Current view: Text account
Site description (2007 baseline):
Site location and context
The proposed Maug Islands IBA is composed of three separate islets that are the remains of a collapsed volcanic cone. They are thickly vegetated mostly with grasses, low scrub, and coconut trees. The proposed IBA is uninhabited and protected by CNMI law as a Wildlife Conservation Area.
The entire three-island complex of Maug is proposed as an IBA because of its population of breeding seabirds. The three Maug Islands qualify under the A4i criteria for Brown Noddies and under the A4ii criteria for Red-tailed Tropicbirds. Micronesian Megapodes are common on Maug (Reichel and Glass, 1991). Maug is also home to Micronesian Starlings and Micronesian Honeyeaters. The islands are lushly vegetated (UOG, 1977) and are protected as part of the Northern Islands Conservation Areas (DFW, 2007d).
Non-bird biodiversity: Additional species occurring on the island include Mariana Fruit Bat.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Possible introduced species, including rats.
The IBA is formally and fully protected as a Wildlife Conservation Area by the CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW, 2007.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Maug Islands (Northern Mariana Islands (to USA)). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/maug-islands-iba-northern-mariana-islands-(to-usa) on 23/11/2024.
