Whilst birding the Jebal Hamrah with Greg
Askew recently we came across a wheatear at the bottom of the escarpment in a
largish wadi. It looked a little different, so we got out of the car and went
and had a look. After a short while we saw the bird again and it turned out to be a female Hooded Wheatear. These birds are
quite distinct with their large size and long thin bill and the females have reddish
tails with restricted black. They are a rare or scarce but widespread bird throughout
the region and are most often encountered in barren, remote stretches such as those
between Buwayb and Towqi in the Riyadh area and the Jebal Hamrah and Shedgum
Escarpment areas of the Eastern Province. Greg saw a different female in the
same general area a couple of weeks earlier and it is unclear if the birds are
winter visitors, breeding residents or passage migrants. Further visits to the
area may show more clearly their status in the region. They are probably
resident however, as I have seen birds in the summer months also. Ealsewhere in
Saudi Arabia they are a rare but widespread breeding resident of Central
Arabia. Also occurs at Najran, Northern Hejaz as well as the Gulf.
