Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information See Box and Table 3 for key species. Over 1,000 Psittacus erithacus roost in tall oil-palm bush near Ikodi. In addition, the site is a possible locality for the restricted-range Estrilda poliopareia. To date, 91 species have been recorded. Nationally uncommon species that occur include Pteronetta hartlaubi, Dryotriorchis spectabilis, Spizaetus africanus, Turtur brehmeri, Centropus leucogaster, Ceratogymna atrata, Pogoniulus atroflavus, Indicator conirostris, Dendropicos gabonensis, Apalis nigriceps, Anthreptes rectirostris and Nigrita fusconota.

Site description The Upper Orashi forests are located in the northern part of the Niger Delta. The site includes the Upper Orashi Forest Reserve, the roost of Psittacus erithacus at Ikodi and its environs. These are largely areas of lowland rainforest, most of which is secondary. Parts of these forests may be seasonally flooded and support a mixture of Raphia palm and broadleaved trees. In disturbed sites in higher areas the vegetation is usually dominated by oil-palm Elaeis guineensis and Musanga cecropioides. The large roost of Psittacus erithacus is located in such an area, near Ikodi village in Ahoada Local Government Area.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Upper Orashi River	Forest Reserve	9,696	protected area contained by site	0

Habitats

Land use

Other biodiversity Mammals include Cercopithecus sclateri (EN), C. erythrogaster (VU), Hexaprotodon liberiensis (VU) and Cephalophus sylvicultor (LR/nt). Hylochoerus meinertzhageni has also been recorded from the area.

Management considerations Uncontrolled timber extraction is the most significant threat to the area. Other threats include roads built for oil exploration activities, which open up areas previously inaccessible to poachers. Forest clearance for farming is also a threat.

References Powell (1993).

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: Upper Orashi forests. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 19/06/2013

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