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The site was identified as important in 2008 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

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

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus	NT	resident	2005	unknown	A1
West Indian Whistling-duck Dendrocygna arborea	NT	resident	2007	unknown	A1, A3
American Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber	LC	resident	1996	3,000 individuals	A4i
White-crowned Pigeon Patagioenas leucocephala	NT	resident	2005	unknown	A1
Plain Pigeon Patagioenas inornata	NT	resident	2007	unknown	A1, A3
Key West Quail-Dove Geotrygon chrysia	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Gray-fronted Quail-Dove Geotrygon caniceps	VU	resident	2007	unknown	A1, A3
Blue-headed Quail-Dove Starnoenas cyanocephala	EN	resident	2007	unknown	A1, A3
Antillean Nighthawk Chordeiles gundlachii	LC	breeding	2006	unknown	A3
Cuban Nightjar Antrostomus cubanensis	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Antillean Palm Swift Tachornis phoenicobia	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Bee Hummingbird Mellisuga helenae	NT	resident	2007	unknown	A1, A3
Cuban Emerald Riccordia ricordii	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Cuban Lizard-cuckoo Coccyzus merlini	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Black Rail Laterallus jamaicensis	EN	resident	2007	unknown	A1
Zapata Rail Cyanolimnas cerverai	CR	resident	1982	rare	A1, A2, A3
Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis	LC	resident	1999	120 individuals	A4i
Cuban Pygmy-owl Glaucidium siju	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Bare-legged Owl Margarobyas lawrencii	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Gundlach's Hawk Accipiter gundlachi	EN	resident	2003	10 individuals	A1, A3
Cuban Trogon Priotelus temnurus	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Cuban Tody Todus multicolor	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Fernandina's Flicker Colaptes fernandinae	EN	resident	2005	150 breeding pairs	A1, A3
Cuban Green Woodpecker Xiphidiopicus percussus	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
West Indian Woodpecker Melanerpes superciliaris	LC	resident	2006	unknown	A3
Cuban Amazon Amazona leucocephala	NT	resident	2003	100 individuals	A1, A3
Cuban Parakeet Psittacara euops	VU	resident	2001	8 individuals	A1, A3
Cuban Pewee Contopus caribaeus	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Loggerhead Kingbird Tyrannus caudifasciatus	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Giant Kingbird Tyrannus cubensis	EN	resident	2007	unknown	A1, A3
La Sagra's Flycatcher Myiarchus sagrae	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Cuban Vireo Vireo gundlachii	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Cuban Crow Corvus nasicus	LC	resident	2005	unknown	A3
Cuban Martin Progne cryptoleuca	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Zapata Wren Ferminia cerverai	EN	resident	2004	present	A1, A2, A3
Zapata Sparrow Torreornis inexpectata	NT	resident	2007	unknown	A1, A2, A3
Yellow-headed Warbler Teretistris fernandinae	LC	resident	2005	unknown	A2, A3
Cuban Oriole Icterus melanopsis	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Tawny-shouldered Blackbird Agelaius humeralis	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Red-shouldered Blackbird Agelaius assimilis	LC	resident	2003	4 individuals	A2, A3
Cuban Blackbird Ptiloxena atroviolacea	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Greater Antillean Grackle Quiscalus niger	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Western Spindalis Spindalis zena	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Painted Bunting Passerina ciris	LC	winter	2005	unknown	A1
Cuban Bullfinch Melopyrrha nigra	NT	resident	2007	unknown	A3
Cuban Grassquit Phonipara canora	LC	resident	2007	unknown	A3

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2008) may differ.

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
2000	Ciénaga de Zapata	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	100
2001	Ciénaga de Zapata	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	85
2002	Los Sábalos	Wildlife Refuge	1
2008	Península de Zapata	Área Protegida de Recursos Manejados	100
2008	Ciénaga de Zapata	Parque Nacional	79
2010	Sistema Espeleolacustre de Zapata	Elemento Natural Destacado	2
2010	Bermejas	Refugio de Fauna	<1
2012	Canales del Hanabana	Refugio de Fauna	1

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		40
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Salt pans & salinas, Rice paddies	20
Forest	Mangrove, Tropical semi-deciduous, Flooded tropical evergreen	20
Marine Neritic		20
Artificial/Terrestrial	Other urban & industrial areas, Forestry & agro-industrial plantations	minor (<10)
Caves and Subterranean Habitats (non-aquatic)		minor (<10)
Marine Intertidal		minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
fisheries/aquaculture	-
forestry	-
nature conservation and research	-
tourism/recreation	-
urban/industrial/transport	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ciénaga de Zapata (Cuba). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ciénaga-de-zapata-iba-cuba on 22/11/2024.