Important Bird Areas
The majority of the country lies in the Sudan-Guinea Savanna biome and 44 of the 54 species of this biome have been recorded. The rainforest is part of the Guinea-Congo Forests biome and 178 of its 288 species are known. Wetlands are few and there is little survey data.
Eight sites have been selected as Important Bird Areas (IBAs) which represent the major habitats for birds and cover 11.8% of the land area. 98% of the species known to occur in the country are found within these IBAs.
The following 4 sites are in the Sudan-Guinea Savanna biome and between them, hold all 44 species of this biome found in the country.
André Félix National Park complex and the surrounding buffer zone of the Yata-Ngaya Faunal reserve is an area of 590,000 ha. It is situated in the north-east of the country on the Sudan border where it joins the Radom National Park.
Manovo-Gounda-St Floris National Park complex and the adjacent buffer zones of Ouandjia-Vakaga and Aouk-Aoukalé occupy over 2.5 million ha. The complex is situated in the north-east of the country near the border with Chad.
Bamingui-Bangoran National Park complex (which also qualifies in Guinea-Congo Forest biome) and the adjacent reserves occupy some 2 million ha. The complex is located in the centre-north of the country, west of the town of Ndélé, close to the Chad border.
Bozoum is situated in the west of the country near the border with Cameroon. Some 244 species have been recorded and many of the Sudan-Guinea Savanna species are at their southern limit. A very interesting species is Northern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris reichenowi.
The following species have been recorded in all of the above IBAs, Fox Kestrel Falco alopex, Heuglin’s Francolin Francolinus icterorhynchus, Red-throated Bee-eater Merops bulocki, Yellow-billed Shrike Corvinella corvina, Senegal Eremomela Eremomela pusilla, Brown-rumped Bunting Emberiza affinis, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver Plocepasser superciliosus and Purple Glossy Starling Lamprotornis purpureus.
Four sites qualify for the Guinea-Congo Forests biome exclusively.
Zémongo Faunal Reserve is in the east of the country bordering Sudan.
Bangui covers the area centred on the capital city Bangui. Some 334 species have been recorded from the area of which 233 can be expected to breed.
Ngotto is in the south of the country west of the town of Mbaiki and is part of the Lobaye forest. 332 species have been recorded at the site of which 270 can be expected to breed.
Dzanga-Ndoki National Park is in the extreme south-west of the country and is contiguous with the protected area of Lobéké of Cameroon and Nouabalé-Ndoki in Congo. Some 357 species have been reported including the following species of the Cameroon and Gabon lowlands Endemic Bird Area (EBA) which are of global conservation concern, Dja River Warbler Braypterus grandis and Verreaux’s Batis Batis minima.
The following species have been recorded in each of these 4 IBAs, Blue-headed Wood Dove Turtur brehmeri, African Dwarf Kingfisher Ceyx lecontei, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher Halcyon badia, Speckled Tinkerbird Pogoniulus scolopaceus, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird P. subsulphureus, Yellow-billed Barbet Trachyphonus purpuratus, Brown-eared Woodpecker Campethera caroli, Yellow-crested Woodpecker Dendropicos xantholophus, Cameroon Sombre Greenbul Andropadus curvirostris, Honeyguide Greenbul Baeopogon indicator, Red-tailed Bristlebill Bleda syndactylus, Western Nicator Nicator chloris, Red-tailed Greenbul Criniger calurus, Fire-crested Alethe Alethe diademata, Forest Robin Stiphrornis erythrothorax, Brown Illadopsis Illadopsis fulvescens, Yellow-browed Camaroptera Camaroptera superciliaris, Olive-green Camaroptera C. chloronata, Green Hylia Hylia prasina, White-browed Forest-Flycatcher Fraseria cinerascens, Chestnut Wattle-eye Dyaphorophyia castanea, Red-bellied Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone rufiventer, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird Cyanomitra cyanolaema, Chestnut-breasted Negrofinch Nigrita bicolor, Blue-billed Malimbe Malimbus nitens and Crested Malimbe M. malimbicus.
Further information on Central African Republic’s IBAs and EBAs can be found at BirdLife International.
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