Desert Lark - Taif Euphorbia Forest

After our successful trip to the Bani Saad area looking for Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak we went to the Taif Euphorbia Forest, an area where we saw Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak in the previous January. We arrived in mid-afternoon and there was very little activity at the site at all. The place is amazing for the size and number of Euphorbias many of which are over eight metres tall. This is the best place to see the large plants in their natural habitat and as Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak like to associate with this plant is a good place to look for them. The Euphorbias grow on steep rocky hillsides and birding the area properly means climbing up and down the rocky hillsides. We saw very few birds on our visit with Desert Lark, Abyssinian White-eye and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting being the best, but it was still worth a visit to see the amazing plants.

Euphorbia

Euphorbia

Desert Lark

Abyssinian White-eye

Euphorbia ammak - Taif

Euphorbia ammak grows in Yemen and Saudi Arabia in an altitude range covering 1000 to 2000 and possibly as high as 2500 metres above sea level. It grows in rockier areas in planes and on steep hillsides and thorny bush-lands where it has now become scarce, particularly in Saudi Arabia and South Yemen, although it remains common in places in North Yemen. Euphorbia ammak is a striking Euphorbia of massive stature that is a large, tree-like Euphorbia growing up to 10 metres tall with a short trunk and is superficially similar to some new world Cacti. They have stout stems about 10-15 centimeters wide with branches starting at about 60 centimeters that arch upwards that have thick ribs that are undulate and are usually four-winged. They are covered with spines about one centimeter long. They occasionally produce leaves near the top of each branch as well as yellow-green flowers. These large examples were part of what we have called the Euphorbia Forest near Taif where hundreds of Euphorbias grow n the steep hillsides with a number being very large tree like examples and others just single stands. This plant is a favourite for Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak with this area looking particularly good for the species.