Notes

Field characters of Senegal Thick-knee The Northern and Central African Senegal Thick-knee Burhinus senegalensis is discussed only occasionally in the literature, even in the most recent. It is usually stated that the is only fractionally different from the Eurasian Stone- B. oedicnemus, identification resting chiefly on the distribution of colour on the bill and die pattern of the upperwing-coverts. On average, it seems that the bill of Senegal Thick-knee usually shows more black, which extends from the tip and along the culmen to die bill base (rarely even onto both mandibles, covering the area around the nostril), but some individuals (apparently varying among different populations or age/seasonal groups) have black restricted to die area in front of the nostril and with very narrow and indistinct black on the culmen which is undetectable in profile, even at close range, whereas on some others it is paler and extends only partially towards the bill base (as occasionally found on some Stone-, apparently chiefly of the races saharae and indicus). The bill of typical Stone- curlew shows a black tip confined to the area in front of the nostril, or sometimes extending farther along the cutting edges. The wing-coverts pattern always provides the best character for separating the two species. Senegal Thick-knee is generally described as having only one broad pale greyish band bordered above by a narrow black band, lacking the (extra) upper white bar of Stone-curlew. Beware, however, pale individuals of Stone-curlew with reduced dark median-coverts bar (caused by moult, wear and bleaching), resulting in the upper and lower pale panels almost joining and becoming somewhat reminiscent of die much more extensive pale panel of Senegal Thick-knee; experience shows that identification of such faded demands great care. The wing-coverts pattern is not always easy to discern in flight, and, because of the pitfall described above, it is certainly not safe to identify die species in flight. Subsidiary differences (albeit with degrees of overlap) are that Senegal Thick-knee has a marginally longer bill, and more prominent (larger) white markings on the inner and outer primaries, which can be observed in flight. If extremely good flight views are obtained, it may be possible to observe a distinct dark crescent-shaped patch on die outer side of the big pale panel, created by the blackish subterminal bands and wide white tips of the outer greater coverts; also, Senegal Thick-knee may show a more uniform uppertail, lacking the obvious pale and dark bars on the central tail feadiers of most (but not all) Stone-curlews. Leg colour is similar on both species, but often duller on Senegal Thick- knee. Finally, it should be noted that the high level of individual variation in 183 55 & 56. Senegal Thick-knees Burhinus senegaknsis, The Gambia, October 1988 (Hadaram Shirihai) 57 & 58. Stone-curlews Burhinus oedicnemus: above, of race saharae, Israel, December 1986 (Hadoram Shirihai); below, of nominate race. Norfolk, May 1987 (Chris & Jo Knights) 186 Notes head pattern, with large degrees of overlap (and inconsistent differences), render this feature of minimal use. HADORAM SlURiHAI PO Box 4168, Eilat 88102, Israel

