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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
Philby's Partridge Alectoris philbyi	LC	resident	1993	frequent	A2, A3, B3
Arabian Partridge Alectoris melanocephala	LC	resident	1993	uncommon	A3, B3
Montane Nightjar Caprimulgus poliocephalus	LC	resident	1993	uncommon	A3, B2
Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus	NT	resident	1993	uncommon	B2
Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus	LC	resident	1993	12 breeding pairs	B2
Arabian Woodpecker Dendropicos dorae	NT	resident	1993	common	A1, A3, B2
Tristram's Starling Onychognathus tristramii	LC	resident	1993	common	A3
Yemen Thrush Turdus menachensis	NT	resident	1993	frequent	A1, A2, A3, B2
Arabian Wheatear Oenanthe lugentoides	LC	resident	1993	common	A3
Arabian Waxbill Estrilda rufibarba	LC	resident	1993	present	A2, A3
Arabian Serin Crithagra rothschildi	LC	resident	1993	present	A3
Yemen Serin Crithagra menachensis	LC	resident	1993	present	A2, A3
Yemen Linnet Linaria yemenensis	LC	resident	1993	common	A2, A3, B3
A4iv Species group - soaring birds/cranes	n/a	passage	1993	4,500 individuals	B1iv

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
Residential and commercial development	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Not assessed	negligible

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Terrestrial		major (>10)
Shrubland		major (>10)
Forest		minor (<10)
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

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

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Taif escarpment (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/taif-escarpment-iba-saudi-arabia on 23/11/2024.