Whilst ringing on 10 April we trapped and ringed a Caucasian Bluethroat Luscinia svecica magna,
which is lumped with White-spotted
Bluethroat Luscinia svecica cyanecula, which in turn is often lumped with Red-spotted Bluethroat Luscinia
svecica. This is the first time I have seen this sub-species in Saudi
Arabia although they are seen regularly in nearby Kuwait to the north of the
Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia White-spotted Bluethroat is a
scarce passage migrant although status of this subspecies is not well
known. It is difficult to work out the true status of White-spotted Bluethroat
or Caucasian Bluethroat as it is not possible to identify them outside of males
in breeding plumage a plumage that it is rarely seen in the winter months. A
really gppd thing about ringing is you can see if the bluethroat of magna is
really completely blue or hiding some white spot feathers underneath the blue
feathers. This bird had a completely blue throat. L. s. magna breed from Turkey, Caucasus area and northwest Iran and winter in Arabia and northeast Africa where small numbers occur in northeast Sudan and Ethiopia. In the region passage birds are mainly seen in the United Arab Emirates in April as well as in Bahraina and Kuwait around the same time. With these locations and dates, it is not surprising they also occur in eastern Saudi Arabia in April.
