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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 1999 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('key species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Southern Banded Snake-eagle Circaetus fasciolatus	NT	resident (1999)	present	A1
Taita Falcon Falco fasciinucha	VU	resident (-)	present	A1
Taita Apalis Apalis fuscigularis	CR	resident (1999)	present	A1, A2
Taita White-eye Zosterops silvanus	VU	resident (1998)	1,500 individuals	A1, A2
Abbott's Starling Arizelopsar femoralis	EN	resident (1999)	present	A1
Taita Thrush Turdus helleri	EN	resident (1999)	present	A1, A2

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1999. The most recent assessment (2023) is shown below.

State (condition of the key species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Forest	moderate (70–90%)	moderate (70–90%)	unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Natural system modifications	happen­ing now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	moderate deteri­oration (10–30% in 3 gener­ations)	high
Biological resource use	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Climate change and severe weather	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Human intrusions and disturbance	happen­ing now	few individ­uals/small area (<10%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	low
Pollution	happen­ing now	few individ­uals/small area (<10%)	no deteri­oration (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Most of site (50–90%) covered (including the most critical parts for important bird species)	A compre­hensive and appropriate manage­ment plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the popul­ations of qualify­ing bird species	The conservation measures needed for the site are being comprehensively and effectively implemented	high

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
-	Ngerenyi	Forest Reserve (-)	<1
-	Yale	Forest Reserve (-)	<1
-	Sagalla	Forest Reserve (-)	<1
-	Ngangao	Forest Reserve (-)	<1
-	Chaiwa	Forest Reserve (-)	<1
-	Vurai	Forest Reserve (-)	<1
-	Kichuchenyi	Forest Reserve (-)	<1
-	Mbololo	Nature Reserve (IV)	-
1991	Mwachora	Forest Reserve (-)	<1
1991	Macha	Forest Reserve (-)	<1
1991	Fururu	Forest Reserve (-)	<1

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Terrestrial	-	Forestry & agro-industrial plantations
Forest	-	Mid-altitude forest - transitional

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
forestry	-
nature conservation and research	-
urban/industrial/transport	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Taita Hills Forests (Kenya). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/taita-hills-forests-iba-kenya on 21/01/2025.