This species is widespread in the northeastern UAE, from Jebel Hafeet (<a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00586818"">RBGE; coll. J.R. Edmondson, 1980</a>; <a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00586811"">RBGE; coll. R.A. Western 1982</a>) and Al Ain north to Ras Al Khaimah, widespread north of Abu Dhabi-Al Ain road, east to the foothills of the Hajar Mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It is also recorded from Dubai, south of Dubai and to the west towards Abu Dhabi. Whilst subpopulations have been lost, leading to a decline in the area of occupancy, it is unclear whether the extent of occurrence has undergone decline. The species is found through the Arabian Peninsula to south-east Iraq and southern Iran (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

In the UAE, this species is known from two locations in the Ru'us al-Jibal; one at c. 1,000 m elevation near cultivation on 'Fine Peak plateau"", an area on Yabana ridge, downhill and west from Jebel Yabana (Feulner 2007, 2011, G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019), and a second to the south, near Wadi Beh (G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). The EOO is less than 40 km² and the AOO is 8 km². The global range of this species is across north-east Africa, through the northern Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) to Iran and Central Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, it has been recorded from a few scattered records in low mountains (MEW 2010, G.R. Feulner in litt, MEW 2010). Records include slopes in the north-east of the Jebel Qitab ridge within Fujairah (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2014). Sharjah Seedbank & Herbarium holds specimens from Qurayyah on the east coast and from southeast from Wadi Al Helo, however, these records require confirmation. Feulner (2011) reports the species from the Wadi Khab al-Shamsi narrows, however, it is thought that this locality is within Oman, not the UAE. Based on the confirmed locality on the Jebel Qitab slopes, both the AOO and EOO are likely to be highly restricted, very much less than 50 km². Globally, this species native range spans from southern Africa to north-east Africa and India, in addition to encompassing Arkansas, Arizona and Mexico within the Americas (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, this species has been recorded from the Khor Kalba plain (Jongbloed et al. 2003, MEW 2010), with a first tentative identification in 1982 from a ""...roundabout next to Khor Kalba power station"" (Western 1987). The maximum EOO of the area of Khor Kalba was estimated at less than 20 km², with the AOO likely to not exceed 18 km². A second record of the species, also from Sharjah Emirate, requires confirmation, with the photograph of the record lost and no specimen found in SSBH (J. Pereira pers. comm. 2020). This species is native to Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019), with Ghazanfar et al. (2019) giving the distribution as mainly from eastern Saudi Arabia to Jordan, with an outlier recorded in Oman.

In the UAE, this species is known from Jebel Hafeet (Jongbloed et al. 2003), where it is known from three distinct areas;<ol><li>Wadi Tarabat: the upper reaches (a few plants observed; G. Brown pers. comm. 2019) and on the plains and lower parts of Wadi Tarabat at the northern end of Jebel Hafeet (R. Khan, G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). Two locations, based on the division of this area by the privately managed fenced reserve.</li><li>Very locally immediately to the east of Jebel Hafeet at the base of the mountain. One location, defined by camel grazing.</li><li>A small subpopulation in a small wadi at high elevation (900 m) close to the summit (S. Sakkir pers. comm. 2019). One location; threats uncertain, but likely to include grazing pressure and drought.</li></ol>In addition, the species has been recorded once in Wadi Shuaib (T. Mahmoud pers. comm. 2019), however the origin of the species here requires confirmation; it is may be of anthropogenic origin, or have originated from above the dame, in adjacent parts of Oman. The estimated EOO for this species is 213 km². There are at present no records of the species from Oman, but it might be expected to occur in the Musandam Peninsula (S. Ghazanfar pers. comm. 2019) or on adjacent parts of Jebel Hafeet. Globally, this species occurs in Egypt (Sinai), the eastern Mediterranean (Israel, Palestine, Jordan), through the Arabian Peninsula, to Iraq and Iran (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018), whilst Greuter (2006-2009) gives a wider distribution to Morocco in North Africa and possibly north to Lebanon-Syria, but excludes the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Iran.

Jongbloed et al. (2003) presented only a single record (Wadi Siji) for the UAE, with MEW (2010) recording three unspecified sites. However, since then the species has been found at numerous sites within the Hajar Mountains. Records include Wadi Wurayah National Park (WWNP; Feulner 2016, Judas 2016), the gravel outwash on the UAE side of the border from Wadi Agram (Gardner 2009), from the gravel plains in the vicinity of Jebel Hafeet (Sakkir and Brown 2014, EAD 2018) and Wadi Helo (El-Keblawy et al. 2016). Mahmoud et al. (2018) found the species in gravel plains and wadis in their recent study of dams along the western slopes of the Hajar Mountains, without specifying the localities. The Sharjah Seedbank & Herbarium holds six records from the UAE: Wadi Al Nahwa (Nahwa), Sharjah-kalba Road and Shawka (Ras Al Khaimah), Sayh Mudayrah (Ajman), Al Khudairah, Al Dhaid (Sharjah) and Fili. In the WWNP, the two specimens were found in synanthropic areas (the picnicking area below the Wadi Wurayah waterfall and in the silt behind the Wadi Wurayah dam; Feulner 2016), meaning the origin of the species in the park may require confirmation. Due to the absence of precise locality data for some records, it is difficult to accurately estimate the EOO and AOO. However, it is suggested that the EOO is likely to be less than 5,000 km² and the AOO less than 100 km². This species is endemic to Oman and the UAE (Patzelt 2014). Within Oman, it is found in the north (Western and Eastern Hajar Mountains) and in the centre, on Masirah Island.

In the UAE, this species is found in the Hajar Mountains, where G.R. Feulner (in litt, MEW 2010) reports it from a small number of records, although Feulner (2016) considered it to be widespread in the mountains but very rare. Two specimens are known from the Wadi Wurayah National Park (WWNP) area: a historical record from the upper Wadi Siji in the WWNP buffer zone, and one from the upper Wadi Zikt (Feulner 2016). <a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00181462"">RBGE Herbarium</a> hold one specimen from five kilometres southeast of Masafi, below Jebel Masafi. A further record is known from Wadi Hatta and Jebel Hatta. Both the EOO (&lt;310 km²) and the AOO (&lt;100 km²) are highly restricted.This species is restricted to northern Oman and the UAE. In Oman, it is found in the Jabal Al Akhdar range of the Western and Eastern Hajar Mountains, including from Hatta southwards to Wadi Jizzi (G.R. Feulner in litt, MEW 2010).

In the UAE, this species is found in Wadi Naqab and in the Ru'us al-Jibal Mountains in the UAE (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011). Karim and Fawzi (2007) recorded it from Wadi Sha'am. The extent of occurrence (EOO) of this species is estimated at less than 294 km². This species is widespread in the tropics of the Old World. It occurs in tropical Africa from Egypt to South Africa and Madagascar (APD 2019), through the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman, the UAE) to Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018). It is introduced in Australia.

The majority of occurrences of this species within the UAE are likely to be of wintering birds or migrant individuals on passage to and from the breeding grounds. Numbers are highest between mid-September and mid-April, occasionally to early May, when the species is fairly common to common throughout the country (Pedersen et al. 2017). Individuals wintering in or migrating through the UAE breed in central-eastern Asia.

The majority of occurrences of this species within the UAE are likely to be of wintering individuals (Pedersen et al. 2017). Numbers are highest in November to mid-March, when the species is fairly common in open areas near the coast (Richardson 1990, Pedersen et al. 2017). The species is rare in April and October (Pedersen et al. 2017). Individuals wintering in the UAE breed in north-eastern Europe and central Russia (Richardson 1990).