25 March 2015

Savi’s Warbler trapped & ringed – Sabkhat Al Fasl

Previously the status of Savi’s Warbler in Saudi Arabia was thought to be a rare passage migrant but records from our ringing site at Sabkhat Al Fasl have indicated that it is an uncommon passage migrant from late February until May and from August to October. Some birds stay in the same area for a few weeks in spring but there are no indications of birds breeding. The earliest singing bird was heard on 6 March 2015 with one caught and ringed 20 March 2015 in a different location. The  latest spring bird trapped was caught and ringed 18 April 2014, between a small reed patch and the main reedbeds. In the autumn two were caught in the main reed patch 26 September and 24 October 2014. The October record was late for the species as most birds are seen in September. The subspecies of Savi’s Warbler that occurs in the region is Locustella luscinoides fusca which is more olive brown with paler under-parts and more obvious white tips to the under-tail coverts than the nominate European form L l luscinodes making it look more like a River Warbler L fluviatilis although the white tips to the undertail coverts are narrower and less contrasting than this species. L l fusca breeds in Turkey & Jordon eastwards to central Asia including north and south Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, north-east Iran and probably north-west Afghanistan. They winter in northeast Africa principally in Sudan & Ethiopia.
Savi’s Warbler

Savi’s Warbler

Savi’s Warbler

Savi’s Warbler