Whilst birding the Raydah Escarpment we
found a number of Blackstart near the wadi bottom and village. The species is a
common resident of rocky desert areas throughout with the exception of the east
and northeast. Birds occur eastwards to Riyadh where it is a fairly common
breeding resident at the base of the escarpment. The bird is named after the
fact it has a black tail, similar to the red tail of Redstart. Birds are often
difficult to get good photos of due to their colouration but in winter they
seemed more amenable to staying still allowing better photographic
opportunities.
