many years. An atlas project would bind forces which are urgently 
required elsewhere. Turkish ornithology is thus at a stage in which not 
even basic data for a number of urgent conservation issues are available. 
It seems, then, reasonable to concentrate all efforts on surveying and 
protecting particular areas and particular species. With limited resources, 
this is the more effective way frian an overall atlas project. 
On the other hand, it is often difficult to judge the frequency of a bird 
spedes in Turkey and to find out what is 'unusual' and what is 'normal': 
neither an up-to-date avifauna, a checklist of the birds of Turkey, nor a 
reliable Red Data Book of Turkish birds are available. There is, however, 
much information available through publications and unpublished 
reports, and considerable contributions can be made by using these 
sources. A thorough compilation, review and evaluation of these sources 
may prove more useful than active fieldwork at present. 
During the last five years, a number of species accounts have been 
published by the author and others. Detailed information on distribution, 
frequency, population, phenology and migration is contained in these 
papers, and they may be used as tiKe basis for protection measures and for 
directed intensive field surveys. These studies include the following: 
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber A. Kilic, Zoology in the Middle East 2, 
1988: 41-42. The observation that the Ramingo made a breeding attempt in the 
Eregli Marshes gave rise to a review of all Turkish breeding records. A map with 
all localities is included. 
White Stork Ciconia ciconia H. Kumerloeve, Bonn. zool. Beitr. 27, 1976: 172-217; 
A. Kilic and M. Kasparek, pl61-174 and 197-306, in G. Rheinwald, J. Ogden and 
H . Schultz (eds) Proceedings of the First International Stork Symposium, 
Schriftenreihe des Dachverbandes Deutscher Avifaunisten (no 10). 472 pp. All 
known Turkish breeding sites of the White Stork were listed. The distribution 
pattern is shown with a map of half -degree squares and the pattern explained. 
The absence of White Storks from certain areas is discussed in relation to habitat 
requirements. A decrease in the Turkish breeding population was foimd. The 
seasonal migration pattern at main observation points was shown with histograms, 
and the migration route is given with maps based on ringing recoveries. 
Bittern Botaurus stellaris M. Kasparek, Zoology in the Middle East 1, 1986: 33-41 . 
Lists all Turkish records and shows them on a map. Breeding was never proved 
for Turkey, but is assumed for eight localities, resulting in a breeding population 
of less than 20 pairs. 
Demoiselle Crane Anthropoides virgo M. Kasparek, Zoology in the Middle East 
2, 1988: 31-38. The Turkish breeding population numbers less than 30 pairs at 
only a few localities. This paper includes also records of migrants. 
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus M. Kasparek, Zoology in the Middle East 4, 1990: 
25-32. The migration pattern in Turkey is described with the aid of a histogram 
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