as that made from Bhamdoun are bound to be affected by the prevailing weather, and that local conditions, if unfavourable, might divert the raptor stream over different areas or 40 VUMLUZTUMSE 19 INUPTOP LVILXTULLOTE LTE LeOUror suppress it altogether. The limited evidence found in this study for the suppression of migration by fog is equivocal, since the passage could well be maintained above the fog, e.g. on 7 September birds were seen to break through the morning mist in the valley below and soar to gliding height in clear weather. REFERENCES BYLSMA, R. G. (1983) The migration of raptors near Suez, Egypt, autumn 1981. Sandgrouse 5: 19-44. BYLSMA, R. G. (1987) Bottleneck areas for migratory birds in the Mediterranean region. ICBP Study Rep. 18. BROWN, L. (1976) Birds of Prey: their biology and ecology. Hamlyn, London. CAMERON, R. A. D., CORNWALLIS, L., PERCIVAL, M. J. L., AND SINCLAIR, A. R. E. (1967) The migration of raptors and storks through the Near East in autumn. [bis 109: 489-500. DovraT, E. (1982) Summary of 5 years survey of raptor migration at Kafer Kasem. Torgos 2: 63-115. FISHER, D. J. AND WALSH, T. A. (1976) Autumn migration of soaring birds at the Bosphorus. Rep. Orn. Exped. Turkey 8 July—1 October 1974, 21-4. FLAXMAN, E. W. (1982) Observations of raptor migration in Jordan, May 1982. Orn. Soc. Middle East Bull. 9: 4-5. KHAYRALLAH, N. H. (1985) Raptor migration over Bhamdoun, Lebanon; autumn 1981. Leb. Sci. Buli. 1 (1): 73-81. MACFARLANE, A. M. (1978) Autumn migration of raptors through Lebanon (1974-75). Field notes on the birds of Lebanon and Syria, 1974-77. Army Bird-Watching Soc. Per. Publ. 3: 3640. NIELSEN, B. P. AND CHRISTENSEN, S. (1969) On the autumn migration of spotted eagles and buzzards in the Middle East. Ibis 111: 620-1. NIELSEN, B. P. AND CHRISTENSEN, S. (1970) Observations on the autumn migration of raptors in the Lebanon. Ornis Scand. 1: 65-73. NissBet, I. C. T. AND SMouT, T. C. (1957) Autumn observations on the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. [bis 99: 483-99. Porter, R. F. (1984) Autumn raptor migration through Israel. Orn. Soc. Middle East Bull. 13: 12-13. PORTER, R. F. AND BEAMAN, M. A. S. (1983) A resumé of raptor migration in Europe and the Middle East. World Working Group on Birds of Prey Bull. 1: 144-51. PORTER, R. F. AND WILLIS, I. (1968) The autumn migration of soaring birds at the Bosphorus. Ibis 110: 520-36. PYMAN, G. A. (1953) Autumn raptor migration in the eastern Mediterranean. Ibis 95: 550-1. SOMCAG, S. (1981) Autumn migration over the Bosphorus. Orn. Soc. Middle East Bull. 6: 6. STEINFATT, O. (1932) Der Bosphorus als landbrticke fiir den vogelzug zwischen Europa und Kleinasien. J. Orn. 80: 354-83. SUTHERLAND, W. J. AND BROOKS, D. J. (1981) The autumn migration of raptors, storks, pelicans and spoonbills at the Belen pass, southern Turkey. Sandgrouse 2: 1-21. VERE BENSON, S. (1970) Birds of Lebanon and the Jordan Area. Mackay, Chatham. Nabil H. Khairallah, 37 South Drive, St Catharines, Ontario L2R 4V1, Canada. 4] NOTES A record of Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis from Turkey GERNANT MAGNIN N MAY 1990 the Bird Section of DHKD (Society for the Protection of Nature) received a photograph, taken in late April 1990 in southern Turkey, of a Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis. This is the first substantiated Turkish record of the species this century, though, because of the risk of disturbance by birdwatchers, or even by egg or skin collectors, the exact location of the record is being withheld. Plate 1. Captive Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis taken in Adana area (Turkey), April 1990. (Hasim Kiltc) In the late nineteenth century, G. Schrader, collecting in southern Turkey, is said by Kumerloeve (1961) to have received four specimens of Brown Fish Owl—three from wooded gorges near Mersin and one from a deep gorge near Aydin, and although Kumerloeve does not give the subsequent history of these specimens there seems no particular reason to doubt the records. The origin of the statement by Hollom et al. (1988) that there are old records from bird markets in Adana is now unclear and may be an error (P. A. D. Hollom in litt.). Kumerloeve (1961) also says that in June 1953, in natural forest between Haruniye and Dumanli he found (apparent) pellets containing remains of freshwater crabs Potamon fluviatile, and he considered that the pellets might have been those of a Brown Fish Owl; Mikkola (1983), however, states that the Eagle Owl Bubo bubo will also eat crabs. Kumerloeve The inclusion of colour plates has been subsidized by Subbuteo Natural History Books Ltd 42 DEMUXZTOUMOE LO INOLTES (1970) refers to sight records in 1965 and 1967 by Rothmann et al., but these