Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site lies to the west of the town of Luia, in the Luembe river valley, within the 1,400 mm isohyet. The vegetation is a mosaic of gallery forest along the rivers, open tall grasslands, miombo woodlands and
Cryptosepalum dry evergreen forest.
See Box and Table 3 for key species. The avifauna is poorly known—only 109 species have been collected in the area. Given the wide range of habitats, the species-richness, particularly of birds of the Guinea–Congo Forests and Zambezian biomes, should certainly be higher. Poorly known species of the Guinea–Congo Forests biome that occur include
Tigriornis leucolophus, and more widespread species include
Tockus fasciatus,
Neocossyphus fraseri and
Trochocercus nitens.
Elminia albicauda, a species of the Afrotropical Highlands biome, has also been recorded.
Non-bird biodiversity: Lutra maculicollis (VU) has been recorded from the Luembe river (Cabral 1987), but there are no other available data on mammals.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Huntley (1974b) proposed that a reserve should be established in this area to protect a viable population of the ungulate
Kobus vardonii, a species that is generally rare in Angola. Current threats to biodiversity at the site are not known.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Luia (Angola). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/luia-iba-angola on 23/12/2024.
