RARE BIRDS TO BE REPORTED TO THE E.B.R.C.​
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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.
- A list of changes appear at the bottom of the list.
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.
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The following species require a description prior to acceptance to the national record:
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- 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
- Cory's Shearwater, Calonectris borealis
- Flesh-footed Shearwater, Ardenna carneipes (report not required from pelagic trips)
- Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Ardenna pacifica
- Sooty Shearwater, Ardenna grisea (report not required April to June inclusive)
- Short-tailed Shearwater, Ardenna tenuirostris
- Jouanin’s Petrel, Bulweria fallax (report not required from pelagic trips)
- 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 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
- Levant Sparrowhawk, Accipiter brevipes
- Lesser Spotted Eagle, Aquila pomarina
- Red-footed Falcon, Falco vespertinus
- Eleonora's Falcon, Falco eleonorae
- Lanner Falcon, Falco biarmicus
- Saker Falcon, Falco cherrug
- Red-knobbed Coot, Fulica cristata
- Little Crake, Porzana parva
- Demoiselle Crane, Anthropoides virgo
- Common Crane, Grus grus
- Great Stone-curlew, Burhinus oedicnemus
- Spur-winged Lapwing, Vanellus spinosus
- Dotterel, Charadrius morinellus
- Kittlitz’s Plover, Charadrius pecuarius
- Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Hydrophasianus chirurgus
- Little Curlew, Numenius minutus
- 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
- 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 Black-backed Gull (Baltic)
- Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus
- 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 (report required for immatures only)
- Spotted Sandgrouse, Pterocles senegallus (report required away from the Dubai deserts, where it has been introduced)
- Stock Dove, Columba oenas
- Common Woodpigeon, Columba palumbus (report required away from Dubai and surrounding deserts, where it has been introduced)
- Red Turtle Dove, Streptopelia tranquebarica
- Pied Cuckoo, Oxylophus jacobinus
- Great Spotted Cuckoo, Clamator glandarius
- 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 (report not required from the greater Dubai area)
- 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
- Bar-tailed Lark, Ammomanes cinctura (reports required 2015 onwards)
- Streak-throated Swallow, Petrochelidon fluvicola
- Cetti’s Warbler, Cettia cetti
- Siberian Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita tristis
- Dusky Warbler, Phylloscopus fuscatus
- Radde’s Warbler, Phylloscopus schwarzi
- Yellow-browed Warbler, Phylloscopus inornatus
- Booted Warbler, Hippolais caligata
- Icterine Warbler, Hippolais icterina
- Moustached Warbler, Acrocephalus melanopogon
- Paddyfield Warbler, Acrocephalus agricola
- Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus dumetorum (report not required August to October inclusive)
- Basra Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus griseldis
- River Warbler, Locustella fluviatilis
- Hume's Whitethroat, Curruca (curruca) althaea
- 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 to March inclusive)
- Red-flanked Bluetail, Tarsiger cyanurus
- European Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca
- Collared Flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis
- Semi-collared Flycatcher, Ficedula semitorquata (report not required February to May inclusive)
- 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
- Kurdistan Wheatear, Oenanthe xanthoprymna
- Eurasian Blackbird, Turdus merula
- Eyebrowed Thrush, Turdus obscurus
- Dusky Thrush, Turdus eunomus
- Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris
- Redwing, Turdus iliacus
- Wattled Starling, Creatophora cineracea
- Violet-backed Starling, Cinnyricinclus leucogaster
- White-headed Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava leucocephala
- Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla tschutschensis
- Citrine Wagtail (Black-backed), Motacilla citreola calcarata
- Paddyfield Pipit, Anthus rufula
- Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella
- White-capped Bunting, Emberiza stewarti
- Grey-necked Bunting, Emberiza buchanani
- 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
- Spanish Sparrow, Passer hispaniolensis (reports required 2015 onwards)
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus
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