Current view: Text account
Site description (2023 baseline):
Site location and context
Jabal Aja (27°30'N 41°30'E, 200,000 ha) lies west and south-west of Ha'il city and is an extensive outcrop of granite mountains with deep valleys. The site is extended north-east to the edge of the Nafud Desert to include an area used for surveys of migrant
Grus virgo (Jibal at-Tuwal and Dilan al-Jilf, 27°50'N 41°45'E, 200,000 ha)-an area of flattish semi-desert and sandstone hills, punctuated by medium-altitude granitic mountains with deep valleys. The climate is fairly benign (altitude 800-1,550 m), and the area is one of the greenest in northern Arabia; in wet springs the desert and sandstone hills bloom, and many ephemeral pools and lakes are formed. Valleys in granite mountains are often lined with many
Acacia trees. Much of the crane survey area is under wheat cultivation by pivot irrigation systems.
See box for key species. The site is crucially important for two species. It seems to lie at the centre of the spring flyway for the threatened African-wintering population of
Grus virgo, and may be the best site for assessing the population size; flocks use both desert and agricultural habitats. Other breeding species include
Tachymarptis melba (probable),
Eremalauda dunni,
Eremophila bilopha,
Passer hispaniolensis,
Rhodopechys obsoleta and
R. githaginea. A wide range of raptors passes through in spring, and migration of swifts and passerines (especially larks, hirundines and wheatears) can be spectacular; migrants are attracted to agricultural areas in dry years, but otherwise prefer natural habitats.
Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals: Felis margarita (K), Canis lupus (V) and Capra nubiana (I). Flora: the site is of high botanical interest. Reptiles and amphibians: the area may have functioned as a Pleistocene refuge during ice-ages.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The area is partly covered by the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Royal Natural Reserve managed by the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority.
The proximity of Jabal Aja to Ha'il city makes it popular for recreation, and there are threats from uncontrolled road and house building. Feral donkeys are present but probably affect bird populations relatively little. Semi-desert areas adjacent to agricultural zones are heavily grazed but seem able to recover after wet winters/springs.
Data-sheet compiled by Dr Stephen F. Newton and P. Symens.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Jabal Aja and Northern Ha'il (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/jabal-aja-and-northern-hail-iba-saudi-arabia on 23/12/2024.
