Data Zone
Country/territory: Tunisia
IBA criteria met: A1, A4i (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 148 ha
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2009 | favourable | medium | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2001 baseline)
Mornaguia reservoir is a recently built reservoir, located 12 km west of Tunis and surrounded by agricultural land. Water is pumped into it from dams in the national water grid, so that water-levels fluctuate considerably and there is little natural vegetation except where a stream flows in; here stands of Phragmites australis, Typha angustifolia, Inula viscosa and Juncus species occur. As one of the few freshwater lakes in the area it attracts a variety of migrants, especially in late summer when other sites are dry.
Key biodiversity
See Box for key species. Oxyura leucocephala is present throughout the year and may breed, although numbers are often highest in late summer and autumn, suggesting through-passage. Marmaronetta angustirostris is regularly present in summer and probably breeds, as do Tachybaptus ruficollis, Podiceps cristatus and Fulica atra. In late summer there are considerable concentrations of waders, Glareola pratincola, Chlidonias niger and Sterna nilotica; S. nilotica and G. pratincola may breed in favourable years. Up to several hundred Aythya nyroca occur in late summer, presumably migrants stopping to moult, and a few (up to 20) stay through the winter. Other wintering waterbirds include Aythya ferina, Anas platyrhynchos, A. strepera, A. acuta, A. crecca and Fulica atra.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Barrage Mornaguia (Tunisia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/barrage-mornaguia-iba-tunisia on 22/11/2024.