Whilst
ringing on 27 March 2015 we caught and ringed three new species for our project
in Saudi Arabia. These were Common Grasshopper Warbler, Ménétriés's Warbler and
Eurasian Blackcap. Ménétriés's Warbler is an uncommon passage migrant and
winter visitor seen from October until April in most years but is not often
seen at Sabkhat Al Fasl itself due to the lack of suitable cover. The bird we
caught was a nominate Sylvia mystacea mystacea that breeds from the
lower River Volga south to eastern Turkey, southeast Georgia, Armenia,
Azerbaijan and northern Iran and winters south to Arabia and northeast Africa.
In this race the male has forehead, crown and ear-coverts blackish, grading
into pale grey of upperparts with a broad white submoustachial stripe contrasting
with vinous-pink throat to upper breast with pale greyish-pink breast side and
flanks and a whitish belly. Two othr races also occur in Saudi Arabia, S. m.
turcmenica that breeds in southern Turkmenistan and northeast Iran, and
from southern Kazakhstan, central and eastern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan
south to northern Afghanistan, also western Pakistan and winters south to
Arabia and northeast Africa. In this race the male is slightly paler and whiter
below than nominate. S. m. rubescens breeds from southeast Turkey south
to northern Syria, Iraq and western Iran and winters south to Arabia and
northeast Africa. In this race the male is paler grey above and whiter below,
vinous-pink coloration being replaced by faint pinkish tinge on chest. The
second was a Common Grasshopper Warbler that is a rare passage migrant in
the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia where they occur on passage from early
March to April and again in September and was the most unusual of the new
species. I posted about this bird a couple of days ago so please look there for
more information. The last species that we had not ringed before in Saudi
Arabia was Eurasian Blackcap that is a passage migrant that passes from March
to early May and again from September to October. Eurasian Blackcap numbers
vary greatly each year where they can range from common to scarce depending on
prevailing conditions.
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| Menetries's Warbler |
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| Menetries's Warbler |
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| Common Grasshopper Warbler |
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| Eurasian Blackcap |