Asir mountains in May

Whilst birding the Asir mountains in May I saw a lot of good birds. This included six endemic bird species including Yemen Thrush, Yemen Warbler, Arabian Wheatear, Yemen Serin, Arabian Serin and Phiby’s Partridge. I also saw Asir (Arabian) Magpie that is now being considered an endemic species as well. Several other good specialities of the southwest were seen including Shikra, African Pipit, African Stonechat, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting and White-spectacled Bulbul. Violet-backed Starling and Gambaga Flycatcher are summer visitors from Africa and were common and another African summer visitor Grey-headed Kingfisher was seen in a couple of places. Laughing Dove was common and there were also plenty of Dusky Turtle Doves a much less common species restricted in range in Saudi Arabia to the southwest. 

Asir (Arabian) Magpie – Tanoumah and An Namas

Whilst in the southwest on the Kingdom in May I saw at least five Asir (Arabian) Magpie at two different locations. Old nests were discovered near Tanoumah and near An Namas with adults and at least one juvenile seen near the nests. These birds remain very difficult to photograph and are constantly on the move looking for food. The taxonomic position of Asir (Arabian) Magpie Pica asirensisis uncertain with some authorities regarding it as a full species such as HBW and others not. Two new papers: Deep Phylogeographic Breaks in Magpie Pica picaAcross the Holarctic: Concordance with Bioacoustics and Phenotypes by Alexey P. Kryukov et aland Complete taxon sampling of the avian genus Pica (magpies) reveals ancient relictual populations and synchronous Late-Pleistocene demographic expansion across the Northern Hemisphere by Gang Song et alboth indicated the birds are a separate species to Eurasian Magpie Pica Pica. Arabian Magpies are sedentary and localised and occur in upland valleys and wadis, of the Asir highlands between 1850–3000 m asl. P. asirensisisis a taxon with a very restricted range, confined to a small region within Saudi Arabia where numbers are decreasing probably because of heavy disturbance by tourism and perhaps changes in climate.

Dideric Cuckoo – Tanoumah & An Namas

Whilst birding near An Namas on 26 May, I heard and eventually saw a Dideric Cuckoo Chrysococcyx caprius. The bird was very vocal but difficult to locate until I eventually saw it sitting high in a tree. I also heard but failed to see another bird near Quraish, close to Tanoumah on 25 May. The Diderick Cuckoo is a summer visitor to southwest Saudi Arabia where it parasitizes Rüppell's weaver. They were previously regarded as vagrants to the area, but recently birds have been seen near Tendaha dam 5 July 2010, Abha area 20 July 2010, As Sudah 5 July 2013, Wadi Jaw June 2015, Taif area July 2015 as well as these sightings so are probably a scarce summer visitor to the high mountains of southwest Saudi Arabia. 

Yemen Rock Agama – An Namas

Whilst birdwatching the An Namas area of the Asir Mountains, 150 kms north of Abha, I came across a 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, although I have seen it as far north as Bani Saad. 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, including stone-walls and human habitations where they are sometimes common. The Agama below is missing part of its tail.

Arabian Woodpecker - An Namas

Whilst birding the An Namas area of the Asir mountains, 150 kms north of Abha recently I photographed a pair of Arabian Woodpecker Dendrocopos doraeat their nest hole. The hole was positioned in the trunk or major branch of a large tree about five metres above ground level and comprised of a small freshly drilled hole. The nest was active with both birds of the pair continually bringing food to young hidden in the hole. An interesting interaction occurred with a Violet-backed Starling when I was there with the Starling, that are known to displace woodpeckers from their nest holes and take them over to nest themselves. The starling moved closer and closer to the hole and when within close range was driven from the tree by the male woodpecker. The starling then came back a second time but was drive off this time by the female woodpecker. The Arabian Woodpecker is an uncommon but widespread resident of the south-west highlands, where birds are usually associated with acacia trees but can be found in a variety of wooded habitats. It is classified as near threatened on the IUCN Red List 2018 as it has a population estimate of >10,000 mature individuals, however, the population is still considered to be relatively small and is decline owing to cutting and lopping of trees for charcoal, firewood and fodder, in parts of its range. 

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.

Grasshopper – Abha area

Whilst in the Abha area recently I saw a number of small well camouflaged grasshoppers that could have been a type of Band-winged Grasshopper Sphingonotus savignyi classified under the family Acrididae. They are sometimes elevated to full family status as Oedipodidaeand inhabit primarily weedy fields containing little water. These species are colourful, usually with hindwings that are yellow or red and edged with black. Others have black hindwings with pale edges. This particular grasshopper was quite small and coloured to match the rock/soil type it was present amongst. 

Eurasian (Eastern) Curlew – Jubail

Whilst birdwatching the Jubail area I saw an Eastern Curlew N. a. orientalis. The Eastern Curlew occurs throughout central Siberia eastwards through central Russia to northeast China and winters in east and south Africa, Madagascar, and from the southern Caspian Sea south to the Persian Gulf and east through south Asia to east China and south Japan, and south to Philippines and Greater Sundas. This is the subspecies we see in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia whilst the Western Curlew occurs on the Red Sea coast of the Kingdom.

Arabian Wheatear – Tanoumah & An Namas

Whilst birding the Tanoumah and An Namas area of the Asir Mountains I saw plenty of Arabian Wheatears at many different sites. The Arabian Wheatear Oenanthe lugentoidesis a rather uncommon resident of the south-west highlands, but is also found in Oman, Palestine and Yemen, mainly in rocky, bushy sites. It is widespread on the Jebal Souda plateau, Raydah Escarpment, Wadi Talea’a and Tanoumah as well as the Taif area. Birds are often associated with gardens and regularly breeds near human sites where they nest in holes in terrace walls and feed largely on insects.

The Desert Locust – Abha area

The Desert Locust Schistocerca gregariasituation was calm during early 2018 due to poor rainfall and ecological conditions throughout most of the spring breeding areas in northwest Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The desert locust can form plagues and threaten agricultural production in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, something it has done for centuries. The desert locust is potentially the most dangerous of the locust pests because of the ability of it to form swarms and to fly rapidly across great distances. I found a single adult near Abha, in a wide sandy bottomed wadi with large boulders along the sides where the locust was very well camouflaged.