Whilst ringing at Sabkhat Al Fasl on
Friday 23 February 2018 we caught a male White-spotted Bluethroat Luscinia
svecica cyanecula which was a retrap of a bird caught earlier. The White-spotted
Bluethroat is a scarce passage migrant to the region, unlike the Red-spotted
Bluethroat Luscinia svecica svecica which winters in good numbers. This
is only the fourth time we have caught this subspecies in Saudi Arabia. The
White-spotted Bluethroat breeds locally in central & southern Europe
wintering mainly in west & central Africa with a few in the Middle East
(mainly Israel) and north-east Africa. Identification of the Bluethroat
sub-species is very difficult unless you see a male in breeding plumage. As a
result, many birds seen in the winter months are indeterminate as to
sub-species so unless you re-catch a bird in the spring that was caught in the
winter it is not generally possible to tell if White-spotted Bluethroats winter
in Saudi Arabia. This White-spotted Bluethroat was originally trapped on 17
November 2017 but as the bird was not in breeding plumage it was not identified
as a White Spotted Bluethroat. This shows that this bird has spent the winter
in Saudi Arabia indicating that the subspecies winters in Saudi Arabia. We also
caught a White-spotted Bluethroat in Bahrain in March that had originally been
caught in the winter showing that birds also winter in Bahrain at least
occasionally.
