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BI001
Rwihinda Lake Managed Nature Reserve
Location Burundi, Kirundo
Central coordinates 30o 4.00' East  2o 33.00' South
IBA criteria A1, A3
Area 8,000 ha
Altitude 1,400 m
Year of IBA assessment 2001

Association Burundaise pour la Protection des Oiseaux (Partner Designate)



Ornithological information See Box and Table 3 for key species. In the past, this site held large numbers of breeding Phalacrocorax carbo, Anhinga rufa, Egretta ardesiaca, Ardea melanocephala and Nycticorax nycticorax. Large numbers are rarely observed today, however, due to decreasing water-levels, fishing and agriculture. There are records of Ardeola idea, Circus macrourus, Falco naumanni and Gallinago media. In addition, one species of the Guinea–Congo Forests biome, five of the Afrotropical Highlands biome and two of the Zambezian biome have been recorded, while a third, Calamonastes undosus, used to do so, but is now possibly extinct locally due to habitat loss (see Table 3). Indeed, the current status of a number of species at Rwihinda is uncertain.

Site description Located in the north of Burundi, immediately north of the town of Kirundo close to the Rwandan border, Lake Rwihinda, known in the past as Lac aux Oiseaux (Bird Lake), lies a little way upstream of the Akanyaru wetlands (RW005), to the north-west. The area of the lake is 425 ha, but the total protected area has been extended to cover 8,000 ha.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species Season Period Population estimate Quality of estimate IBA Criteria IUCN Category
Ring-necked Francolin Francolinus streptophorus resident  1999  present [units unknown]  -  A3  Near Threatened 
Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater Merops oreobates resident  1999  -  -    Least Concern 
Red-faced Barbet Lybius rubrifacies resident  1999  unknown [units unknown]  -  A3  Near Threatened 
Papyrus Gonolek Laniarius mufumbiri resident  1999  present [units unknown]  -  A1, A3  Near Threatened 
Carruthers's Cisticola Cisticola carruthersi resident  1999  present [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Miombo Wren-warbler Camaroptera undosa resident  1999  unknown [units unknown]  -    Least Concern 
White-winged Scrub-warbler Bradypterus carpalis resident  1999  present [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Papyrus Yellow Warbler Chloropeta gracilirostris resident  1999  present [units unknown]  -  A1, A3  Vulnerable 
Sharpe's Pied-babbler Turdoides sharpei resident  1999  present [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Angola Babbler Turdoides hartlaubii resident  1999  -  -    Least Concern 
White-headed Black-chat Myrmecocichla arnoti resident  1999  -  -    Least Concern 
Bronze Sunbird Nectarinia kilimensis resident  1999  -  -    Least Concern 
Red-chested Sunbird Nectarinia erythrocerca resident  1999  present [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Baglafecht Weaver Ploceus baglafecht resident  1999  -  -    Least Concern 
Northern Brown-throated Weaver Ploceus castanops resident  1999  present [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Vieillot's Black Weaver Ploceus nigerrimus resident  1999  -  -    Least Concern 
White-collared Oliveback Nesocharis ansorgei resident  1999  unknown [units unknown]  -  A3  Least Concern 
Yellow-browed Citril Serinus frontalis resident  1999  -  -    Least Concern 
Thick-billed Seedeater Serinus burtoni resident  1999  -  -    Least Concern 

Protected areas

Protected area Designation Area (ha) Relationship with IBA Overlap with IBA (ha)  
Lac Rwihinda Nature Reserve 8,000 is identical to site 8,000  

Local conservation groups The local conservation group below is working to support conservation at this IBA.

Name Year formed
Dukingiribidukikije 2006

Habitats

IUCN habitat Habitat detail Extent (% of site)
Wetlands (inland)   27%
Shrubland   45%
Forest   27%

Land use

Land-use Extent (% of site)
agriculture -
fisheries/aquaculture -
nature conservation and research -

Other biodiversity None known to BirdLife International.

Management considerations The lake is surrounded by human settlements and pressures upon it from fishing and the demand for agricultural land are extremely high.

References Bider (1973), Debonnet (1991), Verschuren (1977).

Contribute  Please click here to help BirdLife conserve the world's birds - your data for this IBA and others are vital for helping protect the environment.

Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Rwihinda Lake Managed Nature Reserve. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/05/2013

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife