ID Problems

News --- Bird confirmed as Basra Reed Warbler has been accepted by Records committee

Last weekend myself (Brenden) and Abdulla put up a selection of nets in Ali Agricultural Farm to see what might be passing through. Towards dark I picked an unusual reed-type warbler out of the bottom shelf of one of the nets. Immediately I saw it I knew it was unusual, a bit too big for reed warbler and too small for great reed. I stuck it in a bag and finished the net-round. We processed the other birds and then I gave the bag to Abdulla, saying nothing. He immediately knew we had something different also. We decided to put an A ring on it due to the small size of the tarsus. Having gone through Svenson ID and looked at the Collins bird guide to the birds of Europe and the middle east we concluded that the bird was a Basra Reed Warbler. The blue/grey colour of the legs was particularly striking. There was no streaking on the breast or flanks. Unfortunately darkness had decended and the photographs were very poor. I managed to salvage 2 which give some indication of the wing and head details. Detail measurements and wing formula are below..

In the hand

Poor lateral view

Wing 79, Tail 58, Tarsus 24.9
Bill skull 24.5, Bill depth at nares 3.4
weight 14.5, Fat 0, muscle 1
Wing Point 3, 1st secondary to tip of wing 19
Emmargination 3, 2nd primary notch 8/9
1st Primary more than 2mm shorter than primary coverts