Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information See Box and Table 3 for key species. The area is poorly known ornithologically and, although only 67 species have been recorded, the avifauna is likely to be far richer than this, comparable to Cuango (IBA AO008) and Luachimo (AO014), which have similar plant species and structural diversity in the vegetation. A relatively high number of bird species of the Guinea–Congo Forests and Zambezian biomes have been recorded, and the gallery forests along the Luele river are particularly rich in forest bulbuls (Pycnonotidae), apalises (Sylviidae) and sunbirds (Nectarinidae), and are likely to have all the species in these families that have been recorded along the Luachimo river.

The Near Threatened Macronyx grimwoodi is a frequently encountered resident. Other less well-known species recorded at Lago Carumbo include Neolestes torquatus in thickets in open woodlands and grasslands, Nicator chloris in gallery forest and forest fringing the lake, and Ploceus superciliosus in marshes and reedbeds along streams. Wetland habitat on the lake and along the Luele river may be important for aquatic species, but only eight waterbirds have been recorded in this area in numbers which may be significant at the national level or greater.

Site description The site lies in the scenically spectacular Lago Carumbo–Luxico area along the Luele river valley, within the 1,400 mm isohyet. The vegetation is diverse, and ranges from Cryptosepalum pseudotaxus and Marquesia dry evergreen forests, swamp-forest with Raphia palms dominant, gallery forest and flood-plains covered in papyrus Cyperus papyrus (Huntley 1974b). The area is of considerable interest biogeographically because of the interpenetration of Guinea–Congo forest with Zambezian woodland elements (Huntley 1974b), which gives rise to a wide range of habitats.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species	Season	Period	Population estimate	Quality of estimate	IBA Criteria	IUCN Category
White-spotted Flufftail Sarothrura pulchra	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Black Bee-eater Merops gularis	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Anchieta's Barbet Stactolaema anchietae	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Miombo Barbet Tricholaema frontata	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Buff-spotted Woodpecker Campethera nivosa	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Miombo Tit Parus griseiventris	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
White-throated Blue Swallow Hirundo nigrita	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Grey Greenbul Andropadus gracilis	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Yellow-spotted Nicator Nicator chloris	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Miombo Scrub-robin Erythropygia barbata	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Reichenbach's Sunbird Nectarinia reichenbachii	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Bannerman's Sunbird Nectarinia bannermani	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Green-throated Sunbird Nectarinia rubescens	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Vieillot's Black Weaver Ploceus nigerrimus	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Fuelleborn's Longclaw Macronyx fuellebornii	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Grimwood's Longclaw Macronyx grimwoodi	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A1, A3	Data Deficient

Habitats

IUCN habitat	Habitat detail	Extent (% of site)
Savanna		5%
Forest		94%

Land use

Land-use	Extent (% of site)
agriculture	-
urban/industrial/transport	-
other	-
Notes: Firewood collection.

Other biodiversity Among mammals, Cephalophus sylvicultor (LR/nt) is present in dry Marquesia forest (Huntley 1974b), while Lutra maculicollis (VU) and Panthera leo (VU) have been recorded along the Luele river (Cabral 1987; Cabral and Simões 1988).

Management considerations The site was proposed as a conservation area in the 1970s. Surface diggings for diamonds are apparently increasing in the area (K. Loutchanski, pers. comm.), with concomitant disturbances of vegetation and fauna.

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Lago Carumbo. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/05/2013

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