Accentors in northeast European Russia On 15th July 1992, in shrub tundra close to the town of Nar'Yan Mar in the far northeast of European Russia (68° 15' N, 54°30' E), at an altitude of less than 50 m, I located an un­ familiar passerine singing from the top of a distant conifer at the edge of a bog dominated by willow Salix. The song, a thin warble, was not unlike that of a Hedge Accentor Prunella modularis. Upon closer approach, the was immediately identified as a Siberian Accentor P. montanella by a combination of its striking buffy-yellow supercilium contrasting with blackish ear-coverts and dusky-brown crown, together with a uniformly buff throat. There were rufous-chestnut streaks on the mantle and scapulars, and rusty fringes to the tcrtials and flight feathers, while the flanks were boldly streaked rusty-brown. This species has also recently been recorded by Morozov (1987) working a little farther east, on the Bolshezemclskaya tundra, and in similar habitat at around 68° N, 58° E (Cramp 1988). I returned to the same general area in mid August 1992 but failed to re­ locate the species. On 25th June 1993, I returned to Nar'Yan Mar together with C. F. Liggett and quickly located a minimum of five singing accentors in tall coniferous shrub tundra some 2 km north of uhe town. The birds were all singing from prominent positions on the tallest trees, perched either on top of the crown itself or on exposed upper branches, and again were producing thin accentor- type songs. To my surprise, all five were clearly Black-throated Accentors P. atrogularis, differing from the 1992 bird in having a prominent black patch on the throat and chin, a thinner, bulTy supercilium, dull grey-brown streaks on the flanks and more-prominent blackish streaking on the upperparts. An agitated indi­ vidual of this species was later located by GFL close to a shrubby 2-m-tall juniper Junipems and, after some searching, a nest containing two sky-blue eggs was located at a height of 1.5 m in the thickest part of the bush. The closest previously known breeding area of P. atrogularis lies well to the south and east in the Ural Mountains (66° N, 59° E), where the species nests in the sub- alpinc belt in clumps of stunted spruce Picea (Cramp 1988). Our visits to Nar'Yan Mar were brief stopovers prior to flying farther north to study the breeding biology of Tundra (Bewick's) Swans Cygnns columbiantis hewickii in the Ncnetski State Game Reserve on open maritime tundra at Khabuicka on the west shore of Bolvan Bay (68°30! N, 53°50' E) as part of a collaborative project involving the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, together with Russian, Dutch and Danish scientists (sec Rees et al. 1993). A paper detailing observations of the avifauna made during the summers of 1992 and 1993 is to be published in the Russian Journal of Chmtholog}' in 1994 Notes 187 (Bowler & Shchadilov, in press). A total of 99 species was located at Khabukka, with a further 17 species in the Nar'Yan Mar/Pechora Delta area. Many of these records constitute considerable extensions to the ranges of species depicted in Harrison (1982), notably the summering of Red-necked Grebes Podiceps grisegena in the Pechora Delta and a breeding attempt by a pair of Black Redstarts Phoenicians ochruros at Khabuicka. JONATHAN M. BOWLER The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucester GL2 7BT

REFERENCES Bowi.KR, j. M., & SHCHADILOV, Y. N. In press. Observations of bird species recorded at Khabuicka, Nenetski State Game Reserve, Russia. Russian J. Orn. GRAMl', S. (ed.) 1988. 77K limk of'the Western Pakarclic. vol. 5. Oxford. HARRISON, G. 1982. An Atlas af the Birds of the Western Palearcik. London. MOKOZOV, V. V. 1987. New data on fauna and distribution of birds for the eastern part of Bol- shezemelskaya tundra. Russian J. Orn. 22: 134-147. R.KKS, E. C, Bowi.F.R, J. M, BKKKMAN, J. H., a al. 1993. International collaborative study of Bewick's Swans nesting in the European Northeast of Russia. Russian J. Orn. In press.

Feeding technique of House Bunting In north Oman, House Buntings Emheriza striolala are widespread in their preferred habitat of bare hillsides by stony wadis with accessible water. In such places they are not particularly ap­ proachable, but, as is well known, the species tends to become ridiculously tame around human habitation, being, for example, 'one of the tamest and most familiar of the birds of the Saharan Oases' (Banncrman, 1948, Tlie Birds of Tropical West Africa). At the new Sultan Qaboos University, near the arid foothills of the western Hajcr range 50 km west of Muscat, House Buntings occasionally appear on the residential campus and arc then extremely confiding, foraging for small seeds on the ground almost at one's feet. A common additional feeding method is to jump up rapidly with a flutter of wings, seize a seeding grass or herb head just below the inflorescence and pull the plant stem down: the bunting then stands on the stem and plucks seeds from the inflorescence (plate 59); after a few seconds, it leaps up again to grab an adjacent stem, letting the first one spring up. We have seen buntings feed in this manner on the seeds of Amaranthus graecizans, Chloris barbata and C. gayana. One C. barbata stem was 36 cm long to the point of seizure (38 cm in total), but most seeding heads that the bunting uses are only half that height. A similar technique is used by Grey Canaries Serinus kucopygim in Nigeria (Fry, 1975, Bull. Niger. Orn. Soc. 11: 42), and GHF has seen it employed by Purple Grenadiers Uraeginthus iantkinogaster in Kenya. It may prove to be a fre­ quent option for a variety of ground-foraging granivores. C. H. FRY and J. ERIKSEN College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, PO Box 32486, Al-Khod, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman 188 Notes

59. House Bunting Emberiza striolata feeding on grass seed-head, Oman, December 1989 {Harme & Jens Eriksen)