concern observations of large flying owls in assumed Brown Fish Owl habitat and would probably not meet today’s expected standards for the substantiation of records (R. P. Martins. in litt.). I was able to travel to the site of the new record on 22-23 June, and there I surveyed the presumed habitat and talked to the fisherman who had caught the owl. The bird had been taken in late April 1990, on a line with baited hooks that was put out one night at 22.00 hrs and checked the following morning. The owl had swallowed a fish that was hooked on the line and was found perched in a tree with the line hanging from its bill. The fisherman was not able to remove the hook and so cut the line. The owl did not feed during captivity and was released one week later some 20 km away on the same river. The fisherman claimed that he had shot a bird of the same species about 20 years ago, less than 1 km downstream, but otherwise he, and other locals I interviewed, had never seen any such bird, and he was not familiar with any call which he might associate with it. The pictures of the bird were taken by a DHKD member, Hasim Kilic, who happened to be in the area. The owl was said to be 40-50 cm long and the photographs identify it clearly as a Ketupa. Two south-east Asian species, Tawny Fish Owl K. flavipes and Buffy Fish Owl K. ketupu, are very similar to Brown Fish ! Owl; the possibility of either of them occurring as escapes must be extremely remote, but in any case they differ in various details from the bird photographed, and in particular both lack the faint fine barring on the chest feathers. The owl was caught on one of the large rivers in the Adana region at an altitude of 170 m. The area is characterized by natural pine Pinus forests, with little or no Plate 2. Presumed habitat of Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis, Adana area (Turkey). The bird was actually caught a few kilometres downstream from this spot. (Gernant Magnin) 43 Notes : Sandgrouse 13 riparian vegetation, and the steep mountains immediately adjacent to the river leave no space to follow it upstream on foot for more than the 3 km which I searched. Several smaller streams join the river within this length. During two nights and early mornings I walked along the river, both up- and downstream of the place where the owl had been caught, but without result. Under and on a small outcrop in a cliff on the other side of the river I noticed droppings, but it was impossible to cross the river to investigate this further. At just the place where the Brown Fish Owl was caught a dam is under construction which, when finished, is likely to put the Brown Fish Owl at risk—if, as seems likely, a breeding population exists here. With the possible exception of south-west Iran, from where there are some old records (Hollom et al. 1988), the -only other known breeding area in the Middle East is Israel, and a recent survey indicated that the species may well be extinct there now (Schluter 1987, 1988). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to Vincent van den Berk, Gunter Groh, Rod Martins, and Richard Porter for replying to my request concerning unpublished data on Ketupa zeylonensis. Richard Porter commented on an early draft of this article, and Duncan Brooks and P. R. Colston kindly compared photographs of the owl with skins in the collection of the British Museum (Natural History). REFERENCES HOLLoM, P. A. D., PORTER, R. F., CHRISTENSEN, S., AND WILLIS, I. (1988) Birds of the Middle East and North Africa: a companion guide. Poyser, Calton. KUMERLOEVE, H. (1961) Zur Kenntnis der Avifauna Kleinasiens. Bonner Zool. Beitr. 12 suppl. KUMERLOEVE, H. (1970) Anadolu ve Trakya Bélgesi Kuslari. Istanbul University. MIKKOLA, H. (1983) Owls of Europe. Poyser, Calton. SCHLUTER, P. (1987) The Brown Fish Owl (Ketupa zeylonensis) in Israel. Torgos 6 (2): 5-16, 119. SCHLUTER, P. (1988) The Brown Fish Owl in Israel. Israel Land Nat. 13: 168-76. G. Magnin, Dogal Hayat: Koruma Dernegi, Pk 18, 80810 Bebek—Istanbul, Turkey. A specimen record of Shikra Accipiter badius for Saudi Arabia WILLIAM S. CLARK and ROSEMARY PARSLOW HE RANGE of the Shikra Accipiter badius includes southern Asia and most of tropical Africa south of the Sahara (Wattel 1973; Cramp and Simmons 1980). Its Asian range extends barely into the west Palearctic in Azerbaijan, where there are several breeding records (Cramp and Simmons 1980), and there are recently discovered breeding populations on the Raydah escarpment in south-west Saudi Arabia (Symens in press) and in Yemen (Brooks et al. 1987; R. P. Martins pers. comm.). However, there are no records for the rest of Arabia, though there is a vagrant record from Israel (Labinger et al. 1991). While looking at specimens