Site description (2000 baseline)
A rugged region of low, rounded hills and relatively open valleys, with few small villages and a poorly developed network of roads, close to the border with Turkey. There are dry grasslands, Mediterranean shrubland of Paliurus and Jasminum, scattered forests of Mediterranean broadleaved type (mainly Quercus and Carpinus), and some rocky areas. Land-uses are extensive stock-rearing and cultivation, hunting and forestry.
Key biodiversity
One of the most important breeding areas for Buteo rufinus and Picus canus in Bulgaria. Significant proportion (³1%) of national population breeding at site: Neophron percnopterus (1 pair), Circaetus gallicus (1 pair), Hippolais olivetorum (min. 3 pairs).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sakar (Bulgaria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sakar-iba-bulgaria on 22/12/2024.