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24 June 2015

Plain Nightjar in Asir Mountains – Bird records by Ali Al Qarni & Mansur Al Fahad

I received an e-mail a couple of days ago from Mansur Al Fahad an active local birdwatcher from Riyadh. He mentioned his birding friend Ali Al Qarni who lives in the southwest of  the country between Al Baha and Abha , sent to him some photos he had taken of Plain Nightjar found near the village he lives in. After several observations and comparisons between Ali  Khalifa (from UAE) and Mansur, we agree the species is plain nightjar. Ali heard birds song like European Nightjar  and we saw some pictures from BNHM from Najran near the Yemen boarder that look very similar. It is great news that Ali is an active birder from an area where I know of few birders and his records will certainly add to the knowledge we have on Saudi Arabian birds as can be seen from this record. Plain Nightjar is a scarce breeding summer visitor to thorn scrub on the fringes of the Asir mountains and the Tihamah. I would like to thank Manusr for supplying me with the information and to Ali for allowing me to use his photos.
Plain Nightjar

Plain Nightjar