Important Bird Areas

The birds show a very high degree of endemism with several bird families endemic to Madagascar and the neighbouring Comoros Islands. Over 100 species out of a total of over 200 breeding species are endemic to Madagascar. There are few terrestrial migrants as Madagascar seems to be off the usual Palearctic / African flyway.

A total of 44 species of global conservation concern occur in Madagascar, a total only exceeded in Africa by Tanzania.

49 species have a restricted range defined as covering less than 50,000 km2 and these species have been grouped by their shared distributions and habitats into five Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs), a number equalled in Africa only by South Africa: West Malagasy dry forests with 6 restricted range species; East Malagasy wet forests with 20 such species; East Malagasy wetlands with 7 such species; West Malagasy wetlands with 6 such species; and South Malagasy spiny forests with 10 such species. In addition, there are two secondary EBAs.

Madagascar can be divided into two biomes for the purposes of bird conservation, the West Malagasy biome with 24 biome restricted species and the East Malagasy biome with 45 such species. 76 of Madagascar’s endemic species and 33 endemic genera are found almost exclusively in forest.

Malagasy coastal habitats differ considerably between the east and the west of the island. The east has mostly sand beaches with little in the way of birdlife. The west is richer and more diverse with extensive mangroves, saltpans, coastal lagoons, estuaries, sandbars, sand beaches and offshore islands.

There are a remarkable 84 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) designated by BirdLife International in Madagascar. These IBAs occupy 52,797 km2 equivalent to 8.6% of the land area of Madagascar. 48 of the 84 sites do not have legal protection. The names of the IBAs and the administrative region in which they reside are as follows:

Further information on the IBAs and EBAs of Madagascar can be found at BirdLife International.

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