Current view: Text account
Site description (2008 baseline):
Site location and context
This IBA includes the Cuilco Mountains and the valley west of the city of Nenton, which is the southern limit of the central valley of Chiapas, Mexico.
Cuilco is important for species of the North Central American Highlands (8 species recorded), including populations of two threatened species, Highland Guan (
Penelopina nigra) and Pink-headed Warbler (
Ergaticus versicolor). The site supports biome-restricted species of the Madrean Highlands (25 species recorded) and the Pacific Arid Slope (5 species). Recent ornithological information is limited to two rapid assessments (Sandoval 2000, Pérez 2006).
Forests (mainly conifer and mixed) cover 16% of the IBA. Natural arid scrub and secondary growth scrub cover 37%. More than 30% are used for agriculture (mainly corn fields and coffee plantations) (MAGA 2006).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Natural habitat is threatened by an advancing agricultural border and forest fires.
No part of this IBA has a status of legal protection (CONAP 2007).
Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas (CONAP) - Solola supported a workshop to identify IBAs in June 2006, hosted by Universidad del Valle (Altiplano) in Solola. Input of unpublished data and suggestions for the delimitation of the IBA was provided during this workshop by representatives of CONAP, Universidad del Valle - Altiplano, Fundación para el Ecodesarrollo y la Conservación (FUNDAECO) - Huehuetenango, Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación de Guatemala (MAGA) - Solola, Cuerpo de Paz, Municipality of Tecpan, Autoridad para el Manejo Sustentable de la Cuenca del Lago Atitlán y su Entorno (AMSCLAE), and Los Tarrales Nature Reserve. This first assessment of IBAs in Guatemala was conducted by Sociedad Guatemalteca de Ornitologia and BirdLife International in the Americas.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cuilco (Guatemala). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cuilco-iba-guatemala on 22/11/2024.
