on birds. These cover the orn ithological importance of the Jubai l Marine Wildlife Sanctua ry, the stanis of SocOlra connorant after the 199 1 war and the breedin g population of terns after the war. ll iustrations in colour o((auna. flora and habita ts appear throughout and there is a map insert on the back page.

Hnrd cOI'er. 5 11 pages (21 0.r 285 ",mi. Cost DM 120; j o;ntly published alld Oo'nilable f rom the NCWCD. PO Box 61 681, Riyadh. Salldi Arohia a"d rhe Sfnckeflberg Insl i lufe, SelJcken iJerganlage 25. 60325 Fronkfllrt (1m Maifl . Gfrman)".

ISBN 9960-614-03 -4

Th e Living Marine Resources of Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabw, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates by K E Carpenter, F Krupp, 0 A Jones and U Zajouz (1997)

Thi s fi e ld guide has heen prepared as a tool (or ecological and bicx1iversity studies in the Arabian Gulf. It is a di rectory o( plan ts , crustaceans. mollu scs. sea snakes. sea turtles. seabirds and marine mammals occuning in the region. The int roduction deals with the physical and chemical characte ri stics of the Arabian Gulf, cli mate, currents. biological aspects and its fi sheries. Each sect ion has general introductory nOles. (or example covering technical terms, as we ll as an illustrated guide to the higher taxonomic groups. The de ta il s at spec ies level include notes on nomenclature where appropriate, English and Arabic names. size data, diagnostic (earures and information on habi ta t and biology, as well as fi sheries and the economic or environ mental/conservation importance of each spec ies . Hundreds and hundreds of good quality line draw ings to assist identifica tion as well as 17 colour plates, ill us lrating 122 species of nsh. Fully indexed and referenced. Recom mended .

Card covers. 318 pages. (1 70 X 240 mm). Price $47. Publ;shed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation oj 'he UN and p repared with the support oJ lhe Saudi Fisheries Company and fhe EEC. A l'ail{l ble Jrom rhe Sale.\· and Marketing FA O/UN, Via Delle Tenne d; Caraealla. 00 100 Rome, IlOly. ISSN 1020-4547. ISBN 92-5 -1 03741-8.

Bahrain Sea Shells by Stephen Green (1994)

Thi s is an introductory guide to increase awareness of the 161 s pec ies of shells recorded by the aUlhor in Bahrain . Bahrain has had an associati on with the sea over many thousands of years. Archaeological digs have found seals made of shell over 4000 yea rs old . In recent centuries Bahrain was a majo r pearl fishing ce ntre . S hells from three c lasses are included in this guide; tusk she ll s. gastro pods (those shells that form a cone) and bi-val ves (two piece shells li ke oysters and mussels). The shell s are arranged in to species accounts which show the family. species name includi ng the author and year it was described, a short descripti on which inc ludes the size (length and wid th ) and information on where the shells have been or can be found . including a small map indicating co llect ion loca lities. Each spec ies account is ill us trated by a ve ry att ractive colour photograph depict ing one or more examples o( the shell agai nst an attractive vegeta tion, rock or wooden background hri nging oul its colours and tex ture. The colour photographs by Nazem C houhfeh are all anist ica lly set.

Hard co....er. 182 pages (210 x 305mm ). I, is fmderslOod Ihm th is

book is no Longer flvailab fe Ja r sale; f urlher enquiries 10 the aUlhor cia PO Box 10264, Man On/fl. Bahrain.

Fig 6. The quail Coturnix. colurnix has been a ble 10 colonise much of no r-thern and easter-n Arabia because of r-ecenl changes in agricultur-al practice. Jrrigaled fi elds. especially hay ('TOPS make Ideal nesting habital fOT it.

Shikra Breeding in the United Arab Emirates

T he shi kra Accipiter badius was not recorded in lhe UAE unliJ 1996. afthough the likelihood of its occurrence had been confidently predicted by Richardson & Bannon ( 1991 ) in a list of potential new bird species for the UAE (Tr;bllill s I (I ):9-13). The species hac:;" disjointed old world range. One popul ation occurs in sub Saharan Africa and south-west Arabia; wilh another across nonhero l ran. much of Ind ia and south-east As ia. In win/er. birds (rom the Asian population certa inly disperse, reaching areas outside of the known breeding range, south-east [ran (or example. but they do not undergo a migration in Ihe manner of some Olher Accipiler species. Levant sparrowhawk A. brevipes, Japanese sparrowhawk A. gllioris or even European sparrowhawk A. nisus fo r example.

The nrst UAE reco rd was of a si ng le bird seen by J & E Djerf, at Za beel. Dubai on 9 April 1996, although by the time this observation had been reponed two hirds had been seen e ngaged in a lengthy sky-diving d isplay at this same locality on 27 June and thereafter by myself & C Richardson. O ne bird, an adult and prob ab ly a male. a nd another a sub-adult and fem ale. were seen regularly from thai dale for two weeks and then more intennillently until 18 October (K Hyland and Richardso n pers. conlin) . A moult ing immature at Safa Park some 5 km away, on 8 August was assu med 1O be one of these birds.

