Jaco Island

View over tropical dry forest to coastal strand vegetation on Jaco Island
Map of Timor showing Jaco off the eastern (right hand) end of the main island

Jaco Island, sometimes spelt Jako, is an uninhabited island in East Timor, a country occupying the eastern end of the island of Timor in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Wallacea. It is one of the country’s Important Bird Areas and lies within Nino Konis Santana National Park.

Description

Jaco lies just off the eastern end of the island of Timor, part of the Tutuala subdistrict in Lautém District, and is separated from the mainland in front of Valu Beach by a 700 m wide channel navigable by small vessels. It is lowlying, with an area of 11 km2 and a maximum elevation of about 100 m. It is covered mainly by tropical dry forest, fringed by strand vegetation and sandy beaches. There are some low cliffs on the southern coast.[1]

Birds

The island has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because it supports populations of bar-necked cuckoo-doves, black doves, pink-headed imperial pigeons, streak-breasted honeyeaters, fawn-breasted whistlers, blue-cheeked flowerpeckers, flame-breasted sunbirds and Timor sparrows.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Jaco Island". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-22.

Coordinates: 8°25′30″S 127°19′30″E / 8.42500°S 127.32500°E