Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Just east of Mbala, the river and its immediate tributaries constitute the only system which drains from Zambia into Tanzania. The site covers the stretch adjacent to the border where there is papyrus swamp, a small flood-plain and rich termitaria. Villages are scattered throughout the surrounding area, cattle are grazed on the flood-plain and the river is heavily fished.
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. A poorly known area, apparently visited for the first and only time by ornithologists in 1996, when
Ploceus reichardi was discovered in considerable numbers—it probably breeds in the area.
Gallinago media occurs, and other birds found included
Rallus caerulescens,
Sarothrura rufa,
Gallinago gallinago,
G. nigripennis,
Corythaixoides personatus,
Tricholaema lacrymosa,
Saxicola rubetra,
Nectarinia mariquensis and
Quelea erythrops.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The habitat surrounding the site is somewhat degraded, but the flood-plain and swamp are relatively undisturbed. Other than some hunting and trapping of small birds, there are probably few threats to birdlife, although further investigation is required.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Saise River (Zambia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/saise-river-iba-zambia on 23/12/2024.
