Whilst looking for owls in the Abha area we came across a number of Desert Owl. They were calling loudly, but at some distance from our location, but eventually after some time came close enough and allowed us to take some nice photos. This was the first time I had seen the species in the Kingdom so was a great nights birding. This species is an uncommon breeding resident in Saudi Arabia, which is patchily distributed across most of the Kingdom but rare in the Eastern Province. They prefer areas with rocks and limestone cliffs faces containing crevices but have also been seen in granite and basalt regions, including lava fields in Harrat al-Harrah Protected Area. They are nocturnal feeding mainly on rodents, small reptiles, birds and large insects.
