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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2002 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('key species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Eurasian Eagle-owl Bubo bubo	LC	resident (2001)	3–6 breeding pairs	C6
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos	LC	resident (2002)	1 breeding pairs	C6
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus	LC	breeding (1996)	common	C6
Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus	LC	breeding (1998)	rare	C6
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus	LC	resident (2001)	4–6 breeding pairs	C6
Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax	LC	resident (2001)	6–15 individuals	C6
Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris	LC	breeding (2001)	common	C6

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2002. The most recent assessment (2005) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Transportation and service corridors	happen­ing now	few individ­uals/small area (<10%)	rapid deteri­oration (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1983	Alvão	Parque Natural (V)	12

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Terrestrial	-	Arable land; Perennial crops, orchards and groves; Forestry plantations; Other urban and industrial areas
Forest	-	Broadleaved deciduous woodland; Mixed woodland
Grassland	-	Humid grasslands
Introduced vegetation	-
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	-	Inland cliffs
Shrubland	-	Sclerophyllous scrub, garrigue and maquis
Wetlands (inland)	-	Standing freshwater; Rivers and streams; Water fringe vegetation

Land use	% of IBA
forestry	-
hunting	-
fisheries/aquaculture	-
nature conservation and research	-
tourism/recreation	-
urban/industrial/transport	-
agriculture	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Serras do Alvão e Marão (Portugal). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/serras-do-alvão-e-marão-iba-portugal on 20/01/2025.