Data Zone
Country/territory: Rwanda
IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A3 (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 410 ha
Site description (2001 baseline)
Cyamudongo forest is a small relict forest located in the far south-west of the country, close to the town of Nyakabuye near the border with the DR Congo. Historically, it was connected to Nyungwe forest (site RW009) to the east, but its vegetation is more dense, with fewer clearings. Common tree species include Chrysophyllum gorungosanum, Croton spp., Newtonia buchananii, Alangium chinense and Leptonychia melanocarpa.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Although impoverished due to its small size, compared with nearby Nyungwe, Cyamudongo forest holds many species typical of the Albertine Rift forests, including Apalis argentea. Musophaga rossae, which is not found in Nyungwe, is common in Cyamudongo, while the only Rwandan record of Accipiter erythropus is from here. In addition, four species of the Guinea–Congo Forests biome (A05) have also been recorded (Table 3).
Non-bird biodiversity: The primate Pan troglodytes (EN) occurs and the site is known for its high diversity of butterfly species.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cyamudongo forest (Rwanda). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cyamudongo-forest-iba-rwanda on 22/11/2024.