Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
This site lies 3 km south of Pietersburg, and comprises flat, open broadleaved savanna and grassland, with trees of
Burkea,
Terminalia,
Combretum,
Dichrostachys,
Ziziphus and
Acacia, and shrubs such as
Ochna,
Grewia and
Barleria. On the flat bottomlands and termitaria zones,
Acacia savanna occurs.
See Box for key species. The reserve supports at least 250 bird species. It is the only reserve in South Africa holding the isolated Pietersburg Plateau population of
Certhilauda chuana. Birds of this disjunct population are quite distinct from those of the much larger, western population centred on south-eastern Botswana. In the surrounding woodland,
Sagittarius serpentarius,
Gyps africanus and
G. coprotheres are scarce visitors. Other woodland specials include
Eupodotis ruficrista,
Turdoides bicolor,
Cossypha humeralis,
Cercotrichas paena,
Eremomela usticollis,
Calamonastes fasciolatus,
Bradornis mariquensis,
Laniarius atrococcineus,
Eurocephalus anguitimens,
Lamprotornis australis,
Sporopipes squamifrons,
Uraeginthus granatina,
Estrilda erythronotos and
Vidua regia.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Clarification of the taxonomic status of the two populations of
Certhilauda chuana is a high priority. Should the Pietersburg Plateau population be shown to be substantially different, then it is inadequately conserved, and measures should be taken to increase the proportion of the population under formal conservation or under appropriate veld management.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Polokwane Nature Reserve (South Africa). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/polokwane-nature-reserve-iba-south-africa on 23/11/2024.
