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Africa &
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WorldTwitch - Africa and the Middle East Bird News
31
August 2002: The African Bird Club invites comments on its draft Checklist of
African Birds, compiled by Peter Lack.
Join the
AfricanBirding Yahoo Group and the
MEBirdNet Yahoo
Group! As with all Yahoo Group mailing lists, you may elect not to receive
e-mails and instead read posted messages on the web at your convenience. Another
reminder: the African Bird
Club and the Ornithological
Society of the Middle East need your support, so please join or renew if you
have not done so already.
The December 2000 issue of the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists'
Club includes an outstanding article by Lincoln Fishpool entitled "A review
of the status, distribution and habitat of Baumann's Greenbul
Phyllastrephus baumanni." Bull. B.O.C. 2000 120(4):213-229. This
little-known and easily confused greenbul has been recorded from Sierra Leone
east to Nigeria. Of the 40 records, the author shows that some were clear
misidentifications while others are doubtful. Of great interest is a fine color
plate by Nik Borrow (illustrator of the
field guide to West
African birds) showing baumanni and three species with which it has
been confused: Slender-billed Greenbul Andropadus gracilirostris (very
close in appearance but a canopy inhabitant, while baumanni is an
undergrowth skulker), White-throated Greenbul Phyllastrephus albigularis,
and Brown Illadopsis Illadopsis fulvescens.
All important in determining which records to accept is baumanni's
habitat preference: "mid-altitude forest occurring between c.500 and 1,100 m,
often on hill and mountain slopes, both within and a little way beyond the
limits of the lowland forest zone. At lower altitudes (down to sea level), it
mostly occurs in gallery forest and thicket on the fringes of the forest zone
proper, both north, and as at Cape Coast, Ghana, south of it. Baumann's Greenbul
seems to be closely tied to the forest-savanna ecotone across much of its range,
entering more deeply into the lowland rainforest - secondary grassland mosaic
zone only in the far west. In the Togo Mountains, along the Ghana-Togo border,
it also penetrates a little way into the Sudanian woodland zone but overall it
is confined throughout to a relatively narrow latitudinal range." (pp 225-226).
[Eagerly anticipated:
Fishpool's Pica Press book on Bulbuls.]
The September 2000 issue of the Bulletin of the
African Bird Club is
packed with interesting information, including articles about Vermiculated
Fishing Owl in Nigeria, the extinction of Aloatra Grebe in Madagascar, and
identification of glossy starlings, plus various notes, including a range
extension for Mt. Kube Bush-Shrike in Cameroon and the particulars on Ben
Obanda, a recommended bird guide at the Kakamega Forest, Kenya. Anyone
interested in African birds should join the ABC.
Iran: See
Jerzy Dyczkowski's
note on his observation of Pleske's Ground Jay, Podoces pleskei,
about 30km NW of Chahr-Babak, Kerman Province, Iran on 10 October 1999.
 Bahrain:
A large part of the Grey Hypocolius winter roost was bulldozed on 5 April 2000.
The
Bahrain Bird Report website advises that the birds have moved 500 m north of
the map location.
Oman: Nick Gardner reports that he visited Dave
Sargeant in Oman where they saw Yemen Serin, Serinus menachensis and
Hume's Tawny Owl, Strix butleri at the stakeouts around Salalah in the
south.
Yemen:
Socotra
Trip Report by Dave Sargeant, with maps, photos and GPS waypoints, January
2006.
Syria: Three breeding pairs and a seventh adult
Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita have been discovered in central Syria.
BBC, 9
July 2002.
Jordan:
August - September 2001
Jordan trip report by Mike Kilburn.
Israel: There are
photos of a
Cyprus Warbler Sylvia melanothorax caught in March 2000 on the
Jerusalem Bird Observatory website.
 Morocco:
Club Med, perhaps the world's
most destructive resort operator, plans to build a massive, 8000-bed, 260 ha
holiday resort Tifnit, in critical habitat of the world's last remaining colony
of Northern Bald Ibis, Gerontica eremita, in Souss-Massa National
Park. Only 65 nesting pairs remain.
Proact and
Groupe d'Ornithologie du Maroc (GOMAC) are working against the project, which
presumably will be financed by New York and Paris banks.
DNA sequence analysis supports recognition of the Atlas Flycatcher
Ficedula speculigera from the Atlas Mountains. "A new bird species?
The taxonomic status of 'the Atlas Flycatcher' assessed from DNA sequence
analysis" by G-P Sætre, T. Borge & T. Moum, Ibis (2001) 143: 494-497.
Djibouti: In an article in the March, 1998
issue of the Bulletin of the African Bird Club entitled "Mystery birds from
Djibouti", Geoff and Hilary Welch present details of apparent undescribed forms
of Pytilla and Sunbird.
