Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information The site holds a representative assemblage of characteristically lowland Indo-Malayan species not found elsewhere in Afghanistan: species presumed to breed in or near the area include Falco jugger, Riparia paludicola (common at Sarobi lake), Hirundo smithii, H. fluvicola (Sarobi lake), Anthus similis, Prinia criniger, Lanius vittatus, L. schach, Dicrurus macrocercus, Sturnus pagodarum and Emberiza striolata. Wintering species include Pericrocotus ethologus, Prunella atrogularis, Phoenicurus erythronota, Rhyacornis fuliginosus, Chaimarriornis leucocephalus, Myiophonus caeruleus, Turdus ruficollis, Certhia himalayana, Zosterops palpebrosus, Dicrurus leucophaeus, Garrulus lanceolatus, Serinus pusillus, Leucosticte nemoricola, Emberiza leucocephalos, E. stewarti and E. pusilla, some being hill forest species that have moved to lower ground. Duronta lake supports small numbers of wintering and passage wildfowl (up to 500 birds) and fields around Sarobi lake attract finches and buntings in winter. It is likely that other lowland Indo-Malayan species, new to the Afghan avifauna, will be discovered in future.

Site description The city of Jalalabad in the low-lying valley of the Kabul river at 500 m, together with the lakes of Duronta and Sarobi further west along the valley. Almost subtropical, low-altitude climate more akin to the Indian subcontinent than to the rest of the country. Some 50 km west of Jalalabad the river drops from the uplands of Central Asia through the dramatic Kabul gorge. All along the valley there is dry cultivation with plantations of trees, gradually becoming more arid towards the Pakistan border. Around the city itself there are orchards and good tree cover, gardens and some parks. Lake Duronta is an open, freshwater lake c.20 km long with reedbeds at west end, not far from the town (34°25´N 70°27´E), and is generally ice-free in winter. Lake Sarobi is smaller and much further west (34°40´N 69°46´E), a man-made lake, c.2 km across.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Habitats

Land use

Other biodiversity None known to BirdLife International.

Management considerations No conservation action has been taken, but there appear to be few threats. There is a possibility of Duronta lake being developed as a recreational area; although it seems to be of only minor importance to waterfowl, at least the western end of the lake, which is furthest from the town and has reedbeds, could be kept as a reserve.

Acknowledgements A total of 16 IBAs have been identified in Afghanistan. Responsibility for maintenance and update of the IBA information in WBDB is held by BirdLife Secretariat. The baseline survey of IBAs took place during 1991-1993 and was published in Evans (1994). The site accounts and introduction were compiled from information supplied by S. C. Madge, who acknowledges the impressive series of detailed reports compiled principally by Dr R. G. Petocz and Dr J. A. Sayer, team leaders of the National Parks and Wildlife Management Project, which was initiated at the request of the Government of Afghanistan and administered by the Food and Agriculture Organization under the United Nations Development Programme, and which ran from 1972 to 1980, although most ornithological data were collected in the latter years. Waterfowl counts are based mostly on data collected for the International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau, chiefly by F. J. Koning, during brief winter and early spring visits in 1970–1972. A. Jamil carried out a survey of Ab-i-Istada for this project, with invaluable assistance from A. Fitzherbert and J. Harris (International Crane Foundation). E. Smith supplied valuable information for the site accounts, and Dr K. Habibi reviewed the first draft of the inventory.

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Jalalabad valley. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 18/06/2013

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