Bird Species Groups to protect in the Ruzizi Delta, Northern End of Lake Tanganyika, in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo

ABSTRACT

The groups of bird species to be protected in the Ruzizi Delta in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were investigated from April 2019 until August 2021 in five sites of the Rusizi Burundian Delta (RBD) and five sites of the Ruzizi Congolese Delta (RCD). Each site was visited three times a year during the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. Investigations were conducted by direct observation on transect counts, point counts and on roads bird counting using binoculars and telescopes. Travels were facilitated by the motorized fiberglass boat and the double cabin field vehicle of the Centre for Research in Hydrobiology (CRH) at Uvira, DRC. At the end of our investigations, we drew up the list of 490 species divided into 84 families and 18 orders. The groups of bird species concerned in this publication are resident birds 359 species (70%), migratory birds 131 species (30%), birds with International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 21 species (4%) and 238 species  (49%) that fulfil six out of seven Ramsar criteria for bird conservation, of which 29 (12%) are reported in the unprotected RCD, 107 (45%) in the RBD protected, and 102 (43%) species are reported in both the RCD and the RBD. For these bird groups to survive in a sustainable way in the Ruzizi Delta, abundant, permanent and diversified vegetation is needed through the RCD wetlands protection.

Keywords: Bird species groups; Ramsar criteria; Resident birds; Migratory birds; IUCN status for birds.

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