Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Situated to the west of the Great North Road between Serenje and Mpika, the park lies mainly between 1,200–1,400 m, although the Lavushi Manda Hills exceed 1,800 m in places. It is bisected by a single dirt road and thus access to most of the area is very difficult and much of it remains poorly known. The terrain is dominated by mature miombo woodland, but the park encompasses the headwaters of numerous small rivers along which run strips of forest or dambos. In the hills are canyons and rock-faces. There are no tourist facilities.
See Box and Table 3 for key species. In and around the riparian forest are
Accipiter melanoleucus,
Scotopelia peli,
Merops boehmi and
Apalis thoracica, whilst the dambos hold
Euplectes hartlaubi and
Ortygospiza locustella.
Neotis denhami has been recorded. The miombo supports a wide variety of birds typical of this habitat, such as
Stactolaema anchietae,
Anthus caffer and
Anthreptes anchietae, and
Ficedula albicollis is a common wintering visitor. Inhabiting the rocky areas are
Buteo augur,
Aquila verreauxii,
Caprimulgus tristigma,
Anthus lineiventris,
Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris and
Onychognathus morio.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Some illegal hunting occurs and large mammals are not numerous, but it seems unlikely that birds are at risk. Much of the park is uninhabited and inaccessible, but human encroachment perhaps needs to be assessed and monitored.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lavushi Manda National Park (Zambia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lavushi-manda-national-park-iba-zambia on 23/12/2024.
