Country/territory: China (mainland)
IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A3 (2009)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 1,800,000 ha
Site description (2009 baseline)
Zayü is located at the south-eastern tip of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, where the Himalayas meet the Hengduan Shan mountains. The IBA includes the largest glacier in Tibet. The habitats include tropical evergreen rain forest below 900 m, montane broadleaf evergreen forest at 900-2,400 m, montane coniferous-broadleaf mixed forest at 2,400-3,200 m, coniferous forest at 3,200-4,200 m, and alpine scrub and grassland at 4,200-4,800 m.
Key biodiversity
Non-bird biodiversity: Nationally protected animals include Selenarctos thibetanus, Ursus arctos, Ailurus fulgens, Capricornis sumatraensis and Panthera tigris.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Zayü (China (mainland)). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/zayü-iba-china-(mainland) on 22/11/2024.