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.
