Regional Endemic Arabian Wheatear near Taif – Bird records by Phil Roberts

Phil Roberts was birding near Taif recently in the west of the Kingdom and saw and photographed both male and female Arabian Wheatear Oenanthe lugentoides and kindly sent me a photograph of each that he has allowed me to use it on my website. The Arabian Wheatear is a rather scarce resident of the southwest highlands, but is also found in Oman, Palestine and Yemen, mainly in rocky, bushy sites. It is widespread on the Jebal Souda plateau, Wadi Tale’a, Pipeline Road, near Farshah, Gara’a and Tanumah. It was not recorded on the Raydah escarpment in 2010 but has been seen there regularly since.  In 1987 it was recorded more frequently so the species may have declined slightly, with disturbance not thought likely to be the reason as it is often associated with gardens and regularly breeds near human sites. They also occur in the Tihama mainly around jebals such as Jebal Aswad and Jebal Gaha. They nest in holes in terrace walls and feed largely on insects and are common in the upper reaches of the Raghadan Forest and the upper parts of the Golden Tulip valley.

Arabian Wheatear - male

Arabian Wheatear - female