Subaun is a

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) in

Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, a country occupying the eastern end of the island of

Timor Timor (, , ) is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is Indonesia–Timor-Leste border, divided between the sovereign states of Timor-Leste in the eastern part and Indonesia in the ...

in the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pro ...

Wallacea Wallacea is a biogeography, biogeographical designation for a group of mainly list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian islands separated by deep-water straits from the Asian and Australia (continent), Australian continental shelf, continental ...

Description

The IBA lies on the northern side of the island, between the national capital,

Dili Dili (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Tetum language, Tetum: ''Díli'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountai ...

, and the town of

Manatuto Manatuto is a city in Manatuto Municipality, East Timor. Manatuto Vila has 3,692 inhabitants (Census 2015) and is capital of the subdistrict and district Manatuto. It is on the north coast of Timor, (about as the crow flies) east of Dili ...

. In elevation it ranges from sea level to about 1300 m. It comprises a range of steep hills, peaking at

Mount Curi Mount Curi is a mountain in Manatuto District, East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, ...

, covered by

eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

with an

understorey In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but above ...

of mainly ''

Themeda ''Themeda'' is a genus of plants in the grass family native to Asia, Africa, Australia, and Papuasia. There are about 18Barkworth, M. E''Themeda''.Grass Manual. Flora of North America. to 26Potdar, G. G., et al. (2003)A new species of ''Themeda'' ...

'' and '' Heteropogon''

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

es. The woodland is dominated by ''

Eucalyptus alba ''Eucalyptus alba'', commonly known as white gum, khaki gum or poplar gum, is a species of tree that is native to Australia, Timor, and New Guinea. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowe ...

'' at the lower levels and ''

Eucalyptus urophylla ''Eucalyptus urophylla'', commonly known as Timor white gum, Timor mountain gum, popo or ampupu, is a species of eucalypt native to islands of the Indonesian Archipelago and Timor. It is also common in other countries with humid and subhumid t ...

'' above 400 m. Relatively small patches of

tropical dry forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

or semi-

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

forest occur in sheltered areas. The

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

is burnt regularly (at intervals of 1–3 years) and the area is used for

shifting cultivation Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned while post-disturbance fallow vegetation is allowed to freely grow while the cultivator moves on to another plot. The period of cul ...

Birds

The site has been identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

as an

because it supports populations of

bar-necked cuckoo-dove The bar-necked cuckoo-dove, also called the dusky cuckoo-dove was split into the following species in 2016. The name "bar-necked cuckoo-dove" remains valid when used to describe the ''Macropygia magna'' species complex as all of its members have bar ...

pink-headed imperial pigeon The pink-headed imperial pigeon (''Ducula rosacea'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae found in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical man ...

olive-headed lorikeet The olive-headed lorikeet (''Trichoglossus euteles''), also called the perfect lorikeet, is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is found in forest, woodland and cultivated areas on Timor and smaller nearby islands. Description T ...

flame-eared honeyeater The flame-eared honeyeater (''Lichmera flavicans''), also known as the yellow-eared honeyeater, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found on Timor island. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest ...

streak-breasted honeyeater The streak-breasted honeyeater or streaky-breasted honeyeater (''Territornis reticulata'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found on Timor island. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subt ...

Timor friarbird The Timor friarbird or plain friarbird (''Philemon inornatus'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. Habitat It is found on Timor island, where it plays an important cultural role. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry ...

black-breasted myzomela The black-breasted myzomela or red-rumped myzomela (''Myzomela vulnerata'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found on Timor island. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forest A forest is an ecosystem ...

plain gerygone The plain gerygone (''Gerygone inornata'') is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is found on the islands of Wetar and Timor. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical mangro ...

fawn-breasted whistler The fawn-breasted whistler (''Pachycephala orpheus'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found on the islands of Timor and Wetar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tro ...

green figbird The green figbird or Timor figbird (''Sphecotheres viridis'') is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is Endemism, endemic to forest, woodland, mangrove, and scrub on the Indonesian islands of Rote Island, Roti and Timor. It is moderatel ...

olive-brown oriole Olive-brown oriole has been split into the following species: * Timor oriole The Timor oriole (''Oriolus melanotis'') is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is endemic to the Lesser Sundas, where it is found on Timor, Rote and Semau ...

s, blue-cheeked flowerpeckers,

flame-breasted sunbird The flame-breasted sunbird (''Cinnyris solaris'') is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found on Timor and other islands, primarily in the Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropica ...

s and

Timor sparrow The Timor sparrow (''Padda fuscata''), also known as Timor dusky sparrow, is a small passerine bird. The bird inhabits the grasslands and lowlands of the Timor archipelago with its distribution typically sparse. Its diet consists mainly of rice a ...

References

Dili Municipality Manatuto Municipality Important Bird Areas of Timor-Leste {{EastTimor-geo-stub

Description

Birds

See also

References