of Levant Sparrowhawks A. brevipes in the British Museum (Natural History) at Tring, we found a specimen of an adult female Shikra 44 Sandgrouse 13 Notes that had been mislabelled as a Levant Sparrowhawk. This specimen, numbered 1938.10.18.108, had been collected at Riyadh in east-central Saudi Arabia on 18 October 1938. It was almost identical to adult female specimens of Shikra, particularly those of the race cenchroides, except that its breast-barring was a bit darker. The definitive character is that the specimen has primary 6 (numbering from innermost) emarginated on the outer web; this feather is not emarginated on Levant Sparrowhawk but is on Shikra. In addition, the back colour of the specimen was pearly-grey with a brownish cast; adult female Levant Sparrowhawk’s back colour is medium grey also with a brownish cast. Finally, the central tail feathers were pearly-grey with several dark spots; those of adult female Levant Sparrowhawk are a distinctly darker colour and have dark brown bands that extend across the feathers. The wing measurement of the specimen, 215 mm, is outside the range of 224-242 mm we measured on 25 adult female Levant Sparrowhawks captured at Eilat (Israel) (for details see Clark et al. 1986). Wattel (1973) mentions that the bill and hind claw of the Asian races of Shikra are relatively larger than those of Levant Sparrowhawk: the bill of the specimen measured 16 mm and the hind claw 18 mm; the respective measurements of 25 adult female Levant Sparrowhawks at Eilat were 13-2-15-1 mm and 13-2-15-5 mm. The specimen has a distinct dark central throat-stripe. Cramp and Simmons (1980) state that such a mark on an adult eliminates Levant Sparrowhawk, but our experience from handling birds in Israel (Clark et al. 1986) is that many adult Levant Sparrowhawks also have a noticeable stripe. We also found a photograph of a juvenile Shikra that had been mislabelled ‘Sparrowhawk’ on page 33 of Silsby (1980); no date or locality is given, though presumably the photograph was taken somewhere in Saudi Arabia. The bird is a juvenile just beginning to moult into adult plumage, and most of its underparts are heavily streaked longitudinally; the underparts of juvenile Levant Sparrowhawk usually appear more spotted, while juvenile Sparrowhawk A. nisus is barred below. The eye colour of the bird in the photograph is yellow-orange; Levant Sparrowhawk juveniles have a medium brown iris, whereas Shikra’s is yellow, darkening to orange-red in adult males. The breeding Shikras of south-west Saudi Arabia and Yemen seem likely to be of the African race A. b. sphenurus, though this is not the identity of the Riyadh specimen. Its measurements are too large for any race except A. b. cenchroides, which ranges during breeding from Pakistan to north-west Iran (Wattel 1973; Brown et al. 1982). Wattel (1973) and Cramp and Simmons (1980) categorize this race as migratory but state that it moves south-east into Pakistan and India in winter. From the existence of the Saudi Arabian specimen, however, it would appear that some cenchroides move south or south-west on their autumn migrations and pass into | Arabia where they have most likely been assumed to be Levant Sparrowhawks or have been overlooked altogether. Birders in Saudi Arabia should familiarize _ themselves with the differences between Shikra and Levant Sparrowhawk and should scrutinize closely all hawks encountered. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank the staff of the British Museum (Natural History) for their assistance during our visits. 45 Notes Sandgrouse 13 REFERENCES BROOKS, D. J., EVANS, M. I., MARTINS, R. P., AND PORTER, R. F. (1987) The status of birds in North Yemen and the records of OSME Expedition in autumn 1985. Sandgrouse 9: 4-66. BROWN, L., URBAN, E. K., AND NEWMAN, K. (1982) The Birds of Africa Vol. 1. Acsdera London. CLARK, W., DurFy, K., GORNEY, E., MCGRADY, M., AND SCHULTZ, C. (1986) Raptor ringing at Eilat, Israel. Sandgrouse 7: 21-8. CRAMP, S. AND SIMMONS, K. E. L. (1980) The Birds of the Western Palearctic Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. LABINGER, Z., GORNEY, E., AND PARSLOW, R. ( 1991) First record of Shikra Accipiter badius in Israel. Sandgrouse 13: 46-9. SILSBY, J. ( 1980) ) Inland Birds of Saudi Arabia. lmmel, London. SYMENS, P. (in press) Notes on the birds of NCWCD protected areas of south-west Saudi Arabia. Sandgrouse. WATITEL, J. (1973) Geographical differentiation in the genus Accipiter. Publ. Nuttall Orn. Club. 13. W. S. Clark, 4554 Shetland Green Rd, Alexandria, Virginia 22312, USA. R. Parslow, 48 Main St, Woodnewton, Peterborough PE8 5EB, UK. First record of Shikra Accipiter badius in Israel ZEV LABINGER, EDNA GORNEY, and ROSEMARY PARSLOW N 16 APRIL 1987 at Eilat