Data Zone
Country/territory: Zambia
IBA criteria met: A1, A3 (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 15,000 hectares (150.00 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2005 | good | low | very low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2001 baseline)
This site is currently a disused farm, owned by the state, but up for sale. About 100 km east-north-east of Kasama and lying at the headwaters of the Kalungwishi river, it is in one of the highest parts of the Northern Province. At its heart is a vast dambo flanking the river and its many tributaries, which also support numerous patches of mushitu. The remaining area is predominantly miombo and both the ranch and adjacent areas are very sparsely populated.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 3 for key species. The site is poorly known, but clearly holds a rich diversity of species owing to the variety and maturity of the habitat. Grus carunculatus is a resident and probably breeds, while Gallinago media winters. Characteristic of the dambo are Coturnix chinensis, Turnix hottentotta, Sarothrura lugens, Caprimulgus natalensis, Hirundo nigrorufa, Schoenicola brevirostris, Cisticola tinniens, Macronyx fuellebornii, M. ameliae, Euplectes hartlaubi and Anomalospiza imberbis. Mushitu species known to occur include Cossypha bocagei, Bradypterus lopezi, Phylloscopus laurae, Apalis cinerea and Telophorus multicolor, and the miombo holds a large number of Zambezian biome endemics.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kalungwishi (Zambia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kalungwishi-iba-zambia on 22/12/2024.