KE025
Tsavo West National Park


IBA Justification

The site was identified as important in 1999 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:
Species Red List1 Season Year(s) Size IBA criteria
Vulturine Guineafowl Acryllium vulturinum LC resident 1999 present A3
Yellow-necked Spurfowl Pternistis leucoscepus LC resident 1999 present A3
Black-faced Sandgrouse Pterocles decoratus LC resident 1999 present A3
Sombre Nightjar Caprimulgus fraenatus LC resident 1999 present A3
Donaldson Smith's Nightjar Caprimulgus donaldsoni LC resident 1999 present A3
Corncrake Crex crex LC passage - present A1
White-bellied Go-away-bird Criniferoides leucogaster LC resident 1999 present A3
Eastern Chanting-goshawk Melierax poliopterus LC resident 1999 present A3
White-headed Mousebird Colius leucocephalus LC resident 1999 present A3
Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill Tockus flavirostris LC resident 1999 present A3
Von der Decken's Hornbill Tockus deckeni LC resident 1999 present A3
Abyssinian Scimitarbill Rhinopomastus minor LC resident 1999 present A3
Somali Bee-eater Merops revoilii LC resident 1999 present A3
D'Arnaud's Barbet Trachyphonus darnaudii LC resident 1999 present A3
Red-and-yellow Barbet Trachyphonus erythrocephalus LC resident 1999 present A3
Black-throated Barbet Tricholaema melanocephala LC resident 1999 present A3
Red-bellied Parrot Poicephalus rufiventris LC resident 1999 present A3
Pringle's Puffback Dryoscopus pringlii LC resident 1999 present A3
Three-streaked Tchagra Tchagra jamesi LC resident 1999 present A3
Red-naped Bushshrike Laniarius ruficeps LC resident 1999 present A3
Rosy-patched Bushshrike Rhodophoneus cruentus LC resident 1999 present A3
Long-tailed Fiscal Lanius cabanisi LC resident 1999 present A3
Taita Fiscal Lanius dorsalis LC resident 1999 present A3
Somali Tit Melaniparus thruppi LC resident 1999 present A3
Mouse-coloured Penduline-tit Anthoscopus musculus LC resident 1999 present A3
Pink-breasted Lark Calendulauda poecilosterna LC resident 1999 present A3
Red-winged Lark Mirafra hypermetra LC resident 1999 present A3
Friedmann's Lark Mirafra pulpa DD resident 1999 present A1, A3
Somali Crombec Sylvietta isabellina LC non-breeding 1999 rare A3
Grey Wren-warbler Calamonastes simplex LC resident 1999 present A3
Ashy Cisticola Cisticola cinereolus LC resident 1999 present A3
Tiny Cisticola Cisticola nana LC resident 1999 present A3
Pale Prinia Prinia somalica LC non-breeding 1999 rare A3
Basra Reed-warbler Acrocephalus griseldis EN passage - present A1
Banded Warbler Curruca boehmi LC resident 1999 present A3
Kenya White-eye Zosterops flavilateralis LC resident 1999 present A3
Rufous Chatterer Argya rubiginosa LC resident 1999 present A3
Scaly Chatterer Argya aylmeri LC resident 1999 present A3
Hildebrandt's Starling Lamprotornis hildebrandti LC resident 1999 present A3
Golden-breasted Starling Lamprotornis regius LC resident 1999 present A3
Fischer's Starling Lamprotornis fischeri LC resident 1999 present A3
Bare-eyed Thrush Turdus tephronotus LC resident 1999 present A3
African Grey Flycatcher Bradornis microrhynchus LC resident 1999 present A3
Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird Anthreptes orientalis LC resident 1999 present A3
Hunter's Sunbird Chalcomitra hunteri LC resident 1999 present A3
Black-bellied Sunbird Cinnyris nectarinioides LC resident 1999 present A3
White-headed Buffalo-Weaver Dinemellia dinemelli LC resident 1999 present A3
Black-capped Social-Weaver Pseudonigrita cabanisi LC resident 1999 present A3
Fire-fronted Bishop Euplectes diadematus LC resident 1999 present A3
Taveta Golden Weaver Ploceus castaneiceps LC resident 1999 present A3
Purple Grenadier Granatina ianthinogaster LC resident 1999 present A3
Blue-capped Cordon-bleu Uraeginthus cyanocephalus LC resident 1999 present A3
Grey-headed Silverbill Spermestes griseicapilla LC resident 1999 present A3
Straw-tailed Whydah Vidua fischeri LC resident 1999 present A3
Pangani Longclaw Macronyx aurantiigula LC resident 1999 present A3
Golden Pipit Tmetothylacus tenellus LC resident 1999 present A3
Southern Grosbeak-canary Crithagra buchanani LC resident 1999 present A3
White-bellied Canary Crithagra dorsostriata LC resident 1999 present A3
Somali Bunting Emberiza poliopleura LC resident 1999 present A3

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (1999) may differ.


IBA Conservation

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1999. The most recent assessment (2023) is shown below.

IBA conservation assessment
Year of assessment State Pressure Response
2023 unfavourable very high medium
Whole site assessed? State assessed by Accuracy of information
yes habitat good

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat Quantity (% remaining) Quality (% carrying capacity) Result
Grassland moderate (70-90%) moderate (70-90%) unfavourable
Savanna moderate (70-90%) moderate (70-90%) unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat Timing Scope Severity Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification happening now majority/most of area/population (50-90%) very rapid to severe deterioration very high
Climate change and severe weather happening now whole area/population (>90%) very rapid to severe deterioration very high
Biological resource use happening now some of area/population (10-49%) moderate to rapid deterioration high
Invasive and other problematic species and genes happening now majority/most of area/population (50-90%) moderate to rapid deterioration high
Human intrusions and disturbance happening now majority/most of area/population (50-90%) slow but significant deterioration high
Residential and commercial development happening now some of area/population (10-49%) slow but significant deterioration medium
Energy production and mining happening now some of area/population (10-49%) slow but significant deterioration medium
Pollution happening now some of area/population (10-49%) slow but significant deterioration medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas Management plan Other action Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation A management plan exists but it is out of date or not comprehensive Substantive conservation measures are being implemented but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity medium

IBA Protection

Year Protected Area Designation % overlap with IBA
1948 Tsavo West National Park 100
2001 Lumo Community Wildlife Sanctuary 2

Habitats

Habitat1 Habitat detail % of IBA
Grassland Grassland - edaphic, dry -
Savanna Bushland & thicket - evergreen, Wooded grassland -
1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use

Land use % of IBA
nature conservation and research 100
tourism/recreation 100


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Tsavo West National Park (Kenya). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tsavo-west-national-park-iba-kenya on 22/11/2024.