Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site consists of woodland habitat on the Goda mountain massif c.30 km west of Tadjoura. Although the name Forêt de Day generally refers only to the high-altitude juniper forest in the area, the lower-altitude wooded areas to the north and east also contain important avifauna and have been included. At upper altitudes, the landscape is rugged, with high plateaus, cliffs and steep mountain slopes, intersected by many wadis. Above c.950 m, the vegetation is dominated by trees of
Juniperus procera, with some
Olea africana, and an understorey dominated by
Buxus hildebranti and/or
Tarchonanthus camphoratus. However, the junipers are in regression and
B. hildebranti is becoming increasingly dominant, with
Acacia seyal also invading. The woodland is interspersed with wooded
Acacia grassland and grassland. Below c.950 m, the woodland is dominated by
Buxus hildebranti or (particularly at lower altitudes or on better-watered slopes)
Terminalia brownii, both mixed with
Acacia spp
. The wadis are more densely vegetated, with large
Ficus spp
. and, in a few areas, palm trees. There are several villages within the IBA. The area is used for grazing cattle, camels and goats, and supplies building poles, palm fronds for furniture, and, from the lower slopes, firewood; a number of small market gardens have been created. It is also popular with visitors from Djibouti-ville, and there are three tourist camps and one hotel within the IBA.
See Box and Table 2 for key species. The site is one of only two known sites for the endemic and little-known
Francolinus ochropectus (Critically Endangered)
. While the population trend of this species is not clear, anecdotal evidence suggests that it has declined significantly in the past decades, and human pressure on the habitat is evident; the most recent estimate is 500–1,000 individuals (Welch and Welch 1999). Two Sahel (A03) biome species and
Muscicapa gambagae, a species of the Sudan–Guinea Savanna (A04) biome, have been recorded. The site holds one breeding pair of
Hieraaetus fasciatus and of
Aquila verreauxii and there are
several records of
Accipiter badius. A distinctive yellow-tailed form of
Pytilia melba, of uncertain taxonomic status, has been seen here (Welch and Welch 1998).
Non-bird biodiversity: The most important known site for Livistona carinensis (VU) in Djibouti is at Bankoualé, within the IBA. This palm, the sole Livistona species found in Africa and Arabia, is only known to occur in around a dozen sites in Yemen, Somalia and Djibouti. Scattered trees of Dracaena ombet (EN) occur on steep slopes, and Juniperus procera (LR/nt) is common, though declining. The mammals Papio hamadryas (LR/nt), Oreotragus oreotragus (LR/cd), Phacochoerus africanus aeliani (EN) and Otomops martiensseni (VU) also occur.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
At least part of the area was apparently declared a National Park in 1939, but this designation is no longer valid and any official information has proved impossible to trace. There is some local hunting of
Francolinus ochropectus; while the current extent of this activity is not clear, there are reports that it may have escalated recently (Welch and Welch 1999). The juniper forest is in an extremely poor state of health, with a high percentage of the trees dead or dying, with 53% dead and 38% in ill health in one small sample counted in October 1998 (pers. obs.). Precise causes are unclear, but a combination of factors including overgrazing, acid rain resulting from a past volcanic eruption, climate change and a fungal disease have all been suggested. Overgrazing by cattle, camels and goats is certainly a problem in much of the forest; collection of firewood may also be having an impact in the lower part of the site. Projects examining the environmental and socio-economic issues in the area have been carried out by the government and international agencies (including development of an FAO-sponsored forest/rangeland management plan for part of the site), but the measures prescribed have never been implemented, partly due to internal unrest in Djibouti in the early 1990s.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Forêt de Day (Djibouti). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/forêt-de-day-iba-djibouti on 23/12/2024.
