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The Central mountain range of Ilha de São Nicolau Important Bird Area lies on the island of São Nicolau in the Cape Verde archipelago off the coast of north-west Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. Complementing the terrestrial Important Bird Area (IBA) is an associated marine IBA that provides feeding habitat for seabirds.
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Description
The site comprises 1750 ha of mountainous terrain in the western part of the island, lying between the villages of Praia Branca and Fajã de Baixo. It includes the peaks of Monte Gordo (at 1312 m the highest point of the island) and Tope de Moca (1057 m). Some of the higher parts of the site are forested, especially around Monte Gordo where relatively high rainfall and frequent misty conditions cause the trees to be thickly covered with lichens. The lower slopes are largely used for cropping maize and beans.
The marine IBA borders the coastline and covers 2089 km2 of marine waters, with a maximum depth of 3024 m. It has a mean annual wind speed of 1.78 m/s, an annual sea surface temperature between 23.9°C and 24.4°C, and mean annual chlorophyll-a concentrations between 0.24 and 0.41 mg/m3.
Flora and fauna
The mountain slopes are the main centre of distribution in the Cape Verde Islands of the Macaronesian endemic dragon tree. The endemic lizards Tarentola caboverdiana and Mabuya fogoensis are common. The site has been identified as an IBA by BirdLife International because it supports about 30 breeding pairs of Fea's petrels as well as peregrine falcons, Alexander's swifts and Cape Verde warblers. The marine IBA provides feeding habitat during the breeding season for up to 90 Fea's petrels and 75–120 red-billed tropicbirds.