First breeding of Black-winged Stilts Himantopus himantopus on Socotra,Yemen

摘要

Despite visits by at least three previous ornithological expeditions, in the late 19th and 20th centuries, Black-winged Stilts Himantopus himantopus were not recorded on Socotra until March 1993 during the OSME survey (Kirwan ct al 1996). Since then they have been recorded in increasing but fluctuating numbers by BirdLife International/Socotra Conservation Development Programme (SCDP) surveys. The highest count, a high count for any Middle Eastern wetland site, was 109 at Qalansiva estuary, NW Socotra, in February 2006 (RE Porter pers comm, Plate 1). Until the discovery of breeding on the island (Figure 1), the Black-winged Stilt was considered a recent winter visitor and passage migrant, but with some suggestion of year-round presence.