Notes on some breeding birds in Lebanon

GHASSAN RAMADAN-JARADI AND MONA RAMADAN-JARADI

Major changes in breeding status and distribution are provided for 26 species, based on fieldwork in 1995– 96. Three breeding species were new to the Lebanon bird list (Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca, Pheasant Phasianus colchicus and Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri). Eleven new breeding species are listed (Booted Hieraaetus pennatus and Bonelli’s Eagles H. fasciatus, Yellow-legged Gull Larus cachinnans, Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus, Rock Dove Columba livia, Hoopoe Upupa epops, Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea, Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos, Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio, Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla and Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia), eight are the first breeding records for a number of years and one (Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus) successfully bred for the first time. Notes are provided for three other species.

INTRODUCTION

Lebanon is a mountainous country: the topography consists of a narrow coastal plain and two imposing, parallel mountain ranges reaching 3150 metres, separated by the Beqaa Valley, which lies at 800–1000 metres.

SPECIES LIST

Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus (RB)
Only one, incomplete, breeding attempt, in 1971 (Tohmé & Neuschwander 1974). Two pairs bred successfully in 1995: one in a small oak Quercus sp. on the east slope of Jabal Barouk at c. 1200 metres; the other on a steep slope one km from the protected forest of Ehden at 1350 metres. The latter was reused in 1996.

Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus (MB)
No previous documented breeding records, although Vere Benson (1970) lists it as having perhaps bred. In 1996, a pair nested in a solitary tree above the Al Maanyeh ravine in Iqleem El Harroub (Schouf), 34 km south-east of Beirut. The pair was first seen on 25 April, and the nest with an incubating/brooding adult was found on 23 May.

Bonelli’s Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus (MB)
No previous documented breeding records, although Vere Benson (1970) notes a nest “recorded years ago in the Anti-Lebanon” and that pairs are “reported many times, apparently breeding, in one of the river valleys on the west side of the Lebanon”. An occupied nest in March 1996 on a cliff at Ijbeh on Jabal Aitou (north Lebanon). Another pair observed regularly throughout the 1995 breeding season at Multaqa Al Nahrein, two km east of Damour but no proof of breeding.

Kestrel Falco tinnunculus (RB)
The most common and widespread breeding raptor in Lebanon. Approximately 63 breeding pairs were recorded in 1995 and 1996 in a variety of habitats from sea level to 2600 metres.

Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca (RB)
No previous records. Considerable numbers introduced by the National Council for Hunting in Lebanon in 1994 and 1995. It breeds in very small numbers near cedar at Maasser El Schouf, at c. 1800 metres. If this species continues to colonise this area, it will compete with and threaten the indigenous Chukar Alectoris chukar.

Pheasant Phasianus colchicus (RB)
No previous records in Lebanon. Many have escaped or been introduced into the wild during 1993 and 1994, principally by the National Council for Hunting in Lebanon. A nest was found in April 1995 in an olive grove at Darayya (Iqleem El Kharroub). The future of this species in Lebanon may be limited due to illegal hunting pressure.

Yellow-legged Gull Larus cachinnans michahellis (RB)
Possibly breeds (Tohmé & Neuschwander 1974, Macfarlane 1978) and recorded as breeding on the islands off Tripoli, without details, by Vere Benson (1970). In May 1996, 50+ birds, mainly adults, on Palm, Ramkeen and Sanani islands off Tripoli. Eight pairs were found breeding on the rocky coasts of Palm Island (four nests), Ramkeen Island (three nests) and Sanani Island (one nest). Eggs, downy young and a juvenile seen.

Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus (MB)
No previous breeding records in Lebanon. A colony of 10–12 pairs in May 1995 and 1996, nesting in a flood plain of the Oronte (Al Assi) River, between Dirdara and the Syrian border.

Rock Dove Columba livia (RB)
Vere Benson (1970) considered it apparently resident in montane Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon but breeding not proven. A small colony in late March 1995, on the high ledges of a steep rocky slope near the Yammouneh ponds at c. 1500 metres, where breeding confirmed.

Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto (RB)
Formerly bred in Beirut (Cramp & Simmons 1985) but subsequently considered to have become extinct (Tohmé & Neuschwander 1974). Several pairs found during 1995 and 1996 in a wooded garden at the American University of Beirut. Several hundred birds resident and breeding in pine groves in Beirut, especially near the racecourse.

Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri (RB)
No previous records in Lebanon. A small colony of c. 18 birds, originating from escapes, was found breeding at the American University of Beirut campus. Copulation observed in mid-April 1995 and early May 1996.

Pallid Swift Apus pallidus (MB)
One breeding record in 1956 (Kumerloeve 1968). Regularly recorded during 1995 and 1996 breeding seasons when three colonies discovered. Up to 16 birds in a building next to a pine grove in Beirut, were nesting in holes caused by bombing and gunfire during the last civil war. In 1996, seven pairs found in the ceiling of an abandoned storey of the Al Amlieh Mehania School in Beirut. Chicks heard in late May. A third colony of c. six pairs was on the rocky, west coast of Ramkeen Island, off Tripoli. In additio n, c. 20 birds were regularly recorded between late April and mid-June 1995 and 1996 over palms near Al Bohsas beach, Tripoli.

