Whilst in the southwest on the
Kingdom in March and April I saw Arabian Magpie on a number of occasions. An
active nest was discovered with a bird presumably incubating inside and another
calling to it from outside. These birds remain very difficult to photograph and
are constantly on the move looking for food. The taxonomic position of Arabian
Magpie Pica asirensis is uncertain with some authorities regarding it as
a full species and others not. Arabian Magpies are sedentary and localised and
occur especially in the juniper forest zone, often in well vegetated upland
valleys and wadis, of the Asir highlands 1850–3000 m asl. Many of these areas
are remote and difficult to access so the exact numbers of birds is difficult
to assess but the estimated breeding population from the Atlas of Breeding
birds of Arabia, has been noted as a minimum of 135 pairs and maximum 500
pairs. One thing for certain is P. asirensisis is a taxon with a very
restricted range, confined to a small region within Saudi Arabia. Numbers are
decreasing probably because of heavy disturbance by tourism and perhaps changes
in climate with warmer and drier weather experienced in the Asir mountains in
the last few decades. The areas where Arabian Magpies have been seen in recent
years appear to be restricted to three widely spaced areas, one near Abha with
numbers in significant decline, one on the isolated Jebal Gaha where numbers
are very low and lastly the main stronghold in the Billasmar, Tanoumah and An
Numas areas. Estimating population size in this large and often inaccessible
area is difficult, but the small number of recent records of Arabian Magpie and
apparent reduction in its already very limited range suggests that the
estimated population size of 135–500 pairs is probably too high. Numbers may be
significantly less than this estimate with perhaps only 135 pairs or less. The
good news is that the species is still breeding in its core area at least, and
is found in areas near human habitation, sometimes utilizing waste food.
