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02 September 2016

African Olive Pigeon – Raydah Esacarpment

Whilst birdwatching in the Raydah Esacarpment recently Phil Robrts and I saw two African Olive Pigeons. This was a species we had been looking for but had failed to see on many previous trips to the southwest of the Kingdom. It was only discovered as a new species for Saudi Arabia in the mid 1980’s by Mike Jennings. JENNINGS, M. C. 1986. The Olive Pigeon Columba arquatrix on Jebel Suda, Asir Province: a new bird species for Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula. J. Saudi Arab. Nat. Hist. Soc. (2)6:35-36. The birds we saw were seen just above the Raydah Farm where a number of other good birds were also seen including Yemen Thrush, Yemen Serin and Palestine Sunbird. We birded the entire valley seeing good birds in many places and plenty of Blackstart are the village near the bottom where African Grey-headed Kingfisher and Bruce’s Green Pigeon were also seen.
African Olive Pigeon
African Olive Pigeon
Yemen Thrush
Yemen Thrush
Palestine Sunbird
Palestine Sunbird
Palestine Sunbird
Palestine Sunbird
Blackstart
Blackstart
Blackstart
Blackstart
Blackstart
Blackstart