عقعق عسيري

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عقعق عسير Asir magpie
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
التصنيف العلمي
أصنوفة غير معروفة (أصلحها):	Pica
Species:	Template:Taxonomy/PicaP. asirensis
Binomial name
Template:Taxonomy/PicaPica asirensis بيتس، 1936

العقعق العسيري Asir magpie أو العقعق العربي (Pica asirensis) هو طائر مُتوطن في السعودية. يوجد في مرتفعات الجزء الجنوبي الغربي للسعودية في منطقة عسير فقط. يستوطن غابات العرعر الأفريقي في الشِعاب والوديان كثيرة النبات. كان يُصنف نُويعةً للعقعق الأوراسي سابقاً ومازال كذلك عند بعض الجهات. هذا النوع مهدد بشدة بسبب تدمير موائله، حيث أن الغابات الأصيلة التي تُشكل موطنه لا تتجدد. ويُشكل تطوير السياحة وتغير المناخ تهديداً أيضًا. لهذا النوع 135 زوج فقط في البرية فقط (270 طائر بالغ)، والعدد في انخفاض.

وجدت دراسة النسالة الجزيئية التي نشرت في عام 2018 أن العقعق العسيري هو شقيق نوعي للعقعق أسود العَجز من هضبة التبت.

 الوصف

Asir magpie observed in February 2023

The Asir magpie (Pica asirensis) is about 45–60 cm (18–24 in) long, and its approximate weight is 240 g (8.5 oz). Its head, neck, back, front chest, and feet are all black. Its shoulders and belly are milk white. Its tail is black with bronze-green metallic luster. Compared to the Eurasian magpie, the Asir magpie has longer bill, darker plumage, and darker iris. Its vocalization is distinct, and it also gives harsh high-pitched calls. There is no large difference between males and females, but young Asir magpies are duller than adults.^{[بحاجة لمصدر]}

 السلوك

During breeding seasons, the Asir magpies often group in pairs and live in flocks. Each of the flock approximately contains 8 birds. However, the Asir magpies travel in small groups of 3-5 birds for daily activities. In order to protect themselves from predators such as hawks and owls, they build their nests in forests and valleys with plentiful vegetation covered.

Compared to flying, the Asir magpies prefer walking and hopping sideways. Since their size is small and their wings are short, they fly with fast wing beats, and they rarely glide.^{[بحاجة لمصدر]}

 الموئل

The Asir magpie primarily lives above 2،150 m (7،050 ft) in thick shady juniper forests or dense mixed forests. It usually lives on south-facing slopes and avoids living on slopes larger than 30 degrees or near a human site. Sometimes, the Asir magpie is also observed foraging on roadsides or living at 1،800 m (5،900 ft) and higher.

 المأكل

The Asir magpie is omnivorous. Its diet varies according to the changes in seasons and environments. When it is summer, the Asir magpie mainly feeds on animal-based food such as invertebrates, lizards, and frogs. During the other three seasons, it relies on the seeds and products of plants.^{[بحاجة لمصدر]} The Asir magpie's food source is not limited, and it just eats the food which is available and abundant in the living environment. It even steals and eats the eggs of other birds, which gives the species the name "nest predators".

 الوضع

As a highly endangered species, there are only 270 Asir magpie estimated to exist, and the extent of occurrence (breeding/resident) has shrunk to 42،700 km² (16،500 sq mi). When Bates (1936) first recorded the Asir magpie, the bird's living range extended from Tayif in the north to at least Abha in the south - a distance of 400 km (250 mi). Today, the great majority of the population appears to be confined to pockets of mixed juniper and acacia forests within a 37 km (23 mi) strip of highlands, primarily between An-Namas and Billasmar. A high degree of habitat fragmentation from tourism development and urban expansion poses a great threat to its existence by restraining the exchange of genetic materials between groups from different habitats. Moreover, the Asir magpies suffer from malnutrition as a result of feeding on human food wastes, which potentially leads to extinction of the species.

 انظر أيضا

• جبال عسير، جبال السروات