Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
A rugged mountain with an extensive summit plateau of sedimentary rock at c.1,800-2,000 m, c.80 km south-south-east of Abha. Just to the south is the very deep, steep-sided Lajb gorge. There was apparently thriving
Juniperus woodland on the plateau until a series of drought years in the 1960s killed off most of the trees, which have been left standing however. The main human activities are livestock grazing and small-scale terraced agriculture.
The site has been little investigated, but there is known to be an important population of the isolated endemic race
Pica pica asirensis (at least 30 pairs), and many of the other high-altitude south-west Arabian endemics presumably also occur.
Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals: Panthera pardus (rare; possibly extinct).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site was only recently discovered, and there is an urgent need for surveys to investigate conservation values, threats and needs. It is not known how the death of most or all of the juniper trees actually affected the population of
Pica pica, since all ornithological and botanical investigations occurred only after the die-off, but the current habitat seems to be highly attractive to
Pica pica, which occurs at high densities.
Data-sheet compiled by A. Stagg and P. Symens.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Jabal Qaha - Lajib gorge (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/jabal-qaha--lajib-gorge-iba-saudi-arabia on 22/11/2024.
