of this project were migrant wader studies for the Eastern Mediterra- 
nean Wader Project 1990 {OSME Bull 24:30-31). Because the presence 
of the Purple GalUnule was strongly suspected in this area, some time 
was spent searching for breeding sites of the species. A suitable area 
seemed to be on the shore of the Akyatan Lake, 40 km south of Adana, 
here a meandering and broad stream, bordered by dense vegetation of 
reeds Phragmites, flows into the lake. Several attempts to find the 
species during March and April, on one occasion with a small boat, 
failed. However, on 8 May an adult bird was seen with a single chick. 
The next day, one was seen and five more were heard along the stream. 
On 15 May, the morning was spent examining the number of territories 
on both sides of a branch of the stream for about 2 km. There proved 
to be at least seven territories, with at least nine adults and 10 chicks. 
Since the total suitable area is at least three times the size of the 
examined area, the estimated number of territories is 20. 
The birds clearly had grey heads and throats, and so belong to the 
subspecies seistanicus or caspius. As there are no known records of 
caspius in this region (Cramp and Simmons 1980), the birds are 
presumed to be P. p. seistanicus: this is the subspecies breeding in the 
G6ksu Delta. 
The Akyatan Lake and a 500 m zone around it are protected against 
hunting by Turkish law. However, people visiting the area in winter 
mention large-scale hunting (eg. L.J. Dijksen et al WIWO Report 21 
1989). It is vital to protect this area, including the marshes, in a more 
effective way to save this second breeding site of the Purple Gallinule 
in Turkey. 
Acknowledgments 
As this project was a co-operation of the Turkish Society for the Protection of 
WUdlife pHKD) with the Dutch Working Group for Internation Wader and 
Waterfowl Research (WIWO), we would like to thank both organisations for 
making this research possible. We would also like to thank Vincent van den 
Berk for providing much additional information. 
References 
Cramp, S and Simmons, KEL (eds) 1980. The Birds of the Western Paleartic, Vol 
2:592-599. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK 
Dijksen, LJ et al 1989. WIWO Report 21. 
Kasparek, M et al 1989. Zoology of the Middle East, Vol 3. 
Arjan Ovaa and Rene Vos, Foundation WIWO, c/o Dutch 
Society for the Protection of Birds, Driebergsweg 16c, 3708 JB 
Zeist, Netherlands 
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