in southern Israel an adult female Shikra Accipiter badius was captured during a raptor migration ringing project (Clark et al. 1986). The bird (first reported by Labinger et al. 1988) superficially resembled an adult female Levant Sparrowhawk A. brevipes,-which is the most common migrating Accipiter in this region (425 ringed up to 1988), but, fortunately, differences were readily apparent: orange-yellow irides and a prominent black throat-stripe. Positive identification, however, was ultimately based on the wing formula described in detail below, and examination of specimens of both species in the British Museum (Natural History) at Tring further confirmed these diagnostic characters. Size and structure. Similar in size to a female Levant Sparrowhawk with noticeably thicker tarsi (not measured). The tail was slightly longer in proportion to the wing—79-5% of the wing measurement, compared to a maximum of 75-0% in 57 adult female Levant Sparrowhawks captured in Israel (Table 1). The wing formula differed from that of Levant Sparrowhawk in Table 1. Measurements of an adult female Shikra Accipiter badius (16 April 1987) and of 57 adult female Levant Sparrowhawks A. brevipes captured at Eilat (Israel). All measurements are in mm; for Levant Sparrowhawk, figures are mean and range. Shikra Levant Sparrowhawk Tail 178 166 (157-181) Hindclaw - 16-9 = 9(11-8-19-3) Wing 224 33 (220-247) Culmen 15-2 * 1 (12-8-19-1) Tail/wing (%) 795 71-3 (68-3-75-0) 46 Sandgrouse 13 Notes having primary number 6 (numbering from innermost) almost as long as primary 7 and with emargination on both inner and outer webs (in Levant Sparrowhaw k, primary 6 is midway in length between primaries 5 and 7, and has no emargination on the outer web: Figure 1). Plumage. The overall appearance was paler than most Levant Sparrowhawks due to the reddish barring of the breast and pale grey nape and back. A black throat-stripe was also quite noticeable (adult Levant Sparrowhawks can also show a faint throat-stripe, especially birds which have recently obtained most of their adult body plumage while still retaining some juvenile feathers). The tail was light grey above with sharply contrasting black bands except for the central pair of feathers which instead had small dark spots along their shafts (in Levant Sparrowhawk the tail is usually browner and less contrasty, with bands across all 12 feathers, though bands on the central feathers can be faint: personal observation of skins and trapped birds). Iris. Yellow-orange, actually more similar to adult male Sparrowhawk A. nisus than to adult Levant Sparrowhawk, most of which have deep wine-red irides. Brown and Amadon (1968) give the iris colour of Shikra as golden or red, and Cramp and Simmons (1980) say the irides of adult females are yellow. Two birds, a juvenile female and an adult male captured at Eilat in spring 1984, and identified at the time as Levant Sparrowhawks, were also noted as having orange and reddish-orange irides respectively. Both birds had tail/wing ratios within the range of Levant Sparrowhawk, but their identification is now in doubt. The range of the Shikra includes west-central Asia (west to northern Iran), India, south-east Asia, and most of Africa south of the Sahara (Wattel 1973; Cramp and Simmons 1980; Hollom et al. 1988), and breeding is now also known in south-west Arabia (Brooks et al. 1987; Symens in press; R. P. Martins pers. comm.). Given the large size of the individual we caught it is probably of the race cenchroides which breeds in the north-western part of the Asian range (Wattel 1973). Most individuals of this race are migratory, usually wintering in Pakistan and India (Cramp and Plate 1. Adult female Shikra Accipiter badius, Plate 2. Second-year male Levant Sparrow- Eilat (Israel), 16 April 1987. Note eye colour hawk Accipiter brevipes, in near-adult plumage and wing formula; primary 8 is only just but still retaining prominent throat-stripe. visible. (Rosemary Parslow) Note brown iris. (Zev Labinger) The inclusion of colour plates has been subsidized by Subbuteo Natural History Books Ltd Notes Sandgrouse 13 Levant Sparrowhawk Shikra Figure 1. Upper side of left wing of Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes and Shikra A. badius, both adult females; drawn from skins of known identity. Note differences in primary 6. (Zev Labinger) Simmons 1980), though Clark and Parslow (1991) have identified a specimen of an adult female Shikra, probably cenchroides, collected at Riyadh in central Saudi Arabia in October 1938. The birds of south-west Arabia are said to be of the northern Afrotropical race sphenurus (Vaurie 1965) which is smaller (Brown et al. 1982). