Desert Lark Ammomanes deserti is a common resident in rocky deserts and outcrops of all areas except the juniper summits of the Hejaz and Asir and probably the sand seas of the Empty Quarter and Nafud Desert. The best place to see the species close to Dhahran where I live is the Shedgum Escarpment so I went to look there after birding Nada Dairy Farm in Hofuf.
The escarpment is accessed just off the main road near the Shedgum cement factory and the birds are best seen in the rocky areas at the bottom of the main limestone escarpment. The subspecies here is azizi the palest form of all the subspecies and matches almost perfectly with the limestone rocks and scree of the escarpment.
They prefer arid hills, stony or rocky slopes with sparse vegetation and can often be located by the constant calling. Numbers are not large at Shedgum Escarpment and some looking is normally required, but I have managed to see the species on every visit.
Jem Babbington
Jem Babbington is a keen birder and amateur photographer located in Dhahran, Eastern Saudi Arabia where he goes birding every day. Jem was born in England and is a serious local patch and local area birder who has been birding for almost forty years and has birded in more than fifty countries. Jem is learning to ring birds in Bahrain as a perfect way to learn more about the birds of the area. Saudi Arabia is a very much under-watched and under-recorded country.
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