Although occasional win ter records might have been expected in the UAE, the spring, summer and early autumn records all poimed instead to oversummering. Even breeding had to be a possibility. notwithstanding one of the bi rds being immature pl umaged. The large wooded gardens and parkJands in and around Zabeel and Safa ParklJumeirah would present ideal conditions for shikra . wi th a ready abundance of prey. and [he cover afforded by widespread Casu(lrin(l which woulo provide perfect concealme nt for a nest.

No more birds were seen un til 18 M arch 1997 when a single adult was seen by J K Bannon al Zabee l once more. The possibility of

10

breeding in the grounds of Zaheel Palace seemed very rea l. No funher 1997 sightings were made until ajuvenile was seen at Safa Park on 17 July, with another ohservation, aga in of a juvenile bird, three kilometres away in Jumeirah five days later. The strongly marked underparts: br0adly lined breast hreaking up into large dark brown spots on the lower breast and be ll y and dark barred tail. marking this hird as ajuvenile, apart from the pristine condition of the plumage . The upperparts were dull darkish hrown. Unfortunately no adults were seen in the midsu mmer period but the pre5ence ofajuvenile certainly indicates that shikra had nested for the first time in the UAE. Lack of observe rs and the lOrrid weather discollrZlge or reduce fieldwork progressively from April onwards so it is prohah ly not too surpri sing thai a secretive nester like the shlkra would nOI he detected.

Duba i is so me 1000 km from the ne(lres( known breeding area in Iran and , although not proven, the Dubai birds appea red to be attrihulahle to the Iranian race cenchroides: those in south-west Arabia (race spilenllnts). some 1400 km distant, possessing a distinct ly differe nt plumage. The main differences bei ng the more distinctively contrasting black wingt ip, blu er grey uppuparts and lack o f buff on the hind neck on sphenlff"lls: cencJlroides is also sli ght ly larger Another contender wou ld be those breeding in Pa kistan (race dllss IIIHieri): at closest these are 11 00·1200 km distant. However th is Jailer source is considered less likely on the basis of the known dispersal panems and on Ihe regiona l geography and weather.

11 is interesting that the files of the Emirates Bird Records Comminee contain a record on 12 March 1992 of an adult accipiter 'ky-diving in the area of Saqr Park in Ras al Khaimah (J K Banno n), This. with the benefit of hindSight, may also refer to shikra rather than European sparrowhuwk. Perhaps a small fou nder population of this diminutive hawk is gelli ng started in the UAE. There is no douht that the planting of wood lands and creation of irrigated parkl und and garde ns in the UAE in the las t two decades has created condi tions very fa vourahle for a small woodland rC1 ptor to occupy. Shikra would obvious ly be a front­runner to fi ll this vaca nt niche.

Simon Aspina ll, PO 8 0"( 79 1. Abu Dhabi, VA £.

ABBA and Phoenix Notes and Notices

Records still needed

Readers who have records of Arabian birds. however old, and whether published or not , are urged to make contact wi th the Co· ordinator. Old records are especia lly va luable in assessing population changes and range expansions and contractions. For example were there house sparrows Passer domesticus in Abu Dhabi in 1960? No one seems to know for sure. Although the project concerns res ident and breeding spec ies, it is not only proved breed ing infonnalion Ihat is required, notes suggesting poss ible or probable breeding. panicularly unusual breeding species are also very va luable. Information on exotics and escaped spec ies. ringed birds (l nd habitats is also needed. There is still much scope for collecti ng breed ing bird information even for the common species in we ll trodden areas. Would observers please continue 10 send in records and information for their local area and remember to copy ABBA report sheets to the local bird recorder (if there is one). Any outstandi ng report sheets for 1997 should be

sent in as soon as possible. All potential contributors wi ll be sent full instructions on how to submits reco rds. ABBA recording fo rms, hreeding birds list etc.

How to obtain Phoenix

One issue of Phoen;'t is published each year. It is issued free to all current co ntributors to (he ABBA project and is sent to recent correspondents. A bundle of each issue is also passed to all natural history and si milar grou ps acti ve in Arabia. II is also avail C1b le on subscription lor a single payment 01'£20 for Ihe next five issues. i.e . Nos 15 to 19 inclusive. Because oflhe excessive bank charges for handling foreign chequ es (hose not having access to a UK bank account are asked to pay in sterling noles or the equi valent in fore ign curre ncy notes. Phoenix Nos 1·1 3 are available at £2 each (or the set for £ 18) including postage. Th ose lea ving Arabia might be interested in placing a subscription order as the price represe nts a small sum for all the news of Arabian birds for five years. All subscribers will receive a reminder when thei r next subscription is due. Will subscribers and observers please reme mber to advise any Change of address.

OSME

ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Join us today!

• promotes the study and conservation of birds throughout the Middle East

• encourages the standardised recording of bird observations

• brings together knowledge of the region's birdlife

• maintains a conservation and research fund to support srnall-scale projects by members

• publishes Sandgrouse twice a year, sent to all members

Til jilin (UK fee 02 a year), write to

Membership Secrdary, OS ME c/o The

Lodge, S.lIldy, Bedford_hire SG19 2DL, l'K

Photos needed for Phoenix

Photos of Arabian breeding birds, their nests, eggs and habitats etc are welcomed for inclusion in future issues of Phoenix. Photos may be printed with just a caption, for their aesthetic va lue, or can be submined to illustrate notes and papers. Submined photos may be in colou r or black and white (g lossy or mat!), slides. prints or nega tives. so long as they ha ve good contrasl.

II