Lake Be Malae

View of lake with waterbirds in the distance
Mangrove-lined channel at the lake outlet towards the beach
Lake Be Malae
Portuguese name
PortugueseLago Bemalae
Tetum name
TetumBemalae

Lake Be Malae, also spelt Bemalae, is a 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) lagoon in the district of Bobonaro on the north-west coast of East Timor, a country occupying the eastern end of the island of Timor in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Wallacea.[1]

Description

The lake is a broad and shallow expanse of saline water and mudflats which sometimes largely dries up. Its margins are vegetated by mangroves and dry forest. Its outlet is a winding, mangrove-lined channel leading to the sea.[1][2]

Birds

The lake and its surrounds have been identified by BirdLife International as a 28,000 ha Important Bird Area because they support populations of bar-necked cuckoo-doves, pink-headed imperial pigeons, jonquil parrots, streak-breasted honeyeaters, plain gerygones, fawn-breasted whistlers, green figbirds, olive-brown orioles, buff-banded thicketbirds, white-bellied bush chats and flame-breasted sunbirds.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Chan S, Crosby MJ, Islam MZ, Tordoff AW (2004). Important Bird Areas of Asia: Key Sites for Conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series. Cambridge: BirdLife International. pp. 259–260. ISBN 9780946888542.
  2. ^ a b "Be Malae-Atabae". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.

08°52′S 125°00′E / 8.867°S 125.000°E / -8.867; 125.000


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