Status of Upcher's Warbler Hippolais 
languida in Egypt 
Mindy & SherifBaha el Din 
There have been a number of recent reports of Upcher's Warbler 
Hippolais languida from Egypt, but no formal description has been pub- 
lished. Goodman & Meininger (1989) did not admit the species to the 
Egyptian list, since the only evidence for its occurrence was an unsub- 
stantiated statement by Hovel (1987) that ''Upcher's Warbler is a 
scarce passage visitor to Sinai". 
Recent observ^ations however indicate that Hovel's comment was cor- 
rect. There are now seven records of the species from Egypt, all but 
two from Sinai. The first record was of one observed at the Sheraton 
Hotel, Hurghada on 10 August 1987 (A. Grieve pers. comm.). 
Subsequently an individual was found in Wadi Rishat, south of 
Qusaima, north Sinai on 4 May 1990 (S. Baha el Din in Anon. 1990) 
and three were at Sharm el Sheikh, south Sinai on 24 August 1991 (H. 
Kahl in Anon. 1991). The fourth, fifth and sixth records were all by 
the authors: one at Wadi Geraffi, near Ras El Naqab, north Sinai on 8 
April 1992, another at Qusaima on 25 April 1992 and one at St 
Katherine airport, south Sinai on 7 August 1992. The most recent 
record was one at Bulaq, Kharga Oasis in the Western Desert on 20 
March 1993 (A. Riad pers. comm.). The following is a description of 
the bird at Wadi Geraffi on 8 April 1992. It was observed for over 45 
minutes as it foraged in bushes of Lygos raetum along the wadi. 
Comparisons were made between this individual, a Bonelli's Warbler 
Phylloscopus honelli and a Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca which were 
feeding in the same area. Subsequently a number of field guides and 
identification papers were consulted, particularly Hollom et al. (1988), 
Harrap (1990) and Fry (1990). 
Size and structure A large hippolais; much larger than Bonelli's 
Warbler and marginally bigger than Lesser Whitethroat, with a steep 
forehead and crown peaking just behind the eye. Stocky structure sim- 
ilar to a Sylvia, but overall appearance was typically hippolais in charac- 
ter, especially the elongated head and bill. Tail fairly long, longer than 
in Olivaceous Warbler H. pallida. 
22 
