Azizi (Desert Lark)

Azizi (Desert Lark), is the name given to a bird of the “Desert Lark” (Desert Lark) lineage, or the Humra, in reference to King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, in 1924, when he was the Sultan of Najd and its dependencies at the time. The city of Al-Hofuf in Al-Ahsa Governorate, affiliated with the Eastern Province in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is considered the geographical range of “Azizi”, where the British traveler Robert Ernest Cheesman first found this type of bird above the Salwa hills located north-west of Al-Hofuf on December 31, 1921, during an exploratory trip to study the birds of eastern Arabia. He also found it for a second time in 1924 on Jabal Abu Ghunaymah near Al-Hofuf.

The story of naming Azizi

The story of naming Azizi is linked to the British Army officer Cheesman, who, after leaving the army and moving to Iraq to work as secretary to Britain’s first High Commissioner after the end of the First World War, planned a scientific exploratory journey to the Arabian Peninsula. It began in October 1923, following a previous visit to the region two years earlier, in fulfilment of his dream to study the birds of the Arabian Peninsula and learn about their types, names, and life cycle.

Finding specimens of Azizi

Cheesman found “Azizi” on Jabal Abu Ghunaymah near the Zarnooqah well in Al-Hofuf on December 31,1923. Cheesman also saw a small group of “Azizi” in the desolate areas on the road to Bireen during his journey in Al-Hofuf, and that was the second time he found “Azizi”.

On January 16, 1924, as part of the exploratory trip, Cheesman met King Abdulaziz, who granted him permission to come and collect bird specimens and study their innate characteristics in Al-Hofuf. Cheesman told King Abdulaziz that he had collected specimens of about 140 birds and animals, expressing his desire to show them to the King at an appropriate time.

On January 20, 1924, Cheesman met King Abdulaziz in Al-Hofuf to show him the specimens he had collected. Cheesman said: “King Abdulaziz showed knowledge of the different types of specimens more than any educated Arab I have met.” Cheesman brought forty small birds; among those, King Abdulaziz was most interested in the “Eurasian eagle-owl”. He was not convinced by its Arabic name—“owl”—saying it is a name that applies to all types of owls, and that its correct name is “fayum”. He also called the barn owl “Umm al-Sakhr”, explaining that it differs from the Eurasian eagle-owl.

During the presentation of the specimens, Cheesman told King Abdulaziz of his happiness at the presence of a different strain of Desert Lark that might be a new bird to ornithologists. King Abdulaziz said it was the Humra, one of the most common birds in the region, and from then on it was named “Ammomanes deserti azizi” after King Abdulaziz’s name.

King Abdulaziz also examined the “Greater Hoopoe-Lark” (Aloemon) and said it was “Umm Salim”, asking Cheesman: do you not find it in England? He continued examining the specimens. Among what caught his attention was the “kingfisher” of light blue colour, surprised at its presence in the region. He also marvelled at the hunting of the “golden sandgrouse” with a rifle without it suffering major damage despite its small size.

Classification of Azizi

“Azizi” is scientifically classified within the animal kingdom, phylum Chordata, class Aves, order Passeriformes, family larks (Alaudidae), genus “Ammomanes”, species “Desert Lark”, and subspecies “Azizi”.

Classification attempts began after Cheesman found the first specimen of Azizi. He then tried to obtain a group of them to confirm that their characteristics were consistent, and that their classification justified the presence of a new subspecies. Cheesman notes that despite the novelty of that specimen, he did not wish to name it based on a single bird. The group he found later showed that “Azizi” is a separate type of lark, with upperparts tending towards a light beige colour.

Many Desert Lark subspecies were named based on the colours of their plumage. The colours of subspecies found in sandy habitats differ from those of birds living in rocky or stony areas.

Twenty-four types of Desert Lark can be distinguished in the Arabian Peninsula, at least seven of which are resident, non-migratory birds, spread across various parts of the Arabian Peninsula, except for valleys of sand dunes. They are found in limited numbers in rocky areas of the plains of northern Arabia and Tihamah, as well as in all countries of the region.

Description of Azizi

“Azizi” is a subspecies of the Desert Lark. It is a plump bird with a short tail, and its length reaches about 15 cm on average. Its colour is between grey and pale pink, and it is paler on the upperparts. It is also whiter on the underparts, and has a mark on its throat. According to the anatomical description of “Azizi”, the total wing lengths of three male birds range between 100–105 mm, compared to 94–100 mm for the wings of five females.

The male’s colour resembles the female’s. It has a long, pointed beak, and the base of the beak is yellowish. The voice consists of various call notes: short, soft, and musical. “Azizi” sings mainly while on the ground, and sometimes while descending in flight, but it rarely sings above branches.

Geographical range of Desert Lark subspecies

The global bird database indicates that Azizi “Desert Lark” is found near Al-Hofuf and in the Shadqam area in Al-Ahsa. There are also Desert Lark types similar to Azizi in the Tabuk and Hail regions, where the birds’ colours tend towards dark brown on the upperparts, like the Eurasian jay, but smaller and with a tail.

The Desert Lark subspecies “isabellinus” is also found, small in size, with a colour tending towards orange-brown and a tail tending towards reddish, in the north-west of Saudi Arabia and also in Al-Thumamah north-east of Riyadh.

There are various names for the Desert Lark, including: Desert Lark, Sand Lark, Steppe Lark, Desert Sparrow Lark.

Azizi’s classification on the Red List of threatened species

Azizi was listed on the Red List of Threatened Species issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and its Resources in the 2018 edition under the category “Least Concern”. According to the Atlas of Breeding Birds in the Arabian Peninsula, around 5 million pairs of the Desert Lark “Azizi” are present. It is among the species whose breeding rates are increasing, and the average lifespan reaches 3.8 years. The breeding season of the Desert Lark in the Arabian Peninsula peaks in March.

King Abdulaziz’s efforts to preserve wildlife

King Abdulaziz’s efforts to preserve wildlife are evident in his interest in keeping live natural specimens of species threatened with extinction, as well as in meeting a number of scientists who visited Saudi Arabia to study its biodiversity.

King Abdulaziz also collected a number of desert animals and gifted them to the San Diego Zoo in the United States to care for them, fearing their extinction. He also gifted the King of Britain, during the First World War, a pair of Arabian oryx to preserve due to uncontrolled hunting that was practised in the Arabian Peninsula.

The British explorer and naturalist Alexander Carruthers mentioned that King Abdulaziz gifted two ostriches to Britain’s first representative in Iraq, Percy Cox. The British photographer and traveler John Philby also mentioned that King Abdulaziz prepared a young oryx for him, but it died before he received it.

King Abdulaziz enabled the traveler Cheesman to come to Al-Hofuf to collect bird specimens and study their innate characteristics. Cheesman reported that the King was interested in asking about information related to wildlife of mammals and birds at risk of extinction, including the Arabian oryx that he had previously gifted to the King of Britain.