EGYPT - 3 March

That was due to be a promising day: from Wadi Gemal to Shalaten, with stops en route at the Hamata and Wadi Lahami mangroves for Goliath Heron, which finally did not show to me despite some efforts. Anyway, the day started with birding the gardens of the Gorgonia and Shams Alam hotels in Wadi Gemal, where a Bacl Scrub Robin was reported on 24 November, while one spent the winter there in 2008-9. It was not long before I saw a long black tail hovering from behind a palm tree, here we go, BBR!

I spent some time looking stonechats and wheatears in details. Very interesting. And troubling. Well, a summary of my observations was necessary using adequate references back home. Obviously, Caspian variegatus and Siberian maurus Stonechats occur in Egypt, with some evident males, while females are sometimes puzzling. I was especially wondering if female variegatus has really pale buff bases to outer tail feathers, as I did not observed such females, and while I saw 4 Caspian (variegatus and a priori 1 Armenian (armenicus) males. The only pale female fitted very well Siberian maurus - no reason to think otherwise - while another one, accompanying very closely a male, had clearly some dark on throat, no white on tail, pale rump but some dark on longest uppertail coverts. Not a rubicola for me, the large pale rump fits eastern stonechat, and this female seems to perfectly fit Armenian armenicus following HBWP. The accompanying male displayed some white on the inner webs of the outer tail feathers, which is not visible on all taken pictures on the closed tail, so this fits also well Armenian.

A male Caspian Stonechat Saxicola torquatus variegatus


A male Armenian Stonechat Saxicola torquatus armenicus? Although in the field I noted some white in the tail, this is not visible at all on any picture; its female was as armenicus is reported in the consulted litterature.


A female Siberian Stonechat Saxicola torquatus maurus. No white at the base of the tail feathers, very pale bird with long wings.


Female Armenian Stonechat Saxicola torquatus armenicus? Large pale rump associted with dark on throat seems to match this subspecies. Associated with the male depicted above as putative Armenian.


Then, other puzzling birds in these gardens. A Pied-type Wheatear was most probably an early Cyrpus Pied Wheatear, given the date and location. Long first primary compared to primary coverts, long white black outer web on the outermost tail feather, and appropriate head pattern, although some Pied are just so similar: see below two such Pied Wheatear males photographed in Kuwait by Pierre-André Crochet while we were there in April 2008.

Probable Cyprus Pied Wheatear, Gorgonia resort


Two male Pied Wheatears for comparison, later in season, Kuwait, April 2008 (by P-A Crochet)


Not yet finished with that day at all, still in the gardens, a pair of pale doves escaped continuously any good views. They soon joined two juveniles birds, more approachable, which I decided to just photograph to study their tail patterns later on. Well, good try, despite having undertail coverts being just darker than white, the pale outer web to the outer tail feathers signs African Collared Dove. The hotel is known to host the species, so why not!