Current view: Text account
Site description (2003 baseline):
Site location and context
Cébaco Island (7,700 ha, 26 km long by 7 km wide) lies diagonally across the mouth of the Gulf of Montijo, 10 km offshore. The rugged western end rises to 349 m.
Cébaco is one of only a few know sites for the globally threatened Brown-backed Dove. the others being Coiba, Cerro Hoya National Park, and El Montuoso Forest Reserve. The only records are from 1965, when it was noted "in small numbers", usually singly, but once four together (Wetmore 1968). The present status of the species on the island is unknown.
Non-bird biodiversity: Central American Woolly Opossum occurs (Handley 1966).
The island has been mostly deforested, but about 2,200 ha of forest remains in the western end. Deforested areas are assumed to be devoted to subsistence agriculture and probably cattle.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Ongoing deforestation is undoubtedly a problem, although recent information is lacking. Given the extremely limited distribution of Brown-backed Dove, the remaining forest in the western part of the island should be protected.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
None known.
Unprotected.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cébaco Island (Panama). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cébaco-island-iba-panama on 23/11/2024.