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are indebted to Yossi Leshem of the Israel Raptor Information Center of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and the International Bird Watching Center, Eilat, for their invaluable assistance with equipment and vehicles. We would also like to thank the many hard-working volunteers and the members of Kibbutz Elot for their cooperation and patience. Special thanks are also due to the British Museum (Natural History) at Tring and the Tel Aviv University Natural History Museum for use of their collections. REFERENCES BROOKS, D. J., EVANS, M. I., MARTINS, R. P., AND PORTER, R. F. (1987) The status of birds in North Yemen and the records of OSME Expedition in autumn 1985. Sandgrouse 9: 4-66. BROWN, L. AND AMADON, D. (1968) Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World. Country Life, London. BROWN, L. H., URBAN, E. K., AND NEWMAN, K. (eds) (1982) The Birds of Africa Vol. 1. Academic, London. 48 Sandgrouse 13 Notes CLARK, W., DUFFY, K., GORNEY, E., MCGRADY, M., AND SCHULTZ, C. (1986) Raptor ringing at Eilat, Israel. Sandgrouse 7: 21-8. CLARK, W. S. AND PARSLOW, R. (1991) A specimen record of Shikra Accipiter badius for Saudi Arabia. Sandgrouse 13: 44-6. CRAMP, S. AND SIMMONS, K. E. L. (eds) (1980) The Birds of the Western Palearctic Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. HOLLoM, P. A. D., PORTER, R. F., CHRISTENSEN, S., AND WILLIS, I. (1988) Birds of the Middle East and North Africa: a companion guide. Poyser, Calton. LABINGER, Z., GORNEY, E., AND PARSLOW, R. (1988) A Shikra—new species for Israel [in Hebrew, English summary]. Torgos 7 (1): 63-6, 101. SYMENS, P. (in press) Notes on the birds of NCWCD protected areas of south-west Saudi Arabia. Sandgrouse. VAURIE, C. (1965) The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna: Non-Passeriformes. Witherby, London. WATTEL, J. (1973) Geographical differentiation in the genus Accipiter. Publ. Nuttall Orn. Club 13. Z. Labinger and E. Gorney, Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel. R. Parslow, 48 Main St, Woodnewton, Peterborough PE8 5EB, UK. Recoveries of Pied Wagtails Motacilla alba in Israel and abroad YAKOV LANGER and AVI ROCHMAN HE PIED WAGTAIL Motacilla alba is a common winter visitor to Israel. At the Haifa sewage plant (32°47’N 35°03’E), where thousands gather in most winters to feed on the abundant supplies of adult and larval moth-flies Telmatoscopus (Psychodidae), more than 5,000 have been ringed over the last few years. Some of these birds, along with others from the surroundings of Haifa, were found to be roosting near the Haifa Central Bus Station (32°49’N 34°59’E), and further ringing was carried out here by Liora Hagin (Table 1). During these sessions, one Pied Wagtail with a Swedish ring was caught, and as a result of the ringing undertaken 13 Israeli-ringed birds were found later to the north of the country, a recovery rate of 0:2%. This and other information (mainly from the Israeli Ringing Center) on the movements of ringed Pied Wagtails involves a total of 36 recoveries between Israel and abroad (Tables 2-4, Figure 1). The data must inevitably be biased towards countries with greater ornithological awareness, hence the obvious concentration in Fenno-Scandia and the eastern Baltic. However, it seems that most Israeli-wintering Pied Wagtails from western Europe must originate from that region, and large numbers from north European USSR presumably also winter in Israel. Pied Wagtails ringed or recovered in Egypt (Mullié et al. 1989) show a very similar pattern of origin to that found with Israeli-wintering birds. In one case (Table 4, no. 32), a bird that had been ringed in Sweden as an adult at its nest on 24 June 1983 was caught in Haifa on 19 February 1986. In spring 1986 the same bird was seen again at the nest-site, and on 15 February 1987 it was caught 49 Notes . Sandgrouse 13 Figure 1. Pied Wagtails Motacilla alba ringed in Israel and recovered abroad (@), and recovered in Israel after ringing abroad (A); identifying numbers are as used in Tables 3-4. There is also one recovery in Ethiopia (Table 3, no. 36). Sandgrouse 13 Notes again at the Haifa sewage plant. This is an interesting record of fidelity to wintering grounds as well as to a breeding site. Table 1. Numbers of Pied Wagtails Motacilla alba ringed each winter at the sewage plant and Central Bus Station, Haifa (Israel). Table 2. Numbers of Pied Wagtails Motacilla alba involved in recoveries between Israel and other countries. Sewage Bus Total Country of origin Number plant station or recovery 1983-4 — 42 42 Norway 4 1984-5 679 265 944 Sweden 14 1985-6 433 — 433 Finland 8 1986-7 942 — 942 Lithuania 2 1987-8 409 — 409 Latvia 1 1988-9 1,624 — 1,624 Elsewhere in USSR 3 1989-90 445 —_ 445 Germany 1 1990-1 563 — 563 Bulgaria 1 