Sandgrouse is published by OSME and contains papers and short notes on the ornithology of the OSME region, provides bird and conservation news from the region and a comprehensive round up of bird sightings in the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Sandgrouse volume 38 (2) Autumn 2016 Cover photo: Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus calidus , Hama’Apil, Israel, 11th November 2011. © Amir Ben Dov
146 Update on the status and occurrence of Arabian Magpie Pica pica asirensis in Saudi Arabia . Jem Babbington 152 First record of Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis in the United Arab Emirates . Oscar Campbell, Mark Smiles & Simon Lloyd 156 First breeding record of Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus and apparent breeding of White-crowned Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga , for Iraq . Laith Ali Al-Obeidi 160 Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio : further evidence of occurrence in Afghanistan . Mark Mallalieu & Richard Seargent 161 First documented record of White-crowned Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga in Syria and records there of Desert Lark Ammomanes deserti annae and Basalt Wheatear Oenanthe lugens warriae , all 2009 Nicolas Martinez, Adeeb Al-Assad, Daniel Matti, Tobias Roth, Doris Stalling & Thomas Stalling 165 Historical example of egg-collection by man of Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus eggs on lake Karakul, former Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic . Rolf Nessing 169 The Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas of the Socotra archipelago, Yemen . RF Porter & Ahmed Saeed Suleiman 192 Six interesting bird records including two new species, Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus and White-crowned Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga , for Lebanon . Ghassan Ramadan-Jaradi & Fouad Itani 197 Common Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus new for Turkmenistan . Eldar A Rustamov, Shaniyaz Menliev & Evgeniy Agryzkov 199 First record of Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus for Azerbaijan . Ivan Sjögren 201 Large-billed Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus magnirostris in the United Arab Emirates—first record for Arabia . Mark Smiles 205 Unusual breeding site for Brown-necked Ravens Corvus ruficollis , Luxor, Egypt . Uffe Gjøl Sørensen 207 Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus recorded in Oman . Per Øystein Klunderud, Magnus Ullman & Thor Østbye 211 Olive-backed Pipits Anthus hodgsoni in Hormozgan, south Iran, January 2016 . Magnus Ullman & Mattias Ullman 214 From the Rarities Committees . Ian Harrison & Chris Lamsdell (compilers) 223 Corrigenda 224 Around the Region . Ian Harrison & Chris Lamsdell (compilers)
Editor: Dr Peter Cowan OSME Editor , Department of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, University of Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman Editorial Advisors Vasil Ananian, Paul Goriup, Mike Jennings, Dr Fares Khoury, Guy Kirwan, Dr Mike McGrady, Dr Stephen Newton, Yoav Perlman, Dr Manuel Schweizer, Arend Wassink Photographic Editor Paul Doherty Identification Consultants Dr Raffael Ayé, Arnoud van den Berg, Chris Bradshaw, Andrew Lassey, Richard Porter
