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The site was identified as important 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 List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola	LC	passage	1993	300 individuals	B1i
Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotos	EN	resident	1991-1995	15 breeding pairs	A1, B2
Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca	VU	winter	1993	present	B2
Menetries's Warbler Curruca mystacea	LC	winter	1993	abundant	B3
White-throated Robin Irania gutturalis	LC	passage	1993	uncommon	B3
Finsch's Wheatear Oenanthe finschii	LC	passage	1993	present	B3
Red-tailed Wheatear Oenanthe chrysopygia	LC	winter	1993	uncommon	B3
Hypocolius Hypocolius ampelinus	LC	winter	1993	uncommon	B3
Pale Sparrow Carpospiza brachydactyla	LC	passage	1993	25 individuals	B3

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (1994) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1994. The most recent assessment (2013) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
No known threats	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A comprehensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	Not assessed	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1988	Mahazat as-Sayd	محمية ذات طبيعة خاصة	100

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Desert		major (>10)
Savanna		minor (<10)
Shrubland		minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mahazat as-Sayd (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mahazat-as-sayd-iba-saudi-arabia on 23/11/2024.