Lesser Striped Swallow! First for Kuwait and Western Palearctic

Today, I received a call from Omar informing me that he was heading to Abraq Al-Habari, following a message circulating on WhatsApp about a new bird record for Kuwait. The bird was reportedly found by Vincent Legrand, Peter Alfrey, and Julien Hainaut.

According to the Oman Bird List, there is a single record of Lesser Striped Swallow (Cecropis abyssinica) in Oman, dated 4 December 1986. Its nearest established range is in Eritrea along the Red Sea, though the species is widespread across sub-Saharan Africa.