Little Owl - Sakaka

Whilst birding the Saka area recently Phin noticed a Little Owl perched on the side of the road at close range. Unfortunately, by the time we saw it, it had flown slightly further away and into the sun. The below photos are the only ones I got that are usable. Two subspecies of Little Owl occur in Saudi Arabia with Athene noctua saharae that occurs from northern and central Sahara Desert south to the African countries of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan, and east discontinuously into Arabian Peninsula occurring in the Abha area north to central Saudi Arabia. Its range overlaps with race Athene noctua lilith that occurs from Cyprus and inland Middle East from southeast Turkey south to Saudi Arabia where it occurs in northern and central Saudi Arabia. The overlap occurs in central Saudi Arabia at least, with Lilith occurring north to the boarders of Jordon, Iraq and Kuwait in the Kingdom. Lilith Owlet is an uncommon resident breeder in the Central Deserts, Hejaz, northern Hejaz and Najran as well as the Eastern Province where they are confined to broken escarpments and rocky outcrops in the desert north of Uray’irah. Athene noctua lilith is the palest race and is a very pale sand colour. Some authorities treat this as a separate species Athene Lilith from Little Owl with the name Lilith Owlet generally being used as the English name.

Little Owl – Al Namas

Whilst birding the Al Namas area of the Asir Mountains, 150 km north of Abha, we found an adult Little Owl Athene noctua sitting in a dry-stone wall calling softly to a nearby bird that we could not see. The owl disappeared into a hole in the wall after a few minutes and then a young bird flew across in front of us to another wall before entering a hole. It came back out and the photos I took show it is a young bird proving they breed in the area. This area of dry stone walls around Al Namas is excellent for Little Owl but their plumage matches exactly the rock walls making them very hard to see if not sitting on top of the wall itself.

Birding An Namas

Whilst birding the western mountains we visited An Namas an area where we had seen nests of both Arabian Woodpecker and Arabian Magpie previously. The area where we had seen these has been badly damaged by road building and neither nest was seen this visit. We did however see a single male Arabian Woodpeckeras wells a few other good birds including Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Arabian Wheatear and Gambaga Flycatcher. This entire area is very good for finding breeding Little Owl, which can often be seen on the roadside walls. The area is not marked as a breeding area for Little Owl in Mike Jennings Arabian Breeding Bird Atlas, but a good number of birds are present throughout the entire area to Billasmer at least.

Birding Billasmer

Whilst birding the western mountains we visited Billasmer looking for Arabian endemics. We managed to located two Arabian Magpie, Arabian Wheatear and small flocks of Yemen Linnet but not much else. Other common birds seen included Laughing Dove, Dusky Turtle Dove, Gambaga Flycatcher and Little Owl. Little Owl is a species not easy to see in the Kingdom but the arwa of An Namas and Billasmer seems a reliable and regular place to see them since we first discovered birds here several years ago.

Dusky Turtle Dove

Gambaga Flycatcher

Laughing Dove

Little Owl

Yemen Linnet

Little Owl – An Namas

Whilst birding the An Namas area of the Asir mountians 150 km north of Abha I came across a Little Owl Athene noctua sitting in a tree. Th e owl flew from the tree on observing me and flew down to a dry stone wall where it sat for some time before entering a hole. Another bird was also present on the wall, where they may be breeding. This is only the second time I have seen the species in Saudi Arabia and all have been on dry stone walls, in the An Namas area. The species is not mapped as occurring in the An Namas area of Saudi Arabia in the field guide to the region, with the dark colour of the birds making them likely to be the subspecies Athene noctua saharae. This subspecies occurs from northern and central Sahara Desert south to the African countries of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan, and east discontinuously into Arabian Peninsula occurring in the Abha area north to central Saudi Arabia. 

Little Owls – An Namas

Whilst birding the An Namas area of the Asir mountians 150 km north of Abha we came across two Little Owl Athene noctua. This was a new species for me in the Kingdom and both birds were found sitting on dry stone-walls where one bird entered when disturbed. The second bird did not allow close approach and disappeared as we were climbing down a steep incline to get better views of it. The species is not mapped as occurring in the area of Saudi Arabia in the field guide to the region so was a bit of a surprise, with the dark colour of the birds making them likely to be Athene noctua saharae. Two subspecies of Little Owl occur in Saudi Arabia with Athene noctua saharaethat occurs from northern and central Sahara Desert south to the African countries of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan, and east discontinuously into Arabian Peninsula occurring in the Abha area north to central Saudi Arabia. Its range overlaps with race Athene noctua liliththat occurs from Cyprus and inland Middle East from southeast Turkey south to Saudi Arabia where it occurs in central Saudi Arabia. The overlap occurs in central Saudi Arabia at least, with Lilith occurring north to the boarders of Jordon, Iraq and Kuwait in the Kingdom.