The Mlima Combani and Mlima Mtsapéré Important Bird Area lies in the north-central part of the French island territory of

Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loc ...

in the

Comoro Islands The Comoro Islands or Comoros ( Shikomori ''Komori''; ar, جزر القمر , ''Juzur al-qamar''; french: Les Comores) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northw ...

, lying at the northern end of the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...

between the

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

n country of

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Description

The

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) consists of a forested mountain

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

dominated by the peaks of Combani (477 m) and Mtsapéré (572 m). The peaks are connected by a ridge that does not drop below an elevation of 320 m. The terrain is undulating, with steep slopes around Mtsapéré. The IBA includes most land above 200 m, excluding cultivation around the towns of Combani and Vahibéni. The area contains the largest remaining tract of forest on Mayotte. It was identified as an IBA 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 ...

because it supports populations of

Comoro olive-pigeon The Comoros olive pigeon (''Columba pollenii''), also known as the Comoro olive pigeon, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Comoros and Mayotte. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss. Description Easily distinguisha ...

Comoro blue-pigeon The Comoros blue pigeon (''Alectroenas sganzini'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Comoros and the coralline Seychelles. It is rated as a species of near threatened on the International Union f ...

Mayotte white-eye The Mayotte white-eye or chestnut-sided white-eye (''Zosterops mayottensis'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is now found only on Mayotte in the Comoro Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, su ...

Mayotte sunbird The Mayotte sunbird (''Cinnyris coquerellii'') is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is endemic to Mayotte and surrounding islets in the southeastern Comoros. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest ...

s and

Mayotte drongo The Mayotte drongo (''Dicrurus waldenii'') is a species of bird in the family Dicruridae. It is endemic to Mayotte. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, subtropical or ...

s. It is home to

Robert Mertens's day gecko Robert Mertens's day gecko (''Phelsuma robertmertensi'') is diurnal species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to the Comoros. Etymology The specific name, ''robertmertensi'', is in honour of German herpetologist Rob ...

island day gecko The Island day gecko (''Phelsuma nigristriata'') is a species of gecko. Distribution ''Phelsuma nigristriata'' is endemic to Mayotte. Description It is a diurnal and arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. ...

s and

Pasteur's day gecko Pasteur's day gecko (''Phelsuma v-nigra pasteuri'' ; synonym, ''Phelsuma pasteuri'' ) is a small diurnal subspecies of gecko. It lives in the Comoros and typically inhabits trees and bushes. Pasteur's day gecko feeds on insects and nectar. E ...

s as well as the

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

'' Charaxes saperanus'', ''

Culapa mayottensis ''Heteropsis narcissus'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found on Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion and the Comoros. The habitat consists of forest margins, orchids, unnatural grasslands and anthropogenic environments. The larva ...

'' and ''

Neptis mayottensis ''Neptis mayottensis'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are ...

''.

References

Mountains of Mayotte Important Bird Areas of Mayotte {{Mayotte-geo-stub