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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2001 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Yellow-necked Spurfowl Pternistis leucoscepus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Grey-breasted Spurfowl Pternistis rufopictus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A2, A3
Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor	NT	non-breeding (1994)	400,000–1,200,000 birds	A1, A4i
Dusky Turtle-dove Streptopelia lugens	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Black-faced Sandgrouse Pterocles decoratus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Donaldson Smith's Nightjar Caprimulgus donaldsoni	LC	resident (2000)	unknown	A3
Scarce Swift Schoutedenapus myoptilus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Nyanza Swift Apus niansae	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Striped Flufftail Sarothrura affinis	LC	resident (2000)	unknown	A3
Buff-crested Bustard Lophotis gindiana	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
White Stork Ciconia ciconia	LC	winter (1995)	6,541 birds	A4i
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus	LC	non-breeding (1995)	2,613 birds	A4i
Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus	LC	winter (1998)	500 birds	A4i
Rüppell's Vulture Gyps rueppelli	CR	breeding (1982)	110 pairs	A4ii
Eastern Chanting-goshawk Melierax poliopterus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus	NT	passage (-)	present	A1
Mountain Buzzard Buteo oreophilus	NT	resident (2000)	present	A3
Von der Decken's Hornbill Tockus deckeni	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Abyssinian Scimitarbill Rhinopomastus minor	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater Merops oreobates	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Red-and-yellow Barbet Trachyphonus erythrocephalus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Usambiro Barbet Trachyphonus usambiro	LC	resident (2000)	present	A2, A3
Usambiro Barbet Trachyphonus usambiro	LC	resident (2000)	unknown	A3
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni	LC	passage (2000)	present	A1
Taita Falcon Falco fasciinucha	VU	resident (-)	present	A1
Fischer's Lovebird Agapornis fischeri	NT	resident (2000)	present	A1, A2, A3
Grey Cuckooshrike Ceblepyris caesius	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Grey-crested Helmetshrike Prionops poliolophus	NT	resident (2000)	unknown	A2, A3
Taita Fiscal Lanius dorsalis	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
White-tailed Crested-flycatcher Elminia albonotata	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Red-throated Tit Melaniparus fringillinus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A1, A3
Red-winged Lark Mirafra hypermetra	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Somali Short-toed Lark Alaudala somalica	LC	resident (2000)	unknown	A3
Short-tailed Lark Spizocorys fremantlii	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Karamoja Apalis Apalis karamojae	VU	resident (2000)	present	A1, A2, A3
Hunter's Cisticola Cisticola hunteri	LC	resident (2000)	present	A2, A3
Mountain Yellow Warbler Iduna similis	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Eastern Mountain Greenbul Arizelocichla nigriceps	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Olive-headed Bulbul Arizelocichla striifacies	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Brown Woodland-warbler Phylloscopus umbrovirens	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
African Hill-babbler Sylvia abyssinica	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Banded Warbler Curruca boehmi	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Brown Warbler Curruca lugens	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Kenya White-eye Zosterops flavilateralis	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Mbulu White-eye Zosterops mbuluensis	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Rufous Chatterer Argya rubiginosa	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Waller's Starling Onychognathus walleri	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Kenrick's Starling Poeoptera kenricki	LC	resident (2000)	present	A2, A3
Hildebrandt's Starling Lamprotornis hildebrandti	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Ashy Starling Lamprotornis unicolor	LC	resident (2000)	unknown	A3
Orange Ground-thrush Geokichla gurneyi	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
African Grey Flycatcher Bradornis microrhynchus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
White-eyed Slaty-flycatcher Melaenornis fischeri	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
White-starred Robin Pogonocichla stellata	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Rüppell's Robin-Chat Cossypha semirufa	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Little Rock-thrush Monticola rufocinereus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Moorland Chat Pinarochroa sordida	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Tacazze Sunbird Nectarinia tacazze	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Bronze Sunbird Nectarinia kilimensis	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Red-tufted Sunbird Nectarinia johnstoni	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Eastern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris mediocris	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Golden-winged Sunbird Drepanorhynchus reichenowi	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
White-headed Buffalo-Weaver Dinemellia dinemelli	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Rufous-tailed Weaver Histurgops ruficauda	LC	resident (2000)	present	A2, A3
Black-capped Social-Weaver Pseudonigrita cabanisi	LC	resident (2000)	unknown	A3
Jackson's Widowbird Euplectes jacksoni	NT	resident (2000)	present	A1, A2, A3
Baglafecht Weaver Ploceus baglafecht	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Speke's Weaver Ploceus spekei	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Purple Grenadier Granatina ianthinogaster	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Blue-capped Cordon-bleu Uraeginthus cyanocephalus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Black-cheeked Waxbill Brunhilda charmosyna	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Abyssinian Crimsonwing Cryptospiza salvadorii	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Yellow-bellied Waxbill Coccopygia quartinia	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Grey-headed Silverbill Spermestes griseicapilla	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Swahili Sparrow Passer suahelicus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Pangani Longclaw Macronyx aurantiigula	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Golden Pipit Tmetothylacus tenellus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Oriole Finch Linurgus olivaceus	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
East African Citril Crithagra hyposticta	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Southern Grosbeak-canary Crithagra buchanani	LC	resident (2000)	unknown	A3
White-bellied Canary Crithagra dorsostriata	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Thick-billed Seedeater Crithagra burtoni	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
Streaky Seedeater Crithagra striolata	LC	resident (2000)	present	A3
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	non-breeding (1994)	50,000-99,999 birds	A4iii

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2001. The most recent assessment (2001) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	Unknown	Unknown	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1959	Ngorongoro	Conservation Area (VI)	99
1979	Ngorongoro Conservation Area	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed) (UA)	100
1981	Serengeti-Ngorongoro Biosphere Reserve	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve (UA)	99

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Grassland	60
Artificial/Terrestrial	18
Forest	17
Shrubland	4

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
nature conservation and research	-
tourism/recreation	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ngorongoro-conservation-area-iba-tanzania on 22/12/2024.