Saudi photographer’s seven-year mission to save endangered Asir magpie

Dubai: High in the Sarawat Mountains of southern Saudi Arabia, the Asir magpie flits between the juniper trees, a rare and endangered bird fighting to survive in a habitat threatened by urban and agricultural expansion.

For Saudi photographer Awad Al Shahri, the magpie’s struggle became a seven-year mission to document its life and behavior, with the hope of contributing to its conservation.

“The more I observed this bird in its natural habitat, the more I felt compelled to take action,” said Al Shahri, a founding member of the Saudi Bird Protection Society, in an interview. “I wanted to provide scientific insights that could help save it from extinction.”

Field studies have revealed a grim reality: fewer than 100 pairs of the Asir magpie remain, living in the juniper forests stretching from Al Soudah to Tanomah. These findings highlight the bird’s precarious existence and the urgent need for conservation efforts.

Al Shahri noted that the bird, once heavily reliant on juniper trees for nesting, has increasingly turned to acacia trees as juniper die-offs accelerate. Once accounting for just 40 percent of its nesting sites, acacia trees now host nearly 80 percent of the magpie's nests. This shift, Al Shahri explained, reflects the growing challenges to its survival.

The Asir magpie, distinguished by its glossy black plumage with iridescent green and purple hues on its tail, stands apart from its Eurasian counterpart. Officially classified as a separate species in 2016, the magpie is confined to a small range in the Asir region, over 1,200 kilometers from the nearest population of Eurasian magpies.

Efforts to protect the Asir magpie have gained momentum in recent years. Saudi authorities are implementing programs to breed and reintroduce endangered species at up to 15 sites annually, while companies like Aramco have invested in tracking and studying the bird’s movements.

Yet threats remain. Urban and agricultural development have encroached on the magpie’s habitat, forcing the birds closer to human settlements, where they scavenge for food scraps. This behavior increases their exposure to domestic and wild predators, including cats, dogs, and baboons.

“The leftovers people leave behind are not nutritionally suitable for the magpie,” Al Shahri warned. He advocates for restoring degraded habitats, safeguarding existing ones, and raising public awareness about the dangers of feeding the bird improperly.

“This is a bird at the brink,” Al Shahri said. “But with collective action, we can give it a fighting chance.”