E-mail: I have selected five consecutive e-mail that were exchanged between me and Nico veen from Netherlands to make the following discussion that I need to know your take on it.
Nico has visited Syria and spent time to see the Syrian-Lebanese birds. He based his e-mail's with me on his confusion of what he sees and hear in Europe versus Pigeons he witnessed during his visit.
The display on this site created even more discussion between him and other Fanciers to the validity of the birds in Europe as ES. He wonders if the Egyptian Swifts should have longer wings than tail and shouldn't they be all very long? Therefore are poor flying birds. He also indicated that" facial recognition and grouping are not recognized in Europe"

Answer: The highlight of my e-mail response was based on pictures on this site and the picture included above of the so called Syrian Swifts. If you have been following this letter, you might have noted that I talk about the beak setting and facial recognition in just about every letter to assert it's importance above other characteristics unique to the Swifts. The crispness of color, pattern, style are easier to recognize.
Cover the heads of the entire bird population with your hand (ignoring the brown birds) and observe their color, could you then classify them as Otatis based only on color ? Of course not.
You don't have the body style in any of them to include under ES. Well, you say let me then see the full head to get more clues. Great, Now stay with me. I will reverse the process by covering the body and let you only look at the heads. Now tell us honestly what are you looking at? I see now you muddling and wringing your hands. Why? By looking at them one could not detect a distinctive facial markings among these birds to place them in a class. Simply there is no unison among the birds heads. You have looked around and at the far right corner you saw a Rehani's head and you know that it is carried of an Otati's color.
Where is the powerful head and the broad and short mandibles? another words they don't have the Otatis features.
What are they then? Syrian Swifts! Is it because they are shorter birds?. And how about that long black bird with a long face on the left of the picture?
Now we both agree that neither color nor the length of the bird will qualify it to belong to certain breed. I will use the American Show Racer (ASR) and the Oriental Frills to qualify my point just in case you aren't familiar with ES versus SS. Both have the Andalusian markings known to you. They are classified as is based on facial markings and not because of their color.
It goes that way for animals, birds and others. They are classified primarily on their looks and secondary on other features.
It has taken years and years to get the ES developed to this level. We should refine them as close as possible to their standards. Do you know of anyone who has come up with anything better than a standard bird or produced a color that does not exist currently in ES by mixing?
I was told by several that the random introduction started initially because of lack of birds.
" The Pigeons" by Levi has a picture of an Otati that was attributed to Sam Shadeed. Sam who was a Syrian immigrant to the USA in the late Fifties introduced the Syrian-Lebanese birds in this country and among them Otatis and possibly Rehanis. Long birds with week flying ability were dubbed ES and the short and stronger flying were referred to as SS. This new classification has spread throughout Europe and the west and indeed it is much easier concept to explain for those with no knowledge of a true Swift.
The market had soon absorbed the extra birds at cheap prices until the euphemism "Syrian Swifts" was fully accepted.
As soon as the buyer realizes what he is in, he turns around and pass it on to another. Fanciers in the USA have become clearly aware of these facts as I have noted from their writing in our local US magazines and that has helped to improve the number of good ES birds in the USA.
The fact that you can't buy a breed from were it was claimed to have originated sums it up all.
"It's all made up outside Syria"and neither the Syrian nor the Lebanese had anything to do with it.
If you doubt me, then present me with importation documents via Syria to USA or Europe indicating it's validity..
DR Christian Otraji who is originally from that part of the world will tell you that there is nothing called Syrian Swifts in Syria, but either ES or poor quality ES. The European notion will keep on propagating as long as the Europeans have little or no exposure to true ES.
Saied Mada in Austria, who is originally from Egypt, has imported a number of good birds and intends on getting these points cleared in Europe using the German language in his writing. You may visit his new site "Sphinx Loft" to see his work and for now it's done in English.
Another site comes from Canada " Cleopatra Loft" and run by Michael Phares. Michael who has grown up also raising ES in Egypt is breeding them exclusivelyonly in Canada. Mike has excellent commands of English, French and of course Arabic. There are other great lofts that I know of here in the USA and I encourage all ES fanciers to link and give brief description at their convenience.

A Popular Mix
What would you get from Otati, Rehani and Blue Velvet mixture ? They all extreme and will likely produce Blue Velvet-like bird or an Opal rusty color. The powerful head of an Otati and the inclined beak becomes narrow with a conspicuous forehead. The opposite happen to the finely structured Rehani. It's marble size skull becomes enlarged and the beak gets long and broad. The beautiful slender body of a Rehani with it's shining beetle sheen color become inflated and its color reflect a dull sooty color or even a tinge of faded bronze color.
Uncontrolled mating should not be allowed unchecked in any breed. Introduction should be limited to one generation as close as possible to the original group with a hope that one might come up with a bird that could blend in well with the original. Experimenting is part of my job as a Clinical Scientist, but it has to be planned well. Making the improbable a reality could only happen by meticulous planning and great knowledge to all ES groups.
Where do we go from here: We have ancient standards to go by and it's all translated to you for you. It is the duty of every one of us as Swifts fanciers to explain these facts to others. As I have said before" I have no control of what goes out of my loft". If you cross them with Homers or others, they are your birds.

I express my deep thanks for allowing me to use this well rounded photo as an educational tool for the rest of us. On my behalf, I will donate a prime pair of Otatis for you as soon as you arrange for your shipping and yes you should start over again.

E-mail: Should the color on the Otatis primaries display an even and homogenous blue?
Answer: You have three primary colors or dilution's on the Otatis. A dark bird (Mehalawi) , Medium Andalusian color and finally the light opal or diluted version (Saboni). They all should have a Platinum mane. The Sabonis probably lack the Sooty genes, therefore their males show the recessive homozygous pale more clearly. It is a sex linked trait and does not show with the same intensity on hens. By looking at the male's wings, one could likely tell if it has descended from Sabonis. Mating these birds together is acceptable.

Thank you for your pictures and e-mail as they are the only source for this letter. Will meet later. Your feed back on this topic is very much appreciated. I don't use names unless you submit an article or indicate otherwise. See next letter.