Yemen Rock Agama – Bani Saad

Whilst birdwatching in the Taif area of western Saudi Arabia I came across a few Yemen Rock Agama Acanthocercus yemensis. The Yemen Rock Agama occurs in northern Yemen and adjacent Saudi Arabia, but the limits of its distribution in Saudi Arabia are currently not well known. It occurs from around 2,000 to 3,000 metres above sea level mainly in rocky habitats. They occur both on the ground and climbing rocky surfaces, and including stone-walls and human habitations. These individuals were at 1950 metres above sea level and well north of where I have seen them previously. One of them has prickly pear spines stuck in it as it was living in rocks with the plants growing nearby.

Two subspecies of Eurasian Reed Warbler in Saudi Arabia confirmed from DNA

A recent paper on the ‘Mitochondrial phylogeny of the Eurasian-African reed warbler complex’ has confirmed by DNA samples that two subspecies of Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus occur in Saudi Arabia and birds from the southwest once thought to be African Reed Warbler A. baeticatus are in fact Acrocephalus scirpaceus avicenniae. The other subspecies is Acrocephalus scirpaceus fuscus that occurs in central Saudi Arabia (Riyadh - DNA) and Eastern Saudi Arabia (Jubail - ringing details). The paper mentioned above says fuscus is a well-supported clade containing all samples from Kazakhstan and several from Saudi Arabia and Israel, where four samples from Lake Kenneret, collected some time later than 21 May in 1995, may have been local breeders. The western-most sampling locality in the presumed breeding range are Astrachan and Azerbaijan, suggesting that the ranges of fuscus and scirpaceus abut somewhere between the Black and the Caspian Seas. The second clade was avicenniae containing the holotype of avicenniae from Eritrea and samples from breeding populations in Saudi Arabia (Al Shuqaiq), but also a sample from Kenya originally attributed to fuscus. As the latter was obtained away from the breeding grounds, misidentification is a possibility. Most probably this sample represents a migrant from the Red Sea mangrove population. The range of avicenniae is generally believed to be confined to mangroves bordering the Red Sea, but has recently been extended to reach Egypt (Hering et al., 2011a).  The papers records from Lake Kenneret inland Israel, and the observations by Morgan (1998) and Hering et al. (2009, 2011b), imply that this taxon may have a larger distribution and wider choice of habitats than previously known. I have trapped and ringed both these subspecies in Saudi Arabia with photos below of both types and have blood samples from Either Mangroves and Al Qahma Mangroves in the southwest. These blood samples will be tested soon to find out where they lay in relation to the other birds sampled, but will almost certainly be Mangrove Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus avicenniae which is what was assumed when trapped and measured.

Caspian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus fuscus

Mangrove Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus avicenniae

Blister Beetle Mylabris calida – Bani Saad

The Blister Beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) are global distributed insects except for New Zealand and the Antarctic region and are also called Oil Beetles. The species seen near Bani Saad was Mylabris calida that has a distribution in central Asia (east to China and Korea), Caucasus and Transcaucasia, southern Balkan Peninsula, Near East, Levant and Arabian Peninsula and northern Africa. The insect was common in the area where we saw them always on flowering plants. Adult beetles can be recognized by morphological characteristics such as soft body, bright coloration, rather elongate, head deflexed with narrow neck, pronotum not carinate at sides, heteromerous tarsi, smooth integument. The bodily fluids of blister beetles contain the skin irritant cantharadin, giving the family its common name. It is possible that cantharadin acts as a protection against accidental beetle consumption by large herbivores, as some animals will avoid grazing on vegetation supporting large numbers of orange, red, or otherwise brightly colored blister beetles.

Plenty of endemic bird species in Wadi Thee Gazelle - Taif

Whilst birding the Wadi Thee Gazelle area of Taif we came across a good number of Arabian Endemic Species, seeing eight out of the twelve species. The high rainfall in the mountains in spring 2016 appears to have produced a good breeding season for many species and adults with juveniles of Arabian Wheatear and Arabian Waxbill were seen. Very large numbers of Arabian Serins were seen in many areas and Yemen Thrush also appeared to be quite numerous. Other good birds were also seen in this excellent birding location and I managed to photograph a few Cinnamon-breasted Buntings as well as a Eurasian Hoopoe.

Arabian Serin

Arabian Waxbill

Arabian Wheatear

Arabian Wheatear

Yemen Thrush

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Eurasian Hoopoe

Desert White in Wadi Thee Gazelle – Taif

Whilst birding the Wadi Thee Gazelle area I came across a good number of Desert White Butterflies Pontia glauconome. This is a striking white butterfly of arid regions occurring in deserts and on mountain slopes and foothills with sparse vegetation, up to around 2000 metres above sea level. The Desert White is a widespread species, ranging from North Africa through Arabia and the Middle East to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a small white butterfly (10-15mm) whose antennae are clubbed, ending in a white tip. The inside of the forewings are black tip with white dots. Underside of both wings has characteristic yellow veins, with light brown colour pattern. Large round compound eyes with black dots.

