Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
Lying c.45 km west-south-west of Hamadan, the site is a shallow basin 21 km long by up to 12-14 km wide, almost completely surrounded by a ring of hills 1,800-2,100 m high. The central area remains grassland, but is heavily grazed by domestic livestock and
Euphorbia is common, while the gently sloping perimeter is cultivated with cereals. The small towns of Assadabad and Kharkiz are situated on the northern margin, and there are about nine small villages scattered across the plain. The main Hamadan to Kermanshah road crosses the eastern edge of the plain. The surrounding hills are
Artemisia steppe. The plain is relatively densely populated. Land ownership is private.
See box for key species. The best breeding area for
Otis tarda in western Iran in the 1970s. Birds were present March-September, and it was believed that c.20 females were nesting; up to 30 birds (8 males, 22 females) were recorded in the early 1970s, but local farmers reported that numbers in autumn had been as high as 80-100 c.15 years previously. Winter visitors include
Aquila chrysaetos and
Accipiter nisus, and passage migrants include
Aquila nipalensis,
Circus pygargus and
C. macrourus.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
A maze of small roads provides easy access to much of the area, and disturbance is high. There was some illegal hunting of bustards in the early 1970s. It has been proposed that a bustard sanctuary of c.600 ha be established in the central, uncultivated part of the plain to create a disturbance-free refuge (Kahrom 1975).
Data-sheet compiled by Dr D. A. Scott, reviewed by Dept of Environment.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Assadabad plain (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/assadabad-plain-iba-iran-islamic-republic-of on 23/11/2024.