Total 5,095 307 5,402 —« Turkey Ethiopia | Total 36 Table 3. Pied Wagtails Motacilla alba Recovery no. 1 Date 2 Feb 1987 3 Jun 1988 25 Feb 1988 23 May 1988 21 Jan 1986 9 Aug 1989 4 Feb 1985 Jul 1985 10 Feb 1985 15 May 1985 20 Oct 1969 10 May 1971 17 Nov 1984 3 Jul 1985 18 Jan 1989 10 Jun 1989 27 Jan 1989 15 May 1989 25 Feb 1988 6 Jun 1988 7 Nov 1985 5 Aug 1987 27 Dec 1983 1 Jul 1984 Elapsed time 1Y 4M 2M 3Y 6M 4M 3M 1Y 6M 7M 5M 3M 3M 1Y 8M 6M ringed in Israel and recovered abroad. Distance (km) 3,603 3,495 3,394 3,589 3,208 3,197 3,188 3,118 3,206 3,220 2,840 3,537 Place 32°47'N 35°03’E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel 64°58'N 28°51'E Suomussalmi, Oulu, Finland 32°47'N 35°03'E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel 63°44'N 26°14’E Pyhajarvi, Oulu, Finland 32°47'N 35°03’E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel 63°01'N 28°20’E Juankoski, Kuopio, Finland 32°47'N 35°03'E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel 64°57'N 30°31’'E Voknavolok, USSR 32°49'N 34°59’E Bus station, Haifa, Israel 61°35'N 31°30’E Lake Ladoga, USSR 31°24'N 34°49’E Devir, Israel 60°00'N 30°18’E Leningrad, USSR 32°47'N 35°03’E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel 61°08'N 28°27'E Joutseno, Kymin, Finland 32°47'N 35°03’'E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel 60°15'N 26°25’E Pernaja, Uusimaa, Finland 32°47'N 35°03’E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel 60°58'N 25°40’E Lahti, Hame, Finland 32°47'N 35°03’E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel 60°30'N 22°15’E Turku, Finland 32°47'N 35°03'E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel 57°16'N 24°25’E Saulkraspe, Latvia 29°33'N 34°57’E Eilat, Israel 59°13'N 18°04’E Stockholm, Sweden 51 Notes Sandgrouse 13 Table 3 cont. Recovery Date Elapsed Distance Place no. time (km) 17 13 Jan 1985 32°49’N 34°59’E Bus station, Haifa, Israel Jun 1987 2Y 6M 3,218 59°28'N 17°59’E Norrsatra, Sollentuna, Sweden 18 27 Dec 1983 29°33'N 34°57’E Eilat, Israel 12 Jun 1984 5M 3,589 59°33'N 17°23’E Grilby, Sweden 21 12 Mar 1969 32°03’N 34°45’E Tel Aviv, Israel 6 Jul 1969 3M 3,476 60°00'N 13°36’E Norra Rada, Varmland, Sweden 23 24 Feb 1983 29°33'N 34°57'E Eilat, Israel 11 May 1983 2M 3,890 60°15’N 09°55’E Ringerik, Buskerud, Norway 33 28 Dec 1984 32°47'N 35°03'E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel 24May1987 =92Y 5M 2,898 51°13’N 09°47’E Velmeden, Kassel, Germany 34 12 Feb 1969 31°58'N 34°47’E Rishon Letzion, Israel 3 Jun 1969 3M 1,415 41°50'N 24°41’E Malevo, Smolian, Bulgaria 35 15 Feb 1987 32°47'N 35°03'E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel 17 Mar 1987 1M 408 36°21'N 34°00’E Silifke, Turkey — 36 8 Oct 1968 32°03'N 34°45’E Tel Aviv, Israel 26 Dec 1968 2M 1,911 15°18'N 39°00’E Asmara, Ethiopia Table 4. Pied Wagtails Motacilla alba recovered in Israel after ringing abroad. 32 Recovery Date Elapsed Distance Place no. time (km) 10 18 Apr 1946 59°56’N 23°32’E Ekenas, Uusimaa, Finland 9Nov1949 3Y6M 3,127 32°50'N 34°57’E Haifa, Israel 13 13 Jul 1984 54°53'N 22°57’E Ventes Ragas, Lithuania 23 Mar 1985 8M 2,994 29°22'N 34°55’E Eilat, Israel 14 4 Jun 1984 54°53'N 22°57’E Sintautai Sakiai, Lithuania 6 Jan 1985 7M 2,767 31°20'N 34°18’E Chan Yunes, Israel 15 26 Jul 1962 65°21'N 19°20’E Seijaure, Pite Laopmark, Sweden 5 Nov 1962 3M 3,829 32°16'N 35°01'E Petach Tikva, Israel 19 14 Jun 1962 59°40'N 18°40'E Grousta Lanna, Uppland, Sweden 20 Oct 1964 2Y 4M 3,358 31°32'N 35°06’E Hebron, Israel 20 24 Jul 1965 58°59'N 16°13’E Sodermanland, Sweden 2 Nov 1965 3M 3,333 31°40’N 34°33'E Ashkelon, Israel 22 20 May 1984 59°15'N 13°30’E Hammaron, Varmland, Sweden 17 Dec 1984 6M 3,466 31°33'N 34°50’E Gaza Strip, Israel 24 28 Jun 1967 61°53’N 06°46’E Minresund, Stryn, Norway Novi969 2Y5M 3,921 31°29'N 34°27’E Gaza Strip, Israel 25 21 May 1981 58°50'N 05°35’E Harveland, Norway 27 Nov 1984 3Y 6M 3,697 31°58'N 34°47’E Rishon Leizion, Israel 26 14 May 1978 58°10'N 07°03’E Skoland, Lyngdal, Norway 1 Jan 1980 1Y 7M 3,578 32°05'N 34°54’E Petach Tikva, Israel 27 10 Jun 1940 57°19'N 12°56’E Mjoback, Vastergotland, Sweden 16 Mar 1942 1Y 8M 3,279 31°55'N 34°47’E Ayanot, Israel 28 31 May 1961 56°54'N 13°51’E Berga, Smaland, Sweden 18 Nov 1961 5M 3,255 31°25'N 34°40’E Beeri, Israel 29 5 Jun 1961 56°08'N 13°23’E Perstorp, Skane, Sweden 8 Dec 1961 6M 3,116 32°41'N 35°34’E Beit Zera, Kinerot, Israel Sandgrouse 13 Notes Table 4 cont. Recovery Date Elapsed Distance _‘— Place no. time (km) 30 ~ 7Jun1970 56°04’N 13°00’E Sodra Wram, Skane, Sweden 7 Nov 1970 5M 3,174 31°02'N 32°35’E Rabaa, Sinai 31 15 Sep 1938 56°12'N 16°23’E Ottenby, Oland, Sweden 21 Oct 1938 1M 2,945 32°58'N 34°47’E Rishon Letzion, Israel 32 24 Jun 1983 57°19’N 18°04’E Lilla Karlso, Gotland, Sweden 19 