the former usually arriving ten days earlier. This pattern was 
observed in all three years. 
The Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur occurs on the Farasan Islands in 
both spring and autumn. On the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia the 
bulk of the spring passage is between mid March and mid April 
;(Buttiker 1988). However, few doves were caught during the present 
study, all in late April 1991. The traps used on Qummah are not ideal- 
ly suited for catchhig doves and are different from those described by 
Buttiker (1988). Turtle Doves are apparently largely trapped for sale 
as food. On Qummah Island birds are caught in order to produce a 
special oil from the birds' fat, only rarely used for cooking, but usually 
presented as a gift or used for medicinal purposes. The amount of oil 
may total five to six lites from a single spring catch. The remaining 
meat is then fried and eaten. 
The following species were only caught in very small numbers: Turtle 
Dove, Grey-headed Kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala, Hoopoe Upiipa 
epops, Song Thrush Turdus philomelos, Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus 
and Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus. 
Conclusions 
In comparison to the situation in some Mediterranean countries that 
on Qummah Island is not critical. However it is essential to control 
the trapping and prevent its spread to other islands in the Farasan 
archipelago. An action plan which is acceptable to the local people 
should be formulated by the relevant government authorities. Any 
plan should consider the following: 1) an educational programme 
addressing both adults and children 2) discouraging the trapping of 
migrant birds in order to obtain cooking fat and medicinal oil by sug- 
, gesting an alternative source acceptable to the people of the island 3) 
establishing a ringing scheme to be organised by local people and 
supervised by the National Commission for Wildlife Conser\'ation 
and its Development (NCWCD). 
Acknowledgements 
My sincere appreciation goes to Prof. Abdulaziz Abuzinada (NCWCD 
Secretary General) for his support of the survey. Thanks are also due to the 
following research students at the Faculty of Science, KAA.U.: Mohamed A. 
Aqily, Abdullah Y. Mossawa, Mohamed Y. Mossaw and Yehia A. Khalifah for 
their assistance in the field. I am grateful to John and Patsy Gasparetti for their 
valuable comments on the manuscript. 
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