• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2001 baseline)
Balcad Nature Reserve is located on the eastern bank of the Shabeelle river, 35 km north of Muqdisho and immediately south of the town of Balcad. The site consists of one of the few patches of riverine forest remaining on the Shabeelle river and the surrounding scrub savanna. The principal trees of the riverine forest include Acacia elatior, Ficus sycamorus, Garcinia livingstonei, Mimusops fruticosa and Tamarindus indica, while the surrounding scrub consists of more stunted Acacia nilotica with a dense undergrowth of herbs and tall grasses. There is some grassland close to the river and much of the scrub lies on areas of sand-dunes.

Key biodiversity
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Some 200 bird species have been recorded from the site. The only known individual of Laniarius liberatus was released from captivity here. Of the Somali–Masai biome species, Turdus tephronotus, Uraeginthus cyanocephalus and Ploceus dichrocephalus have been recorded nationally from few other IBAs.

Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Balcad Nature Reserve (Somalia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/balcad-nature-reserve-iba-somalia on 21/12/2024.