Islamic Republic of Iran

Iran (formerly called Persia) is a country in west Asia and has a land area of nearly 1,650,000 km (c.636,000 square miles). It borders Turkey to the northwest and Iraq to the west, Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. The country has over 2,000 km of coastline in its southern region, along the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. Iran ranks 17th globally in both geographic size and population with around 90 million people. The country is divided into five regions with 31 provinces. Tehran is the nation’s capital, largest city and financial centre with nearly ten million people and almost eight million more in its greater metropolitan area. Other major cities include Mashhad (3.5 million), Isfahan (2.25 million), Karaj (1.6 million), and Shiraz (1.7 million).

Iran is in a seismically active area. On average, an earthquake of magnitude seven on the Richter scale occurs once every ten years. Iran consists of the Iranian Plateau. It is one of the world’s most mountainous countries, its landscape is dominated by rugged mountain ranges that separate basins or plateaus. The populous west part is the most mountainous, with ranges such as the Caucasus, Zagros, and Alborz, the last containing Mount Damavand, Iran’s highest point, at 18,406 feet, which is the highest volcano in Asia. Iran’s mountains have impacted its politics and economics for centuries. The north part is covered by the lush lowland Caspian Hyrcanian forests, near the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. The east part consists mostly of desert basins, such as the Kavir Desert, which is the country’s largest desert, and the Lut Desert, as well as salt lakes. The Lut Desert is the hottest recorded spot on the Earth’s surface, with 70.7 °C recorded in 2005. The only large plains are found along the coast of the Caspian and at the north end of the Persian Gulf, where the country borders the mouth of the Arvand River. Smaller, discontinuous plains are found along the remaining coast of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman.

Mount Damavand – ©Bjørn Christian Tørrissen CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Iranian islands are mainly located in the Persian Gulf. Iran has 102 islands in Urmia Lake, 427 in Aras River, several in Anzali Lagoon, Ashurade Island in the Caspian Sea, Sheytan Island in the Oman Sea and other inland islands. It has an uninhabited island at the far end of the Gulf of Oman, near Pakistan. A few islands can be visited by tourists. Most are owned by the military or used for wildlife protection, and entry is prohibited or requires a permit.

Iran’s climate is diverse, ranging from arid and semi-arid, to subtropical along the Caspian coast and northern forests. On the north edge of the country, temperatures rarely fall below freezing and the area remains humid. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 29 °C. Annual precipitation is c.27 inches in the east part of the plain and about 67 inches the west part. To the west, settlements in the Zagros basin experience lower temperatures, severe winters with freezing average daily temperatures and heavy snowfall. The east and central basins are arid, with less than c.8 inches of rain and have occasional deserts. Average summer temperatures rarely exceed 38 °C. The southern coastal plains of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman have mild winters, and very humid and hot summers. The annual precipitation ranges from 5 to 14 inches.

Caspian Hyrcanian Mixed Forests in Northern Iran – ©Fars Media Corporation, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

More than one-tenth of the country is forested.  About 120 million hectares of forests and fields are government-owned for national exploitation. Iran’s forests can be divided into five vegetation regions: Hyrcanian region which forms the green belt of the north side of the country; the Turan region, which are mainly scattered in the centre of Iran; Zagros region, which mainly contains oak forests in the west; the Persian Gulf region, which is scattered in the southern coastal belt; the Arasbarani region, which contains rare and unique species. More than 8,200 plant species are grown. The land covered by natural flora is four times that of Europe’s. There are over 200 protected areas to preserve biodiversity and wildlife, with over 30 being national parks.

Iran’s living fauna includes 34 bat species, Indian Grey Mongoose, Small Indian Mongoose, Golden Jackal, Indian Wolf, foxes, Striped Hyena, Leopard, Eurasian Lynx, Brown Bear and Asian Black Bear. Ungulate species include Wild Boar, Rrial, Armenian Mouflon, Red Deer, and Goitered Gazelle. One of the most famous animals is the critically endangered Asiatic Cheetah, which survives only in Iran. Iran lost all its Asiatic Lions and the extinct Caspian Tigers by the early 20th century.

