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M. Shobrak and A. Rahmani Sandgrouse 13

Table 1. Local names for the Arabian arabs in Arabia. See Figure 1 for location of places.

Area Local names

Northern Habrow AI LithtoAI Muzaylif Khirb AIMuzayliftoAIBirk Korab Ad DarbtoSabya Karab, Khirb, Suwad, Raw a Assaid SouthofAbu'Arish Korab, Khirb, Allawam, Neisf Ashshah, Gutah Southern AI Balawan

Ad Oarb area there is a traditional children's song with the lyric Ya suwadarini raqs al-'azabah(Bustard, show me the dance of the beautiful woman), which is sung while the children mime the movements of the Arabian Bustard. Habitat were found in most of the habitats represented on the Tihamah, and we differentiated five types. 1. Stony plateaus and small wadis covered with trees and tufts of Pennisetum grass. In this type of habitat the were more or less permanently present. Many tracks were found, and birds were flushed three times. 2. Undulating sandy areas dominated by Salvadorapersica and grasses. One was seen in this habitat only 1.5 km from the sea coast. 3. Cultivated areas. One bustard was flushed from a vehicle track between fields. Sorghum and millet fields seemed to be frequently used (see below), and this is the habitat which appears to be favoured also in adjacent northern Yemen (Brooks et al. 1987).

18 61

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V!qV.lV !pnvs U! p.lVlSnH UV!qV.lV rr JSno.lgpuvs M. Shobrakand A. Rahmani Sandgrouse 13 CONSERVATION The major causesof the Arabian Bustard's decline in Saudi Arabia are illegal hunting and habitat degradation through overgrazing and wood cutting. Many previously undisturbed areas have become accessible to hunters through the construction of new roads, including the completion of the coast road from Jedda to Jizan, as well as through the availability of four-wheel drive vehicles which have allowed hunters much easier access to more areas of the Tihamah. Unless these pressures are removed, the population has no chance of recovery .This study shows that the Arabian Bustard is not yet extinct in Saudi Arabia but is present, albeit in extremely low numbers, over a large part of the Tihamah. It seems that the birds are highly

Plate5. ArabianBustard Ardeotis arabs in the Tihamahof SaudiArabia with one of the threats to its survival-goats. (MohammedShobrak) mobile, moving from area to area, and although many of bustard are nomadic, especially outside the breeding season, the wandering of the Tihamah population may be due to factors other the bird's intrinsic nature: human disturbance and impoverishment of the habitat must be playing a major role. If some areas of 10-20 km2 could be established where human disturbance is minimized and grazing is curtailed we are convinced that the bustard would colonize these sites and remain there. In such measures it would also very important to eliminate poaching. The NCWCD has taken our recommendations seriously: the Arabian Bustard is now listed as a protected species, and protected areas have been designated.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank firstly Dr A. Abuzinada, Secretary General of the NCWCD, without whose support this study would not have been possible. Furthermore we would like to thank Y. "Yutaid from the NCWCD and A. R. Khoja, A. Boug, and P. 5ymens from the National

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