5 
Snipe Galllnago galllnago 
One at Ma'rib on I5th, the first record for the Interior desert, 
extending the dates of spring passage by two days. 
Redshank Tringa totanus 
One at Ma'rib on I5th, the first record for the Interior desert. 
Slender-billed Gull Larus genei 
Two at Ma'rib on 15th - the first record from the Interior desert 
(all previous records are from the Red Sea coast). 
African Scops Owl Otus senegalensis 
A pair calling, occasionally dueting, in mixed groves of Walnut, 
Apricot and Almond trees at Hadda between 18A5 and 2000 hours on the 
nights of 18th and 19th. From the location of the calls it appeared 
that the birds normally kept 50-100 metres apart, though a bird was 
joined by its mate on the same branch for about 30 seconds, on one 
occasion. The first definite record from the Highland plateau. 
(There is one probable spring record from Wadi Dahr.) 
Nubian Nightjar Caprimulgus nubicus 
One seen well and heard singing plus another, heard only, in climax 
Acacla / Euphorbla woodland c.5km north-east of Al Midman, 11th. Song 
a loud emphatic two-note "whow-whow" with most emphasis on the 
"-ho-" part of the note. This song was sometimes followed by a 
lower pitched four-note "whow-whow-whow-whow-" and a low note like a 
broody domestic chicken "bruur-bruuur-bruuur-bruuur-" , typically 
repeated about eight times. 
Bee-eater Merops apiaster 
Twenty-nine at Ta'izz sewage lagoons 7th; 46 near Al Midman on 11th. 
Both flocks were at high altitude, on an easterly heading and were 
clearly migrating. Perhaps not as uncommon on spring passage as 
previously thought. 
Wryneck Jynx torqullla 
One at i<awkaban, 4th, ( D. Coutts, P. Ratlibone); one at Walah, 
Highland plateau, (D. Hosking), 6th. 
Arabian Woodpecker Dendrocopus dorae 
Seven in riparian woodland, (mainly dorataant speoles Cord la 
abyssinica ) 2km north of Hajja, lOth-lIth, Including a pair 
repeatedly bringing food items to a nesting hole at about 25 metres 
height in a large, deAci tree-trunk, (ten visits In 30 minutes - 
