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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 1994 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus	EN	breeding (1982)	frequent	B2
Upcher's Warbler Hippolais languida	LC	breeding (1993)	common	B3
Menetries's Warbler Curruca mystacea	LC	breeding (1993)	present	B3
White-throated Robin Irania gutturalis	LC	breeding (1993)	present	B3
Finsch's Wheatear Oenanthe finschii	LC	breeding (1993)	present	B3
Pale Sparrow Carpospiza brachydactyla	LC	breeding (1993)	present	B3
Eurasian Crimson-winged Finch Rhodopechys sanguineus	LC	resident (1993)	present	B3
Syrian Serin Serinus syriacus	VU	breeding (1993)	uncommon	A1, A2

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1994. The most recent assessment (2018) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Grassland	major (>10)
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	minor (<10)
Shrubland	minor (<10)

Land use	% of IBA
rangeland/pastureland	major (>10)
urban/industrial/transport	minor (<10)
hunting	minor (<10)
tourism/recreation	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Abu Zad (Syria). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/abu-zad-iba-syria on 23/12/2024.