Country/territory: Andorra
IBA criteria met: B2, B3 (2000)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 46,800 hectares (468.00 km2)
Site description (2000 baseline)
Forests of Pinus, Abies, Quercus and Betula cover 35% of the IBA, and rich alpine meadows are also widespread (37% cover). Tobacco cultivation and the grazing of free-range cattle are the main agricultural activities, with hay pastures and potato fields increasingly being replaced by tobacco fields. The main human activities are tourism, commerce and skiing.
Key biodiversity
The IBA is important for forest and high-mountain birds, and holds internationally important numbers of three breeding species. The following SPECs also breed: Gypaetus barbatus (1 pair, attempted to breed in 1996), Circaetus gallicus (3-5 pairs), Aquila chrysaetos (3 pairs), Falco tinnunculus (35-90 pairs), Falco peregrinus (3-6 pairs),Alectoris rufa (7-12 pairs), Perdix perdix hispaniensis (50-80 pairs), Coturnix coturnix (7-12 pairs), Otus scops (2-3 pairs), Bubo bubo (2-3 pairs), Caprimulgus europaeus (25-30 pairs), Picus viridis (50-100 pairs), Lullula arborea (50-75 pairs), Alauda arvensis (200-750 pairs), Hirundo rustica (15-20 pairs), Saxicola torquata (40-80 pairs), Monticola saxatilis (50-100 pairs), Monticola solitarius (2-6 pairs), Sylvia cantillans (60-100 pairs), Sylvia undata (20-30 pairs), Lanius collurio (75-150 pairs) and Emberiza hortulana (4-6 pairs). Several non-SPECs breed in important numbers, including: Lagopus mutus, Tetrao urogallus, Charadrius morinellus, Scolopax rusticola, Aegolius funereus and Dryocopus martius.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Pirineo de Andorra (Andorra). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/pirineo-de-andorra-iba-andorra on 23/12/2024.