Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site consists of a single, huge, 25-m-high kapok tree,
Ceiba pentandra, near the village of Boa Entrada in Santa Catarina (Assomada) region on the island of Santiago. The area is intensively used for agricultural purposes, in particular for the cultivation of sugar-cane, and there are many mango
Mangifera indica trees in the surrounding area. The kapok grows in the valley bottom, and a steep track leads down this valley from the town of Assomada.
See Box for key species. This site is, with CV007, one of only two known breeding colonies of the endemic
Ardea (
purpurea)
bournei. Formerly, a third colony existed at São Domingos, but was destroyed when the trees used for nesting were felled in the early 1970s. In 1993, the total population of
A. (
purpurea)
bournei numbered 20–25 pairs at most. Between 1988–1993, 4–6 pairs bred at this site, but in 1998–2000 this had declined to only 1–2 pairs. Nesting takes place in the crown of the tree. During the 1960s, nests were also found in mango trees not far from the kapok, but this has not been observed since.
Acrocephalus brevipennis breeds in the area.
Non-bird biodiversity: The kapok is easily the largest tree on the island of Santiago and, probably, the whole country; it is worthy of preservation even without the presence of the heron colony.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The tree, or at least the ground on which it stands, is privately owned and thus its survival is partly dependent upon the good will of the owner, although under national legislation it is illegal to cut down large trees. Although the tree lies in a rural area, it does attract international and national visitors at times. The heron colony itself is severely threatened by local disturbance, in particular by birds being shot at and by boys collecting eggs. Information leaflets about the tree and its herons have been distributed among the people in the area and similar actions should be continued, particularly among schoolchildren. An information board, explaining the importance of the site, should be erected. The possibility of renting or buying a small area, including the tree itself, ought to be investigated.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kapok tree, Boa Entrada (Cape Verde). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kapok-tree-boa-entrada-iba-cape-verde on 23/11/2024.
