Problems with ID

Can anybody help identify this species

and an entire plant

Howard,
I can do this - its Rumex vesicarius - a member of the dock family. It is quite widespread and known from Bahrain. The leaves make a pleasant rather sour salad snack.
Cheers Mike Jennings

and this caterpillar - most probably a large moth - first the eating end

the rear end

Could be a 'humming bird' type - many of the hawk moths hover at flowers to feed - amongst the species which sometimes migrate to the UK, your specimen somewhat resembles the caterpillar of the spurge hawk moth, scientific name: Hyles (= Celerio) euphorbiae, and related species belonging to the same genus, Hyles (= Celerio).
Dr D A Kendall BSc PhD
Kendall Bioresearch Services
Email: kendalluk@aol.com
Web: http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/

and finally - Bahrain endangered species

Adrian and I were out birding here in Bahrain a few weeks ago with two visiting birders in tow on the Jebel Dakhan. Adrian photographed a Desert Lark, that I had pointed out. Yesterday he put the picture up on his photo pages and since I have received several emails to tell me that my ID is wrong and in fact the bird shown is a female Black Lark Melanocorypha yeltoniensis. The first two pictures are the two images as taken by Adrian - below are two further Pictures I took today of a Desert Lark on the Jebel. I am sticking to my original opinion Desert Lark - Comments please!

Desert Lark Ammonanes desert according to Nightingale and Hill (1993) Birds of Bahrain, the endemic A d insularis breeds Bahrain. Today I returned to the Jebel Dakhan in search of the dark lark but could only find our normal looking Desert Larks managing to get these two shots