Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The Amurum woodlands are located 15 km north-east of Jos and comprise a small area of granitic outcrops in dry scrub savanna, interspersed with gallery forests, patches of grassland and cultivated farmlands on the Jos Plateau. Common tree species include
Danielia oliveri,
Parkia biglobosa,
Lophira lanceolata,
Khaya senegalensis,
Vitex doniana,
Piliostigma thonningii and
Ficus spp. Average annual rainfall is around 1,400 mm.
See Box and Table 3 for key species. In addition, the site also holds the recently described, and apparently nationally endemic,
Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis and its brood-parasite
Vidua maryae, which may also prove to be both globally threatened and of restricted-range.
Gallinago media may occur as it has been recorded from other parts of the Jos Plateau on migration.
Motacilla flava winters in large numbers in the area.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site holds some of the best remaining areas of natural Jos Plateau vegetation, devastated elsewhere by, among other things, tin-mining operations. However, the site is vulnerable because of its small size and its proximity to the urban community of Jos. Some degradation, not yet serious, is occurring due to wood-cutting, cattle-grazing and farming. Further investigation of other forest patches in the area is needed. Community-based, participatory management of the site is supported by a joint NCF–RSPB–WWF(UK)–DFID project. There are plans for an Ornithological Research Institute, affiliated to the University of Jos, to be established near Amurum. These include developing the educational value of the site and so raising the profile of its conservation importance.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Amurum woodlands (Taboru) (Nigeria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/amurum-woodlands-(taboru)-iba-nigeria on 22/11/2024.
