15 
On 1 July 1979 a colony of not more than six Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia 
nests was found on the east coast of southern Humar; the nests were on 
raised lumps of dead coral just above the beach, and contained both eggs 
(one C/2 noted) and newly hatched chicks (Preston 1979a; IA in litt . 18 
August 1957). This is the first breeding record from North Yemen; the 
subspecies involved is presumably archeri . 
ii) Terns 
Nesting terns Sterna were noted on the low, sandy islands of Juwa, At 
Talawin, Qusur and Hataban, and possibly also on Al Badi' (Preston 1979a, 
1979b; FP in litt . 2 May 1987), despite Juwa and Hataban being infested 
with mice. Breeding terns were not found on the rocky, upraised coral 
islands of Tikfash and 'Ukban; the islands of Zurbat, Kitamah and possibly 
Zuraymah are infested with rats and similarly do not support breeding 
terns. Dates of visits to the islands harbouring nesting terns are not 
icnown exactly, but fell between 26 June and 23 July 1979; nests contained 
eggs, were sited on fairly bare, open ground, and numbers of terns were in 
tens rather than hundreds. Several species were involved, though not 
identified; the fact that they resembled Common Terns S. hirundo (FP in 
litt . 2 May 1987) suggests that 'white' Sterna terns were present and not 
Bridled Terns S. anaethetus or Noddy terns Anous . 
iii) Breeding indications for other species 
Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus 
About 25 displaying on Kitamah, 18 October 1979 (Phillips 1984); the rats 
on this island may compromise breeding success, though it appears Chat 
Sooty Falcon Falco concolor bred successfully here (see below). 
Osprey Pandion haliaetus 
Four birds and two nests on Hataban, 17 October 1979 (Phillips 1984). 
Sooty Falcon Falco concolor 
A pair with a juvenile on Kitamah, 18 October 1979 (Phillips 1984). 
Human pressure 
Terns' eggs and the aforementioned clutch of Spoonbill eggs were taken by 
the labourers who were helping the survey team. The crew of the fishing 
boat hired by the survey team dug up a turtle's nest (species unknown) on 
one of the islands and took the clutch of c.80 eggs. Sand was being 
collected at Al Murk for use as building material in Al Luhayyah. Plastic 
rubbish was common on all the islands' beaches, as it is on the mainland 
coast ^pers. obs.). 
