Country/territory: Algeria
IBA criteria met: A4i (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 30,000 hectares (300.00 km2)
Site description (2001 baseline)
The site lies about 25 km south-west of the town of Aïn Beïda, on the plateau south of Constantine, which divides the northern coastal mountain range (the Petite Kabylie) from the Massif de l’Aurès to the south. It lies due east and c.60 km from Sebkhet Djendli (site DZ013), at the same altitude (c.830 m). The site consists of a very large, muddy, saline basin containing some standing water, at least in winter, and surrounded by uncultivated land and rough grazing. The shores are grazed, but no evidence of hunting was found in the winter of 1991/92.
Key biodiversity
See Box for key species. There is a report of 29 Numenius tenuirostris in 1989, but the record is unconfirmed. Although the record of 5,000 Phoenicopterus ruber is from the 1970s, there are also more recent counts (2,000 in 1999) in excess of the IBA threshold for the species. There were 2,750 Tadorna tadorna and 2,000 Grus grus wintering on the site in 1978. Other species recorded wintering include 2,470 Anas penelope and over 100 mixed Calidris/Charadrius waders. There are also records of wintering Tadorna tadorna (average 2,840) and Anas penelope (average 2,510) from ‘the Constantine complex’ which comprises this site combined with others on the plateau south of Constantine.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Garaet et-Tarf (Algeria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/garaet-et-tarf-iba-algeria on 23/12/2024.