Data Zone
Country/territory: Ethiopia
IBA criteria met: A1, A3, A4i (1996)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 630 ha
Site description (2001 baseline)
Gudo plain is in Welmera District (Wereda) of West Shoa Zone. It is c.25 km west of Addis Ababa, and just 12 km north-west of Gefersa Reservoir (site ET027). Gudo plain is part of the vast plains on the Central plateau of Shoa, in the Ethiopian North-western Highlands. Small streams, tributaries of the Sibilu river, drain this marshy area. The Sibilu drains into the Muger river. The vegetation of Gudo plain comprises grasses, sedges and other plants peculiar to these areas, such as Trifolium spp. (including the endemdic T. schimperi and T. calancephalum), Haplocarpha schimperi, H. hastata, a Cerastium sp. and various Cyperus spp. Chains of wetlands close to Gudo (namely Kiro, Danisa and Riqate), offer similar habitats, and are equally threatened.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 3 for key species. This site is of particular importance for its large population of Vanellus melanocephalus. Rougetius rougetii is resident but in small numbers, and Macronyx flavicollis is considered fairly uncommon.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gudo plain (Ethiopia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gudo-plain-iba-ethiopia on 23/11/2024.