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 40 (1) Spring 2018

Cover photo: Streaked Scrub Warbler Scotocerca inquieta Wadi The Ghazal, Taif, Saudi Arabia, 17 January 2015. © Phil Roberts
2 | Observations of Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria and Eurasian Siskin Carduelis spinus in south-central Uzbekistan (with records of three additional species from the study area). |
Thomas Edward Martin, Julien Fleureau, Maxime Passerault & Alfonso Godino | |
5 | Ferruginous Ducks Aythya nyroca breeding in the Anzali wetland, coastal Caspian, Iran. |
A Ashoori | |
7 | Further records from southwest Saudi Arabia of Harlequin Quail Coturnix delegorguei. |
Jem Babbington | |
11 | First description of the nest and eggs of Arabian Waxbill Estrilda rufibarba (Al-Baha province, southwest Saudi Arabia). |
Ahmed Al-Omari, Abdullah Alsuhaibany & Christopher Boland | |
16 | First record of Desert Finch Rhodospiza obsoleta for Cyprus. |
Damla Beton & Hüseyin Yorganci | |
17 | The 2007 record of ‘Dunn’s Lark’ on Cyprus revisited, with notes on the separation of Dunn’s Lark Eremalauda dunni and Arabian Lark E. eremodites. |
Paul F Donald & Stavros Christodoulides | |
25 | Photospot: Comb-carrying European Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus. |
27 | Evidence of brood amalgamation in Sand Partridges Ammoperdix heyi in southern Israel. |
Julio C Gallardo & Gail M Moraru | |
28 | Slender-billed Gulls Larus genei breeding at El Nasser salinas, northern Egypt, June 2017. |
Mohamed Ibrahim Habib | |
36 | First confirmed record of the Bank Myna Acridotheres ginginianus from Iran with previous reports from the Tehran urban environment. |
Abraham Shokouhi, Parviz Bakhtiari & Abolghasem Khaleghizadeh | |
38 | Further surveys at a globally important staging site for migrating Sociable Lapwings Vanellus gregarius in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. |
Nodirjon Azimov, Petar Iankov, Roman Kashkarov, Maxim Koshkin, Eldar Rustamov,Valentin Soldatov, Anna Ten & Atymurat Veyisov | |
51 | A report of breeding of Mallard Anas platyrhynchos in Iraq. |
Laith Ali Al–Obeidi | |
53 | Bird records from arid and semi-arid areas in southern Kazakhstan, 2009-2017. |
Thomas Edward Martin, Jérôme Dubos, Thibaut Rivière, Maxime loubon, Julien Fleureau, Alexis Martineau, Mathieu Guillemin & Valentin Nivet-Mazerolles | |
75 | Has Sooty Falcon Falco concolor distribution contracted in Oman? |
MJ Mcgrady, WA Al Fazari, MH Aljahdhami, Z Abdusallam, A Al Owisi & M Fisher | |
86 | Photospot: Jouanin’s Petrel Bulweria fallax. |
Robert L Flood & René Pop | |
90 | Clutch size, egg size and egg mass of Black-winged Stilts Himantopus himantopus, Shirinsu wetland, Hamedan province, western Iran. |
Jafar Gholami, Elham Sharifi, Saeid Gholami, Aliasghar Zarei, Golya Shahrokhi & Ali Turk Qashqaei | |
93 | First record of Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus for Azerbaijan. |
Jos van Oostveen & Arend Wassink | |
94 | Interesting observations from Tallymerjen IBA, Turkmenistan, 2015 and 2016. |
Geoff Welch, Paul Donald, Reg Thorpe, Petar Iankov & Eldar Rustamov | |
98 | From the Rarities Committees. |
Ian Harrison (compiler) | |
108 | Corrigendum |
109 | Letter from the Chairman: OSME in 2017. |
113 | Around the Region. |
Ian Harrison (compiler) |
Editor: | Dr Peter Cowan Sandgrouse editor, University of Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman/Chesterfield, UK. |
Editorial Board | AbdulRahman Al-Sirhan (Kuwait), Vasil Ananian (Armenia), Dr Raffael Ayé (Switzerland), Jem Babbington (Saudi Arabia, photo consultant), Arnoud van den Berg (Netherlands), Michael Blair (UK), Chris Bradshaw (UK), Dr Gary Brown (Germany), Oscar Campbell (UAE), Peter Castell (UK), Dr Paul Donald (UK), Peter Flint (UK), Dr Robert Flood (UK), Paul Goriup (UK), Jens Hering (Germany), Mike Jennings (UK), Abolghasem Khaleghizadeh (Iran), Dr Fares Khoury (Jordan), Guy Kirwan (UK), Dr Alan Knox (UK), Andrew Lassey (UK), Dr Mike McGrady (Austria), Dr Stephen Newton (Ireland), Yoav Perlman (Israel), Aasheesh Pittie (India), Richard Porter (UK), Colin Richardson (Cyprus), Dr Manuel Schweizer (Switzerland), Dr Derek Scott (UK), Dr Robert Sheldon (UK), Arend Wassink (Netherlands), Geoff Welch (France). |