Records of Booted Warbler Hippolais caligata
in north-eastern Turkey
VOLKER DIERSCHKE, FRANK STÜHMER and THORSTEN STÜHMER
THE TOWN of Rize on the Black Sea coast of eastern Turkey, presents excellent opportunities to study migrating passerines. During autumn migration, newly arrived migrants may be encountered anywhere along the coast. In August 1988, 1990, 1991 and 1993 we found not only good numbers of buntings, warblers and wheatears, but also scarcer species, e.g. up to ten Citrine Wagtails Motacilla citreola, four Barred Warblers Sylvia nisoria, seven Rose-coloured Starlings Sturnus roseus, 20 Kingfishers Alcedo atthis and 20 Ortolan Buntings Emberiza hortulana. During each visit (lasting one to three days) we also found Booted Warblers Hippolais caligata as follows: one or two on 20 August 1988 (VD), two or three on 15 August 1990 (FS), one on 29 August 1991 (TS) and one on 5 August 1993 (FS, TS, R. Muheim).As structure, colouration and behaviour were similar in all birds, we give a short composite description based upon all birds. All exhibited light brown upperparts and whitish underparts, lacking any greenish or yellowish tones. The striking head pattern included dark lores and a pale supercilium, most pronounced before and above the eye, contrasting with the warmish brown ear-coverts and crown and whitish throat. The mantle, most wing coverts and tail were uniform brown, while the tertials and greater coverts were narrowly fringed off white. The latter formed a diffuse, but obvious sickle-shaped wing panel. The outer webs of the outermost tail feathers were whitish. The tail was square-ended, but the innermost pair of tail feathers appeared slightly shorter. All birds showed little primary projection, giving rise to a clumsy appearance compared to nearby Willow Warblers Phylloscopus trochilus, which were approximately the same size. The legs appeared flesh to greyish-brown in colouration, depending on light conditions. The toes were apparently slightly darker than the tarsus. Calls were only heard in 1990: a harsh 'check'.
Booted Warblers were often conspicious, being encountered at the edge of small bushes and on boulders, often exhibiting flycatcher-like behaviour. Approach to within five metres was possible and permitted photography in 1988, 1991 and 1993. Based on more detailed descriptions than presented here, the 1988 and 1990 records were submitted to and accepted by the German Rarities Commitee.
Despite the proximity to the breeding and wintering ranges (west to the Caspian Sea and west to the Arabian Gulf region respectively, Glutz von Blotzheim & Bauer 1991) there are just four other records of the species in Turkey. The only previous record was at ArdeĦen on 9 September 1976 (Beaman 1986) with more recent spring records being of singletons at Birecik on 24 May 1992 (Anon 1992), Mersin on 25-26 April 1993 (P. Collin in Kirwan 1994), and Erçek Gölü on 20 May 1993 (Kirwan 1994). The fact that the species was recorded during all our short visits to Rize suggests regular migration of small numbers through eastern Turkey.
Volker Dierschke, Vogelwarte Hiddensee, 18565 Kloster, Germany.
Frank Stühmer, Hauptstr. 35, 21394 Heiligenthal, Germany.
Thorsten Stühmer, WSA-Tonnenhof, 27498 Helgoland, Germany.
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