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Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
This is one of the few outliers of Guinea–Congo forest in Angola that occurs south of Cabinda, and the forest is probably most extensively developed in this general area (Airy Shaw 1947). Rainfall exceeds 1,400 mm per year. The dry season is from June to September, but the relative humidity remains high (at about 80%) throughout the year. Tree species include
Ceiba pentandra,
Bombax reflexum, at least seven species of
Ficus,
Chlorophora excelsa,
Pterocarpus,
Khaya,
Elaeis,
Newtonia,
Albizia,
Entandophragma and (surprisingly)
Adansonia digitata in dry areas. Oil-palms
Elaeis guineensis are common along watercourses and on the edges of clearings. According to Airy Shaw (1947), wild coffee shrubs (
Coffea canephora and
C. welwitschii) originally formed part of the understorey of these forests, but have long been replaced by commercial coffee cultivars. Arboreal creepers (Combretaceae and
Platycerium) and climbing ferns (
Gleichenia) are common in the forest. Creeping ferns on the forest floor include
Microlepsis,
Pteris,
Tectaria and
Marattia.
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. The site has a rich forest avifauna, and at least 216 species have been collected in the Camabatela area. The site is rich in species of the Guinea–Congo Forests biome. Rare, biome-restricted species collected in the Camabatela–Canzele–Bolongongo area include
Dryotriorchis spectabilis,
Spizaetus africanus and
Poicephalus gulielmi, while the scarce
Agapornis pullaria, known from only a few sites in northern Angola, is likely to occur. Other poorly known species that occur in this area include
Cercococcyx mechowi,
Cercococcyx olivinus,
Centropus anselli,
Ceyx lecontei,
Corythornis leucogaster,
Illadopsis fulvescens and
I. albipectus, with
Illadopsis rufipennis, currently known only from Cabinda and northern Cuanza Norte likely to occur. Three species of the Zambezian biome have been recorded from this site, and
Pseudoalcippe abyssinica, a forest species of the Afrotropical Highlands biome, is present at higher elevations. Two orioles,
Oriolus brachyrhynchus and
O. nigripennis, occur in the lowland forest, with a third species,
O. auratus, present in adjacent woodlands.
Non-bird biodiversity: The antelope fauna should include such species as Cephalophus nigrifrons (LR/nt) and C. sylvicultor (LR/nt).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
No current information is available on the status of the forest and threats to the avian habitats. Coffee fazendas in the Camabatela and Canzele area were in full production up to the early 1970s. No specific information is available for the coffee plantations in the Camabatela area, but there has been a general decline in coffee production through neglect of the plantations throughout Angola, and it is quite likely that the avifauna has benefited through this to some extent.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Camabatela (Angola). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/camabatela-iba-angola on 22/12/2024.
