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24 February 2021

Icterine Warbler - Tanoumah

Whilst birding the Tanoumah area in late July 2020 we came across a juvenile Icterine Warbler. This is a rare passage migrant mainly recorded in the autumn in August and September although has also been seen in spring in March and April. This record is the earliest ever for Saudi Arabia with the previous earliest being one trapped in Riyadh 17 August 1975. Records are mainly from the Riyadh area and all refer to single birds. The bird we saw was very active keeping high in the trees and continually on the move. A few photos were taken the best of which are shown below, but its behavior and the light conditions made good photography very difficult. This is the first record of the species I know of for some years.