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Site description (2004 baseline):

Mount Ziphu is located in the south-eastern part of Nagaland in Phek district, within the catchment area of the Chindwin river of Myanmar. This IBA is hilly, Mount Ziphu being the highest peak with an elevation of 2500 m above msl. The hilltop and adjacent slopes have some fine stands of primary subtropical and temperate broadleaf forest, with small areas of temperate broadleaf forest on the hilltop.

AVIFAUNA: This IBA was first surveyed in 1950 by S. Dillon Ripley (1952). A number of globally threatened species have been recorded, including the Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis and Blyth’s Tragopan Tragopan blythii. However both the species are rare (A.U. Choudhury pers. comm. 2003). Mrs. Hume’s Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae occurs at the grassy forest edge in secondary forest (Choudhury 2002), while the only record of the rare Wood Snipe Gallinago nemoricola in Nagaland was from this IBA (Choudhury 2003). Although Ripley (1952) obtained specimens of many species from Ziphu, he did not mention any of the threatened species.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: Primates such as the Hoolock Gibbon Hylobates hoolock and Stump-tailed Macaque Macaca arctoides have become extremely rare, but they still occur. Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak, Serow Nemorhaedus sumatraensis, Leopard Panthera pardus and Asiatic Black Bear Ursus thibetanus are some other noteworthy mammals (A.U. Choudhury pers. comm. 2003).

MAIN THREATS: Felling of trees; Jhum cultivation on the slopes; Poaching.

A cement plant is located at Waziho near this IBA. As in any other site in Nagaland, felling of trees, jhum cultivation and poaching, including trapping, are the main conservation issues.

Key contributors: Anwaruddin Choudhury, Khekiho Sohe, Thomas Kent and Hakim.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mount Ziphu (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mount-ziphu-iba-india on 22/11/2024.