Saudi Arabia’s most northerly record of Pied Cuckoo at Wadi Thee Gazelle - Taif

Whilst birding in Wadi Thee Gazelle we came across a Pied Cuckoo, a species that is only recorded in the far southwest of the Kingdom with this record many hundreds of Kilometers north of the most northerly record and much higher in altitude (1850 metres above sea level) than normal. Pied Cuckoo are thought to be passage migrants through the area, mainly in May, but breeding has occurred in the Abha area at a similar height to the Taif record. The cuckoo we saw was being mobbed by a number of birds including Spectacled Bulbuls and flew before any photos could be taken so I have shown a photo of a bird I took in summer 2014 near Sabya below.

Bosk's Fringe-toed Lizard near Maysaan - Taif

Whilst birding near Bani Saad I found a Bosk's Fringe-toed Lizard. Originally I thought it was the very similar Snake-tailed Fringe-toed Lizard but  luckily a local birdwatcher, Mansur Al Fahad, who is very knowledgeable on insects, lizards and other wildlife identified it from my photos as a Bosk's fringe-toed lizard Acanthodactylus boskianus. This is the most widespread species of its genus as well as the largest Acanthodactylus species throughout its range, measuring 16-23 centimeters in total length, which includes all of Saharan North Africa and the Middle East including Arabia, the Levant and Mesopotamia (including the Turkish border), as well as north- western Iran. It frequents a range of stony and sandy environments and is sometimes common in rocky areas with some shrubs.

Tail patterns of Saudi Arabian subspecies of African Pipit v Saudi Arabian subspecies of Long-billed Pipit

Whilst ringing in the Tanoumah area I was lucky enough to trap two Long-billed Pipits Anthus similis arabicus and two African Pipits Anthus cinnamomeus eximius. African Pipit is a little known bird in Saudi Arabia where the subspecies is endemic to the southwest part of Saudi Arabia and nearby Yemen. Little is known of the African Pipit in Saudi Arabia or the subspecies A. s. arabicus of Long-billed Pipit. The Long-billed Pipit is wide ranging in sub-Saharan Africa and from the Middle East and Arabia to Myanmar. Twenty subspecies are described, with the one occurring in Saudi Arabia A. s. arabicus occurring from the Hijaz and Asir mountains in Saudi Arabia to northwest Yemen. As can be seen from the photos below the tail pattern, especially the outer two tail feathers are very different. African Pipit has white outer tail feather and a small amount of white on the inner web of the second outermost tail feather whilst Long-billed Pipit has pale brown outer tail feather with a small amount of pale brown on the inner web of the second outermost tail feather. The tail measurements of the birds I trapped show that Long-billed Pipit has a much longer tail (78 – 80 mm) than African Pipit (65 – 67 mm) that should be noticeable in the field.

African Pipit tail

Long-billed Pipit tail

Long-billed Pipit tail

Clouded Yellow

The Clouded Yellow is occasionally common in all areas of Saudi Arabia, originating from North Africa and southern Europe. The upperside is golden to orange yellow with a broad black margin on all four wings and a black spot near the centre forewing. The underside lacks the black borders and is lighter, with a more greenish tint, particularly on the forewings. In the forewing underside is the same dark spot as on the upperside, but often with a light centre; the hindwing underside has a white centre spot, often with a smaller white or dark dot immediately above it. Sometimes, a row of black dots occurs on the underwings' outer margins, corresponding to where the black border ends on the upperside, Females differ from the males in having yellow spots along the black borders on the upperside. In flight, it is easily identifiable by the intense yellow colouring, and like all Colias species, they never open their wings at rest.

Arabian Waxbill in Wadi Thee Gazelle – Taif

The Arabian Waxbill is an endemic species of Arabia and occurs in the south and west of the country where it is one of the most difficult endemics to see. Phil Roberts and I managed to see up to ten birds in a wadi in Wadi Thee Gazelle, where the birds were initially seen on a loose telephone wire and then later coming down to drink from small pools created by the high rainfall this spring in the mountains. The birds seen included a minimum of four juveniles suggesting breeding had taken place nearby. The most northern records are from Wadi al Sailah, southern Hejaz at 1700 metres, furthest north record. It is a rare and local breeding resident on the Tihama and southern Red Sea coast where it frequents reed beds and thick bush country. Has been seen in the Asir mountains to 2000 metres at Raydah Escarpment farm and Tanoumah. The species is described as rare in southern Saudi Arabia and the population is suspected to be in decline due to habitat loss as a result of the increasing use of modern agricultural techniques. They are highly social, and occur from 250-2,500 m in fertile cultivated Wadis, plains, rocky hillsides and terraced slopes, usually with a dense cover of trees and bushes and almost always near water. The species roosts communally in this dense vegetation, and recently fledged juveniles have been recorded in May. It has become closely associated with regularly irrigated agricultural areas with flowing water.