The length of this list indicates the amount of work that still needs to be 
done, even in such a comparatively well-known country. It must be 
stressed, however, that records, especially breeding records, are required 
for all species, not just those listed above. 
Our knowledge of the breeding distribution of many Turkish birds is at 
best incomplete, and is absent for many regions. Even the simplest notes 
distinguishing breeding birds from conspedf ic migrants would be helpful. 
Rod Martins and Richard Webb, for the Turkish Bird Report Editorial Committee, 
OSME, c/o The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, UK 
Karapinar Ovasi, a little-known 
Turkish IBA 
Guy Kirwan 
The Karapinar Ovasi, north-west of the town of Karapinar, Konya 
Province, is included in the recent list of Turkish Important Bird Areas 
(Ertan et al 1989; Grimmett and Jones 1989), although comparatively few 
data are available except during mid-winter. Van den Berk et al (1983) 
and Dijksen and Koning (1986) mention the apparently recent origin of 
this wetland, but this is far from true. Djiksen and Koning do suggest that 
the water table in this plain is highly variable; they state that it was 
consistently higher in the 1980s than in the 197()s. The area, then rather 
confusingly labelled Tuzlu Gol, is included in a map prepared by Kiepert 
in 1911-12, which was itself based on information collected in the 
nineteenth century (Kilic and Kasparek 1990). 
The huge salt-pan at the centre of this virtually bare plain varies greatly 
in area and, to a lesser extent, depth. The lake regularly dries up 
completely or nearly so during the summer (Grimmett and Jones 1989). 
In winter, the normal water depth is half a metre or less, and it frequently 
freezes over completely. A visit in 1989 showed that the lake can, possibly 
through lack of rain, split into two or more main sections (G Magnin pers 
comm). 
Most ornithological data for the area are for the winter only, when the site 
is important for White-fronted Geese Ansera/hyVows and Ruddy Shelducks 
Tadornaferruginca, which both feed and roost there (Grimmett and Jones 
1989; G Magnin pers comm). 
24 
