The first Cotton Teal Nettapus coromandelianus in Jordan

RICHARD BASHFORD

ON THE MORNING of 9 April 1997, I was leading a Naturetrek tour at Aqaba sewage works when my attention was drawn to a small greyish bird amongst Garganey Anas querquedula and Teal Anas crecca. The bird was asleep but soon raised its head to reveal a short stubby goose-like bill. Since the bird was smaller than the adjacent Teal, I realised it was something unexpected. The bird was shown to the group before I concluded that it was a female Cotton Teal Nettapus coromandelianus, the first record in Jordan (Andrews 1995). It was observed for c. 30 minutes before it flew, with four Teal, to an adjacent pool. It was later seen feeding in the open with other wildfowl and was still present the next day.

Description. Smaller than neighbouring Teal, with greyish underparts and dark back. Small squarish head with stubby dark bill. Dark crown and forehead with obvious dark eye-line. Compact when swimming with greyish underparts becoming darker towards breast where more marked. Similarly, silvery neck and head darkening from nape down. Wings and back appeared relatively dark in flight, with white trailing edge on secondaries only.

Cotton Teal is a vagrant to eastern Arabia, in Bahrain and UAE, is scarce but regular in Oman, and has been recorded in Iran (Porter 1996). There is one previous Western Palearctic record: two females in Ashar market, Iraq in 1976 caught in Hawr al Hammar marshes the previous day (Kainady 1976).

Richard Bashford, Garage Cottage, Kilverstone Hall, Kilverstone, Norfolk IP24 2RL, U.K.

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