About Birds
Wild birds are an important part of biodiversity which plays a vital indicator of the ecosystems state due to their response to environmental changes. Birds perform important ecological functions that contribute to environmental balance i.e. dispersing seeds, pollen, and biological control of some pests. The Kingdom's geographical location between East Asia, Europe and Africa functions as the most important bird migration routes in the world. There are 550 bird species in the Kingdom, including 219 breeding species, 280 migratory species, and 51 stray species. Twenty seven of these birds are globally threatened with extinction. The Kingdom also contains 19 species of endemic and semi-endemic birds of the Arabian Peninsula. The Bird Department at NCW seeks to catalogue all types of birds in the regions of the Kingdom, focusing on existing and proposed protected and wetlands. Such areas play a vital role for biodiversity by providing information on migration paths, the presence of species, spatial distribution patterns, and the abundance of different species lifestyle. The center works on sustaining and preserving them through:
- 1- Conducting of field surveys and monitoring the migration paths of various bird species in the Kingdom that results in digital maps uploads.
- 2- Preparing and updating birds catalogue in the Kingdom to acquire the national status of each species.
- 3- Holding workshops with all specialists in Saudi universities as well as some international expertise and research centers to know the newly recorded species and the species that are widespread or threatened with extinction in the Kingdom.
- 4- Studying PAs that are important for biodiversity including wet lands that have not been studied in cooperation with Saudi universities.
- 5- Cataloguing invasive non-native species, submitting reports and results, and recommending corrective actions.
- 6- Creating a database to record species and their geographical distribution on digital spatial maps, which facilitates the process of accessing information by using modern technologies.
- 7- Developing a national action-plan to protect endemic and endangered species as well as implementing the outcomes of these plans.