European Bee-eater Merops apiaster (MB?)
Perhaps bred formerly but no recent evidence (Tohmé & Neuschwander 1974, Cramp & Simmons 1985). On 7 May 1996, some were inspecting holes in a sandy cliff above Joueet Spring at Ehden. None seen on 6 June. A breeding attempt is possible.

Hoopoe Upupa epops (MB or RB)
Breeding previously unconfirmed, but one seen and heard at Qammouha on 11 May (Macfarlane 1978) and listed as formerly being probably a regular breeder which now perhaps nests only occasionally (Tohmé & Neuschwander 1974). During 1995 and 1996 breeding seasons, common in Abies cilicica forest near Qammouha, and in Quercus pseudocerris forest at Al Houah, between Qammouha and Fneideq. Several nests found in April and May, usually on the forest edge, and a pair seen carrying food to a hole in a dead tree in cedar forest at Bscharri. Further data needed before it can be ascertained whether breeding birds are resident.

Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus (RB)
Formerly bred, especially in the north, but no recent records (Tohmé & Neuschwander 1974, Macfarlane 1978). One heard in fir groves at Qammouha on 28 April 1995. On 26 May 1996, an adult was feeding three nearly fledged young in Quercus pseudocerris forest at Al Houah, near Qammouha, at c. 1800 metres.

Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava (MB)
A single breeding record of M. f. feldegg in 1974 (Macfarlane 1978). The race M. f. feldegg is a relatively common breeder, principally at high altitudes and especially by the Bscharri streams. A few nests containing eggs or recently fledged young found between early May and mid-June 1995 and 1996 there. A pair of M. f. flava x M. f. feldegg bred for the first time in 1996, a nest was found on the ground close to Joueet stream and in the same area as Grey Wagtail M. cinerea mentioned below.

Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea (MB or RB)
No previous breeding records, although Vere Benson (1970) states “appears to breed very locally in the mountains”. Small numbers breeding at Joueet Spring, near Ehden in mid-May to late June 1996. Two nests located between large, loose stones beside a small waterfall. The nearest breeding areas are in south and south-east Turkey, and north Iraq (Porter et al. 1996).

Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos (MB)
No previous breeding records. Common and widespread at low altitudes from mid-April, especially in maquis and garrigue. On 7 May 1996, a nest containing four eggs was found in degraded maquis on a hillside at Dalhoun, at 450 metres.

Isabelline Wheatear Oenanthe isabellina (MB)
Has bred (Vere Benson 1970) but no recent records. Not uncommon around the cedar forest of Bscharri (c. 1850 metres). On 4 June 1996, an adult seen carrying food at this locality.

Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla (RB or MB)
There are no previous breeding records of this passage migrant and winter visitor (Tohmé & Neuschwander 1974). A common breeding resident in a wide variety of habitats at low and mid-altitudes, and on Palm Island, off Tripoli. Breeding well advanced in early May 1995 and 1996 when nine nests found, five with eggs, two with food-carrying by parents and two with young c. seven days old on 2 June 1996. The nearest breeding is in north Israel (Shirihai 1996).

Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata (MB)
A single breeding record in 1972 (Tohmé & Neuschwander 1974). Recorded breeding at several localities in undergrowth of pine groves, orchards, woodlands and cultivation with trees. Principally found at Kfar Hatta, Bjiro, Ainbal, Marj Bisri, Saraal, Horj Ehden and with a very high density in olive groves at Zgharta, eight km east of Tripoli. The species arrives in mid-April, with most appearing in the last week of April.

Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio (MB)
No previous breeding records. A fairly common summer visitor, breeding principally at mid- and high altitudes north of the Beirut–Damascus road. Most common at 600–1500 metres in north Lebanon with concentrations at Fneideq, Qammouha, Arbat Kozhaya, Ijbeh Ehden, Horj Ehden and Ban, where copulation observed on 4 June 1996. Arrives from mid-April with a peak in late April and nests from mid-May.

Alpine Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus (RB)
Cramp & Perrins (1993) map two breeding areas in Lebanon whilst Tohmé & Neuschwander (1978) record fledged young in July. In May 1996, a large colony in the cliffs at Ayoun El Siman, at c. 2200 metres. On 9 June 1996, 150 birds, adults and juveniles, were counted there.

Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis (MB or RB)
Last recorded breeding in Lebanon in 1960 (Tohmé & Neuschwander 1974). On 4 June 1996, five nests were located in two adjacent Robinia trees at Bscharri, at c. 1850 metres.

Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia (RB)
No previous records of confirmed breeding, although a common resident in higher arid areas, and reputed to breed at ruins in the Bekaa (Vere Benson 1970). Found to be very common in rocky areas around high altitude forests, and in the subalpine and alpine zones above the cedar limit.

Syrian Serin Serinus syriacus (RB)
Not recorded breeding in the last 25 years. A fairly common resident above 1500 metres and down to 700 metres in north Lebanon. Highest densities at Qammouha, Bscharri, Ain Zhalta, Barouk and Masser El Schouf.

Ghassan Ramadan-Jaradi, Faculty of Science, Section I, Lebanese University, P.O. Box 13-5292, Beirut, Lebanon.
Mona Ramadan-Jaradi, P.O. Box 11-9558, Beirut, Lebanon.