• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	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 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 birds	B1iv

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	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Little/none of area covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Not assessed	very low

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

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)

---

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 23/12/2024.