Feb 1986 2Y 7M 3,017 32°47'N 35°03’E Sewage plant, Haifa, Israel ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We should like to thank Francis Argyle for his help in translating our text into English, and Kuky Lachman from the Israeli Ringing Center for the valuable information. REFERENCE MULLIE, W. C., KHOUNGANIAN, E. E., AND AMER, M. H. (1989) A Preliminary List of Egyptian Bird Ringing Recoveries 1908-1988. Foundation Orn. Res. Egypt, Wageningen. Yakov Langer, 9a Hashitim St, Kiryat Tiv'on 36000, Israel. Avi Rochman, 9a Maymon St, Haifa 32584, Israel. First record of Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla in Jordan MAGNUS ULLMAN N 29 OCTOBER 1989 I visited the Azraq oasis in Jordan with a group of Swedish birdwatchers. While standing at a small pool waiting for two Water Rails Rallus aquaticus to reappear I heard the repeated call of a small flying bird that I could not place. Eventually the bird, a small compact passerine, settled high up in a date palm Phoenix and as I saw its ‘open’ reddish face I immediately realized that this was the typical ’tsick’ call of a Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla. The bird was partly hidden but I saw its cinnamon-tinged head well in my telescope; a broad cinnamon supercilium connected to a cinnamon area around the eye, a pale eye-ring, and no dark moustachial stripe reaching the base of the bill (Figure 1). Although I only saw the bird from the side I could discern a crown-stripe paler than the rest of the crown. The rest of the group were standing closer to the tree than I was, but, although they 24), Figure 1. Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla, Azraq apt (Jordan), 29 October 1989. (Magnus Ullman) 53 Notes Sandgrouse 13 heard the ’tsick’ throughout (a call familiar to some of them), they were not able to locate the bird, perhaps because it was hidden from them. Before I managed to describe to them where it was, it flew off. I have seen Little Bunting on its breeding grounds in northern Sweden as well as on migration in late autumn in southern Sweden and in spring in Siberia, but this was the first time I have seen it in a date palm! According to the ‘Desert Guide’ (Hollom et al. 1988) there is no previous published record of Little Bunting in Jordan. REFERENCE HOoLtom, P. A. D., PORTER, R. F., CHRISTENSEN, S., AND WILLIS, I. (1988) Birds of the Middle East and North Africa: a companion guide. Poyser, Calton. Magnus Ullman, Iliongr. K.104, 223 71 Lund, Sweden. Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus breeding in the Makran area of Baluchistan, Pakistan STEVEN M. GOODMAN LMOST without exception, the freshwater river and lake systems of the Makran region of Pakistani Baluchistan are not permanent, and for the greater portion of the year they are either shallow streams, isolated pools, or completely dry. Rain, if it falls at all, comes generally in two periods per year: November to February and mid-May to mid-September. From 1931 to 1960 the mean annual precipitation along the Makran coast never exceeded 150 mm (Ahmad 1987), and suitable habitat for freshwater breeding birds appears to be a factor limiting their distribution. In approximately 1978, a dam was built across the Akara river, which drains the mountain area of Sajidi Band (part of the Makran coast range), to provide a permanent water source for the important port town of Gwadar (25°08'N 62°20’E), 26 km SSE of the dam. Although the water level of the Akara lake varies considerably through the year, it never completely dries up. During the past two decades, a variety of aquatic plants have become established in the lake, which now provides nesting and feeding habitat for waterbirds. This reservoir represents one of the few perennial freshwater lakes in southern Baluchistan and may be an important site for waterfowl on migration (Scott 1989). On 17 March 1990 I had a chance to visit Akara lake, the water level of which was high due to exceptionally heavy winter rains. The periphery of the lake was ringed with Tamarix scrub and a variety of emergent plants was growing in the shallows. A pair of Great Crested Grebes Podiceps cristatus was noted in an area with beds of rush Scirpus and reedmace Typha. One bird was feeding two downy young riding on the back of the second bird, and thus it was clear that the pair was breeding on the lake. Also, a second pair was observed on the opposite shore with a single, slightly older downy young. Other aquatic birds noted at Akara lake on 17 March included eight Black-necked 54 Sandgrouse 13 Notes Grebes P. nigricollis, a Grey Heron Ardea cinerea, 50 Coot Fulica atra, a Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus, and at least five Slender-billed Gulls Larus genei, though