Rare Basra reed warbler breeds in Israel

From BirdLife:

Rare warbler breeds in Israel

11-07-2006

One of the Middle East’s most threatened species, the Basra Reed-warbler, has received a welcome boost.

Normally restricted as a breeding bird to the Mesopotamian marshes of southern Iraq (and probably also southwest Iran), a research team from SPNI (BirdLife in Israel) trapped and ringed four birds in Israel’s Hula Valley in June 2006.

The two males, a female with a brood patch, and an almost fully-grown juvenile, are the first of the species ever to be discovered breeding in Israel.

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