Birding Iran

With more than 550 recorded species, Iran has a very rich and divers bird fauna, despite the fact that large portion of the country is arid to semi-arid. This diversity can be seen in eight major habitat types:

True Desert and Semi-desert The desert environment occurs throughout the central desert basin from south of the capital city Tehran through the great Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts to the Jaz Murian basin in central Baluchistan and locally along the southern coastal lowlands from north-west Khuzestan to Baluchistan. Bird species include: Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata, Bar-tailed Lark Ammomanes cincturus, Hoopoe Lark Alaemon alaudipes, Desert Warbler Sylvia nana, Desert Wheataer Oenanthe deserti, Hooded Wheatear Oenanthe monacha and Trumpeter Finch Rhodopechys githaginea.

Semi-arid Steppe Much of Iran’s land surface supports a steppe vegetation dominated by the low shrub Artemisia herbaalba. The steppe is home to many of Iran’s commonest and most widespread birds. Characteristic species include: Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus, Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus, Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis, European Roller Coracias garrulous, European Bee-eater Merops apiaster, several species of lark, including the ubiquitous Crested Lark Galerida cristata, Isabelline Wheatear Oenanthe isabellina and Black-headed Bunting Emberiza melanocephala.

High Mountains The Alborz and Zagros mountains and the higher peaks of mountain ranges in Azerbaijan, Khorasan, Kerman and Baluchistan provinces support a mountain fauna typical of all high mountain ranges of Western Europe to the Himalayas. Species include: Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus, Alpine Swift Tachymarptis melba, Eurasian Crag-martin Hirundo rupestris, Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris, Alpine Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus, Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris, Rock Thrush Monticola saxatilis, Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros, Wall Creeper Tichodroma muraria and Snow Finch Montifringilla nivalis. Caucasian Snowcock Tetraogallus caspius, is confined to high mountain ranges in Turkey and Iran, is locally common on the higher peaks in the Alborz and Zagros.

Forests and woodland Although of rather limited extent, Iran’s forested regions have a very rich bird fauna barely different from that of a central European woodland. Common species include: Woodpigeon Columba palumbus, Green Woodpecker Picus viridis, Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major, Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis, Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio, Jay Garrulus glandarius, Wren Troglodytes troglodytes, Dunnock Prunella modularis, Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla, Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina, Robin Erithacus rubecula, Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos, several species of Turdus, several species of Tit and Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs. The drier and more open oak woodlands of the western Zagrous have a Mediterranean element and includes species such as Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus, Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus, Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica and Rock Bunting Emberiza cineracea. In the even drier woodlands in the eastern Zagros, the Kerman highlands, and isolated mountains in northern Baluchistan, only a handful of western Palearctic species occur. Characteristic birds here include a mixture of Middle Eastern specialties, e.g. White-throated Robin Irania gutturalis and Plain Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus neglectus, eastern Palaearctic species, e.g. Isabelline Shrike Lanius isabellinus and Hume’s Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia althaea, Indo-Malayan species, e.g. Bay-backed Shrike Lanius vittatus and western Palaearctic species at the extreme edge of their ranges. e.g. Blackbird Turdus merula. Finally, throughout the remoter mountain ranges of Iran there still exist good stands of juniper woodland with specialties such as Red-Fronted Serin Serinus pusillus and, in the northeast, White-winged Grosbeak Mycerobas carnipes.

Fertile Lowlands – ©amir ghasemi yegane, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Southern Lowlands The hot tropical climate of the southern coastal lowlands supports a flora and fauna quite unlike that of the rest of Iran. From northwest Khuzestan to eastern Iranian Baluchistan, open park-like stands of Acacia, Prosopis and Tamarix and extensive Date Palm groves provide suitable habitats for a variety of Indo-Malayan/Afro-tropical species, such as Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis, Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis, Green Bee Eater Merops orientalis, White-eared Bulbul Pycnonotus leucotis, Graceful Warbler Prinia gracilis, Common Babbler Turdoides caudatus, Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica and Yellow-Throated Sparrow Petronia xanthocollis. A number of species of Indo-Malayan origin, such as Indian Sand Lark Calandrella raytal, Common Myna Acridotheres tristis, and Sind Sparrow Passer pyrrhonotus, are confined to extreme south-east Iranian Baluchistan, while several others extend only as far west as the Bandar Abbas region, e.g. White-eyed Buzzard Butastur teesa, Indian Grey Francolin Francolinus pondicerianus and Sind Woodpecker Dendrocopos assimilis. In the west, the riverside poplar thickets and marsh-edge habitat of Khuzestan hold several specialties, such as Grey Hypocolius Hypocolius ampelinus, Iraq Babbler Turdoides altirostris and Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus.