I found no evidence that these other species were nesting locally. Ticehurst (1927) considered the Great Crested Grebe a common winter visitor along the Makran coast from early September to late April and remarked that concentrations of birds sometimes built up in Gwadar bay. The breeding record from Akara lake seems to be the first for southern Baluchistan. The only other known report of this species nesting in Baluchistan was in 1913, when three nests were found on Khushdil Khan, north of Quetta (Ali and Ripley 1968); a pair was noted at this locality the following summer, but no evidence of breeding was found (Ticehurst 1927). The main breeding range of Great Crested Grebe extends south only to the mountains of northern Iran, Afghanistan, and the Himalayas, with an outpost in the Seistan lakes region of eastern Iran and perhaps also south-west Afghanistan (Paludan 1959; Hollom et al. 1988). It appears that a variety of birds are able to make use of local ephemeral lakes and flooded areas in southern Baluchistan for the purpose of nesting: in 1978, after exceptionally heavy summer rains, Sirandah lake in the south-east corner of Baluchistan between Bela and Uthal filled with water, and Slender-billed Gulls, Caspian Terns Sterna caspia, and Gull-billed Terns Gelochelidon nilotica bred (Roberts 1980). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The fieldwork in Baluchistan was made possible by a grant from the Foreign Currency Program of the Smithsonian Institution. REFERENCES AHMAD, R. (1987) Saline Agriculture at Coastal Sandy Belt. Department of Botany, University of Karachi. ALI, S. AND RIPLEY, S. D. (1968) Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan Vol. 1. Oxford University Press, Bombay. HOLLoM, P. A. D., PORTER, R. F., CHRISTENSEN, S., AND WILLIS, I. (1988) Birds of the Middle East and North Africa: a companion guide. Poyser, Calton. PALUDAN, K. (1959) On the birds of Afghanistan. Vidensk. Medd. Dansk Naturh. Foren. 122. ROBERTS, T. J. (1980) Bird notes from Baluchistan province, Pakistan. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 77: 12-20. ScoTT, D. A. (1989) Directory of Asian Wetlands. (UCN, Gland. TICEHURST, C. B. (1927) The birds of British Baluchistan. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 32: 64-97. Steven M. Goodman, Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA. DD GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS The Editorial Committee of Sandgrouse will consider for publication original papers which contribute to the body of knowledge on the birds of the Middle East—their distribution, breeding biology, behaviour, identification, conservation, etc. The Middle East for this purpose includes Turkey, Cyprus, and Libya in the west to Afghanistan and the Palearctic fringe of Pakistan in the east, the southern shores of the Black and Caspian Seas in the north, and the Arabian peninsula and the Palearctic limits in Sudan and Ethiopia in the south. Submissions are considered on the understanding that the work has not been previously published and is not being offered for publication elsewhere. 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Additional reprints can be supplied at cost, subject to certain conditions; these should be ordered when returning the revised typescript. Any artwork, photographs, and disks will be returned as soon as possible after publication. Submissions should be sent to: Sandgrouse Editor, OSME, c/o The Lodge, Sandy, Beds SG19 2DL, UK. SANDGROUSE ve ES ao 1 Contents 2 D. A. CLAYTON The Little Owl Athene noctua and its food in Kuwait 7 HADORAM SHIRIHAI The invasion and breeding of Dunn’s Lark Eremalauda dunni in the Arava valley, Israel 14 MOHAMMED SHOBRAK AND ASAD RAHMANI Notes on the Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs in Saudi Arabia 24 GEOFF AND HILARY WELCH The autumn migration of the Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis 34 NABIL H. KHAIRALLAH Notes on the autumn raptor migration over the Lebanon in 1981 Notes 42 GERNANT MAGNIN A record of Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis from Turkey 44 WILLIAM S. CLARK AND ROSEMARY PARSLOW A specimen record of Shikra Accipiter badius for Saudi Arabia 46 ZEV LABINGER, EDNA GORNEY, AND ROSEMARY PARSLOW First record of Shikra Accipiter badius in Israel ~ 49 YAKOV LANGER AND AVI ROCHMAN Recoveries of Pied Wagtails Motaciila alba in Israel and abroad 53 MAGNUS ULLMAN First record of Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla in Jordan 54 STEVEN M. GOODMAN Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus breeding in the Makran area of Baluchistan, Pakistan ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE MIDDLE EAST OSME c/o THE LODGE, SANDY, BEDFORDSHIRE, SG19 2DL, UK