This Secondary Area is defined by the range of the threatened Black-cheeked Lovebird Agapornis nigrigenis (classified as Endangered), which is found in deciduous Colophospermum mopane and adjacent Baikiaea plurijuga woodland in the Zambezi valley (between the Machili river and Livingstone) and the southern Kafue basin in southern Zambia. A survey in 1994 recorded 2,127 individuals of the species here, and estimated a total population of 10,000 (Dodman 1995). It formerly occurred in the Caprivi Strip of Namibia and northern Zimbabwe, though perhaps only as a vagrant. There is a tiny population inside the Kafue National Park, but elsewhere agricultural encroachment and illegal trapping are possible threats.

Stattersfield, A. J., Crosby, M. J., Long, A. J. and Wege, D. C. (1998) Endemic Bird Areas of the World. Priorities for biodiversity conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series 7. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: Southern Zambia. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/eba/factsheet/350 on 27/12/2024.