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.
- 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.
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
- 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
- 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 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
- Bar-tailed Lark, Ammomanes cinctura
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Spanish Sparrow, Passer hispaniolensis
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus
Changes:
01.01.2021
Species added: Eurasian Dotterel, Bar-tailed Lark, Spanish Sparrow.
Species removed: Red-crested Pochard