Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site is an area of Guinea Savanna on the slopes and top of a mid-altitude ridge of the Jos Plateau, beside the Jos–Kagoro road, about 70 km from Jos. The vegetation comprises gallery forests sorrounded by grasslands. The Assop river, which feeds the picturesque rapids and falls, drains part of the Jos Plateau.
See Box and Table 3 for key species. Over 165 birds have been recorded. In addition, the recently described
Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis and its brood-parasite
Vidua maryae may occur. Nationally uncommon species include
Muscicapa gambagae, apparently a common breeder, as well as
Hieraaetus pennatus,
Agapornis pullaria,
Lybius bidentatus,
Cossypha polioptera and
Vidua wilsoni. Two species of the Guinea–Congo Forests biome (A05) have also been recorded (see Table 3).
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The waterfall and its immediate environs are legally protected and managed by Plateau State Tourism Corporation. The river also provides the domestic water-supply for villagers in the surrounding area. Wood-cutting and livestock-grazing are major threats to the catchment. The area immediately behind the waterfall is being farmed.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Assop Falls and hills (Nigeria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/assop-falls-and-hills-iba-nigeria on 23/12/2024.
