The Ornithological Society of the Middle East's expedition to North Yemen October-December 1985: an introduction.

Abstract

This paper provides an introduction to the OSME North Yemen Expedition 1985 - which collected the data that forms the basis of the remaining papers of this volume of Sandgrouse. It is intended as a preface to the more detailed texts and briefly outlines the objectives of the Expedition, lists the personnel involved and acknowledges the enormous amount of support received from a wide variety of sources. For the Expedition's itinerary and coverage, see Brooks et al. (1987).

Sandgrouse 9 is in no way intended to provide a comprehensive coverage of the data obtained during the OSME Expedition; rather it presents a selection of some of the most interesting and relevant (to the Society) ornithological studies carried out. A non-specialist report (Rands et al. 1987), summarising the major scientific findings and logistical organisation of the Expedition and laying out suggested recommendations for the conservation of Yemen's birds and their habitats, is available from OSME (price £4.00), and further papers describing the Expedition's scientific work are in preparation (see below). Copies of all published and unpublished records and material are held by the Expedition leaders and in the OSME archives.