Wetlands The south Caspian Sea, with 700km of sandy shoreline, and the freshwater lakes, marshes and brackish lagoons in central Gilan, the Gorgan Bay area, and the Turkoman steppes provide a complex of breeding and wintering areas for waterfowl. Estimates for mid-winter population of ducks, geese, swan and coots are well over a million birds, with perhaps as many birds occurring on passage in spring and autumn. In addition, there are large wintering populations of Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus, Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus rubber, grebe herons and egrets, shorebirds and gulls. During the spring and autumn migration seasons, large numbers of shorebirds pass through the south Caspian on their way between breeding grounds in the Arctic and wintering grounds in the Persian Gulf and eastern and southern Africa, and in summer the marshes teem with breeding Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo, herons, egrets, gallinules including Purple Swamphen Porphyrio prophyrio, and Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus.

The other major wetland areas in Iran are not less spectacular. The wetlands around the highly saline Lake Urmiya support large breeding colonies of waterfowl, notably Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus rubber, Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus, Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia, Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus, White Stork Ciconia ciconia, Common Shelduck Tradorna tradorna, Ruddy Shelduck Tradorna ferruginea, Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta, Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus, Armenian Gull Larus armenicus and Slender-billed Gull Larus genei. These wetlands are important for passage shorebirds and in mild winters can hold over 50.000 wintering ducks and geese.

The flood-plains of the Dez-Karun and Karkheh rivers in Khuzestan, the complex for fresh, brackish and saline lakes at the inland delta of Hiramnd river in Sistan of the Afghan border, and the network of fresh and saline lakes in central Fars, particularly Bakhtegan, Tashk, Maharlu, Parishan lakes and the dasht-e Arjan marshes all provide habitat for many hundreds of thousands of wintering waterfowl. In addition to a wide range of ducks, geese and shorebirds, these wetlands are particularly important for wintering of Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus (Fars and Sistan); Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus (Khuzestan); White stork Ciconia ciconia (Khuzestans and Fars); Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus rubber (Fars) and Common Crane Grus grus (all three areas). In years of good rainfall, wetlands in all three regions can be of great importance for breeding waterfowl, particularly herons, egrets, Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia, Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus, Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus, White-tailed Lapwing Vanellus leucurus and Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincole

Persian Gulf and Makran Coastal Habitats The tidal mudflats, mangrove, sand beaches, rocky shores and sea-cliffs of Iran’s south coast support a variety of breeding and wintering waterfowl and seabirds. Breeding species include Crab Plover Dromas ardeola, Great Thick-knee Burhinus recurvirostris (only in the sea); several species of herons and egrets such as Indian Pond-Heron Ardeola grayii, Western Reef Heron Egretta gularis and Goliath Heron Ardea goliath (in mangrove); and several species of terns. Wintering species include Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia, Osprey Pandion haliaetus, White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla, and also many shorebirds notably African Black Oystercatcher Heamatopus ostralegus, Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica, Curlew Numenius arquata and Plovers, Scuas, Gulls and Terns.

Offshore Islands The many small and uninhabited islands in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz provide ideal breeding grounds for large colonies of seabirds. The main species are: Great Crested Tern Sterna bergii, Lesser Crested Tern Sterna bengalensis, White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa and Bridled Tern Sterna anaethetus, but small colonies of Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus, Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis and Saunders’s Tern Sterna saundersihave been found, and Persian Shearwater Puffinus persicus probably breeds.