Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. From brief visits, some 120 species have been recorded. The two Bamenda highlands endemics, Tauraco bannermani and Platysteira laticincta, are both widespread as are other restricted-range species. There is a probable record of Tyto capensis from Mbi Crater; Malaconotus gladiator should be searched for at Mbingo, where the lower altitude of the forest appears more suitable than at Oku (CM012). Three Sudan–Guinea Savanna biome (A04) and three Guinea–Congo Forests biome (A05) species also occur (see Table 3).

Site description Mbi Crater is a Faunal Reserve of 400 ha: the crater itself is c.1 km across and lies at 2,060 m. It consists mostly of grassland, probably seasonally flooded, and there is also a smaller permanent swamp. The rims are covered with a mosaic of montane forest, Gnidia woodland, montane grassland and rocky ridges and much the same range of habitats occurs at nearby Mbingo. The main section of forest here flanks the escarpment (c.1,900–2,100 m), just beyond the north-western rim of the crater, and lies outside the reserve on a privately-owned cattle-ranch. The ranch entirely surrounds Mbi crater and extends north-westwards to the boundary of Mbingo forest, which is also on private land, belonging to Mbingo Baptist Hospital. It comprises at least 400 ha of gallery forest and grassland between 1,600–2,000 m.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Habitats

Land use

Other biodiversity Mbi Crater is thought likely to hold some endemic plant species, under investigation by staff of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Management considerations A small part of Mbi Crater Faunal Reserve has been encroached upon by the adjacent cattle-ranch, with some forest (just outside the crater) burnt and felled. The boundary should be redefined and the cattle owners encouraged to respect the forest beyond a certain limit. The main area of forest at Mbingo is currently largely intact: there is much less pressure here for firewood than at Mount Oku (CM012). Mbingo Hospital owns the land and the current managers are keen to protect this large tract of forest from agricultural encroachment. Its fate in the longer term is, however, uncertain and there is currently some burning and intermittent encroachment by Fulani herdsmen, which the hospital has limited resources to control.

References Dowsett-Lemaire and Dowsett (1998c).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Mbi Crater Faunal Reserve - Mbingo forest. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/05/2013

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