RARE BIRDS TO BE REPORTED TO THE E.B.R.C.
The list of rare bird species that require a completed Rare Bird Report to be submitted to the E.B.R.C. prior to admission to the national record is detailed below.
Click here to download a blank Rare Bird Report form.
Form to be sent to ebrcuae[at]gmail.com
As a general rule, this list features species for which less than 20 accepted records exist.
Note, however, the following two points:
- A number of difficult-to-identify species (including, for example; Little Crake and female Eversmann's Redstart) currently remain on the list, regardless of the number of accepted records.
- Further, if one (or more) member(s) of the E.B.R.C. feel that evidence should be provided for a particular record of a species not on the following list, the observer will be contacted and asked for a Rare Bird Report to be submitted.
For the reason outlined above, the E.B.R.C. recommend that visitors unfamiliar with the birds of the Middle East region take fieldnotes / photographs of any species where the identification is difficult or the observer suspects that the species in question might be a rarity. It is better to have 'over-documented' a common species than to be asked for a Rare Bird Report of a rare species but have no field evidence from which to compile a report.
The following species require a description prior to acceptance to the national record:
- Lesser White-fronted Goose, Anser erythropus
- Mute Swan, Cygnus olor
- Bewick’s Swan, Cygnus columbianus bewickii
- Whooper Swan, Cygnus cygnus
- Cotton Pygmy Goose, Nettapus coromandelianus
- Marbled Duck, Marmaronetta angustirostris
- Greater Scaup, Aythya marila
- Red-breasted, Merganser Mergus serrator
- Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus
- Lesser Flamingo, Phoenicopterus minor
- Jouanin’s Petrel, Bulweria fallax (report not required from pelagic trips)
- Cory's Shearwater, Calonectris (diomedea) borealis
- Flesh-footed Shearwater, Puffinus carneipes (report not required from pelagic trips)
- Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus
- Sooty Shearwater, Puffinus griseus (report not required April, May and June)
- Leach’s Storm Petrel, Oceanodroma leucorhoa
- Swinhoe's Storm Petrel, Oceanodroma monorhis
- Black Stork, Ciconia nigra
- Brown Booby, Sula leucogaster
- Red-footed Booby, Sula sula
- Great White Pelican, Pelecanus onocrotalus
- Dalmatian Pelican, Pelecanus crispus
- Cinnamon Bittern, Ixobrychus cinnamomeus
- Intermediate Egret, Egretta intermedia
- Eastern Cattle Egret, Bubulcus (ibis) coromandus
- European Honey Buzzard, Pernis apivorus
- Pallas’s Fish Eagle, Haliaeetus leucoryphus
- Himalayan Griffon Vulture, Gyps himalayensis
- Eurasian Griffon Vulture, Gyps fulvus
- Hen Harrier, Circus cyaneus cyaneus
- Northern Goshawk, Accipiter gentilis
- Lesser Spotted Eagle, Aquila pomarina
- Red-footed Falcon, Falco vespertinus
- Eleonora's Falcon, Falco eleonorae
- Lanner Falcon, Falco biarmicus
- Saker Falcon, Falco cherrug
- Little Crake, Porzana parva
- Red-knobbed Coot, Fulica cristata
- Demoiselle Crane, Anthropoides virgo
- Common Crane, Grus grus
- Great Stone-curlew, Burhinus oedicnemus
- Spur-winged Lapwing, Vanellus spinosus
- Kittlitz’s Plover, Charadrius pecuarius
- Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Hydrophasianus chirurgus
- Lesser Yellowlegs, Tringa flavipes
- Red Knot, Calidris canutus
- Red-necked Stint, Calidris ruficollis
- Long-toed Stint, Calidris subminuta
- White-rumped Sandpiper, Calidris fuscicollis
- Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos
- Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Tryngites subruficollis
- Long-billed Dowitcher, Limnodromus scolopaceus
- Great Snipe, Gallinago media
- Eurasian Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola
- Wilson's Phalarope, Phalaropus tricolor
- Grey Phalarope, Phalaropus fulicaria
- Black-winged Pratincole, Glareola nordmanni
- Oriental Pratincole, Glareola maldivarum
- Small Pratincole, Glareola lactea
- Greater Painted Snipe, Rostratula benghalensis
- Black-legged Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
- Sabine’s Gull, Xema sabini
- Brown-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus
- Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus
- Franklin's Gull, Leucophaeus pipixcan
- Mediterranean Gull, Larus melanocephalus
- White-eyed Gull, Larus leucopthalmus
- Lesser Noddy, Anous tenuirostris
- Black Tern, Chlidonias niger
- Roseate Tern, Sterna dougallii
- Arctic Tern, Sterna paradisaea
- Brown-/ South Polar Skua, Stercorarius antarcticus/maccormicki
- Long-tailed Skua, Stercorarius longicaudus (immatures only)
- Spotted Sandgrouse, Pterocles senegallus
- Stock Dove, Columba oenas
- Common Woodpigeon, Columba palumbus
- Red Turtle Dove, Streptopelia tranquebarica
- Pied Cuckoo, Oxylophus jacobinus
- Great Spotted Cuckoo, Clamator glandarius
- Spotted Eagle-Owl (Arabian), Bubo africanus milesi (no longer needed, but a report is appreciated)
- Omani Owl, Strix butleri
- Sykes’s Nightjar, Caprimulgus mahrattensis
- Fork-tailed Swift, Apus pacificus
- White-throated Kingfisher, Halcyon smyrnensis
- Grey-headed Kingfisher, Halcyon leucocephala
- White-throated, Bee-eater Merops albicollis
- Brown Shrike, Lanius cristatus
- Long-tailed Shrike, Lanius schach
- Black Drongo, Dicrurus macrocercus
- Ashy Drongo, Dicrurus leucophaeus
- Mesopotamian Crow, Corvus cornix capellanus
- Fan-tailed Raven, Corvus rhipidurus
- Calandra Lark, Melanocorypha calandra
- Dunn’s Lark, Eremalauda dunni
- Temminck’s Lark, Eremophila bilopha
- Brown-throated Martin, Riparia paludicola
- Wire-tailed Swallow, Hirundo smithii
- Streak-throated Swallow, Petrochelidon fluvicola
- Asian House Martin, Delichon dasypus
- Cetti’s Warbler, Cettia cetti
- Siberian Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita tristis
- Dusky Warbler, Phylloscopus fuscatus
- Radde’s Warbler, Phylloscopus schwarzi
- Yellow-browed Warbler, Phylloscopus inornatus
- Green Warbler, Phylloscopus nitidus
- Booted Warbler, Hippolais caligata
- Icterine Warbler, Hippolais icterina
- Moustached Warbler, Acrocephalus melanopogon
- Paddyfield Warbler, Acrocephalus agricola
- Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus dumetorum
- Basra Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus griseldis
- River Warbler, Locustella fluviatilis
- Hume's Whitethroat, Sylvia althaea
- Garden Warbler, Sylvia borin
- Black Scrub Robin, Cercotrichas podobe
- Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Cyanoptila cyanomelaena
- Caucasian Bluethroat, Luscinia svecica magna
- White-spotted Bluethroat, Luscinia svecia ssp.
- Caspian Stonechat, Saxicola torquatus variegatus (report not required February & March)
- Red-flanked Bluetail, Tarsiger cyanurus
- European Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca
- Collared Flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis
- Semi-collared Flycatcher, Ficedula semitorquata (report not required March & April)
- Taiga Flycatcher, Ficedula albicilla
- Eversmann’s Redstart, Phoenicurus erythronota (report required for females only)
- Pied Bushchat, Saxicola caprata (report required for females only)
- Blackstart, Cercomela melanura
- White-crowned Wheatear, Oenanthe leucopyga
- Finsch’s Wheatear, Oenanthe finschii
- Kurdistan Wheatear, Oenanthe xanthoprymna
- Eurasian Blackbird, Turdus merula
- Eyebrowed Thrush, Turdus obscurus
- Dusky Thrush, Turdus eunomus
- Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris
- Redwing, Turdus iliacus
- Mistle Thrush, Turdus viscivorus
- Wattled Starling, Creatophora cineracea
- Violet-backed Starling, Cinnyricinclus leucogaster
- White-headed Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava leucocephala
- Paddyfield Pipit, Anthus rufula
- Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella
- Pine Bunting, Emberiza leucocephalos
- White-capped Bunting, Emberiza stewarti
- Cretzschmar's Bunting, Emberiza caesia
- Little Bunting, Emberiza pusilla
- Rustic Bunting, Emberiza rustica
- Yellow-breasted Bunting, Emberiza aureola
- Red-headed Bunting, Emberiza bruniceps
- Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus
- Common Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs
- European Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis
- Common Linnet, Carduelis cannabina
- Dead Sea Sparrow, Passer moabiticus
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus