Data Zone
Country/territory: India
Subnational region(s): Meghalaya
IBA Justification: A3 (2004)
Area: 15,000 hectares (150.00 km2)
BirdLife Partner(s): Bombay Natural History Society
| Conservation status of the Important Bird Area (IBA) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2003 | not assessed | low | not assessed |
Site description (2004 baseline)
The IBA site includes Saipung Reserve Forest, the oldest notified reserve in the state of Meghalaya, having been gazetted in 1877! It is also the largest Reserve Forest in the state and is located near the North Cachar Hills district in neighbouring Assam State. Saipung is relatively inaccessible.
Key biodiversity
AVIFAUNA: The area is rich in wildlife but information is available only on primates and wild elephants (Choudhury 1999a, 1999b). Adequate data on birds is not available to properly assess the site as an IBA. Hence, it has been named as a Data Deficient site. The Threatened species that are likely to occur include the Whitewinged Duck Cairinia scutulata, Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis, and Beautiful Nuthatch Sitta formosa.
Acknowledgements
Key contributor: Anwaruddin Choudhury.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Saipung (India). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/saipung-iba-india on 24/01/2025.