Ethiopia: Roy Hargreaves writes to the
AfricanBirding list (10/00): "With regard to the Sidamo Lark site at Negele.
It is my understanding that recently this site had an army camp sited near/on it
and people were being arrested when at this site - if they persisted in trying
to look for the larks."
The Gambia: Bird reports are posted by
The Gambia Birding
Group.
Ghana:
Proposed Halliburton Company
Dam on the Black Volta River in Bui National Park: Biologist banned for knowing
too much.
Ivory Coast:
Eating French -- literally!
Nigeria: Tasso Leventis discovered around 40
Anambra Waxbills Estrilda poliopareia on the grounds of a nursing college
at Tombia, southern Nigeria. The species had not been recorded since 1987.
World Birdwatch 24:3 (September 2002).
Three pairs of the critically endangered Ibadan Malimbe Malimbus
ibadanensis have been found by Shiwua Manu on cocoa plantation just north of
the the only other known site for this species, the grounds of the
main International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture station near Ibadan. The new site is under
threat of clearance for firewood. World Birdwatch 22(3) reported in
Bull. A.B.C. 8.
A new species of firefinch, the Rock Firefinch, Lagonosticta
sanguinodorsalis, has been described from bushy and grassy rocky outcrops on
the plateau and inselbergs to the north and east. Payne, R.B., IBIS 140:368-381
(July 1998). Its songs are mimicked by its brood-parasite, the Jos Plateau
Indigobird, Vidua maryae.
Cameroon:
March-April 2003 Trip
Report by Ron Hoff.
Michael Mills and Callan Cohen have posted their February - March 2002 trip
report with bird photos, including a singing Mt. Kupé Bush-shrike, on
birding-africa.com.
March 2001 Trip
Report by Charles Davies - Mt. Cameroon, Mt. Kupé, Bamenda Highlands.
1997 Trip Report by
Jon Hornbuckle
A bird believed to be Prigogine's Nightjar, Caprimulgus "prigoginei",
has been tape recorded in fairly dense forest 1.2 km east of Boulou camp
(Lobéké) and the call heard in forest in Nki (Mala) and Kupandaka. The same
voice was taped at Itombwe, E. Congo-Kinshasa, the site of the type specimen,
and at Ndoki in Congo-Brazzaville. See "New species and amendments to the
avifauna of Cameroon", by R.J. Dowsett & F. Dowsett-Lemaire. Bull. B.O.C.
120(3):179-185 (September 2000). The Cameroon list now stands at 908 species.
Greenpeace report:
Plundering Cameroon's rainforests: A case study on illegal logging by the
Lebanese logging company Hazim. 7 September 2000. (pdf). "More than half of
Cameroon's timber ends up in EU countries, yet consumers and governments seem to
be unaware of the large scale illegal logging in Cameroon and the social and
environmental effects of these destructive operations."
Gabon:
Gabon Birding Report by
Rod Cassidy (June 2000)
Congo-Brazzaville (formerly French):
Rod Cassidy's report of a
mammal trip including some birding, with his
bird list.
(August 2001).
See Bull. A.B.C. 8(1): 57-58 (2001) for a report on recent records of
Loango Slender-billed Weaver and a handheld photo. "Little-known African bird:
observations on Loango Slender-billed Weaver Ploceus subpersonatus in
Congo-Brazzaville." By Pierre Bulens & R.J. Dowsett.
MALIMBUS 20:1
(April 1998) includes an important article by F. Dowsett-Lemaire and R.J.
Dowsett entitled "Further additions to and deletions from the avifauna of
Congo-Brazzaville." (pp. 15-32). Most of the records are based on the authors'
field work at the Odzala and Nouabalé-Ndoki National Parks between 1993 and
1997. Some of the highlights included: Black-backed Cloud Cisticola,
Cisticola eximius - a newly-discovered population with different
vocalizations than the birds taped in Chad and Nigeria by Chappuis (1974);
Grant's Bluebill, Spermophaga poliogenys - three birds mist-netted in
the understorey of Gilbertiodendron forest on the edge of swamp forest at
Nouabalé-Ndoki, the small size and red head of the males are diagnostic, and the
female's calls upon release, soft thac, thac, were very different from
the metallic pit, pit of Bluebill, S. haematina; Grey-headed
Broadbill, Smithornis sharpei, found in swamp forest and in
closed-canopy dry-land forest, at much lower levels than its more common
relative, Rufous-sided Broadbill, S. rufolateralis; Sandy Scops Owl,
Otus icterorhynchus - this little-known species was found in
open-canopy forest (1) 10 km east of Bombassa (captive bird), (2) Bomassa Camp
(heard), and (3) along the track from Bomassa to Ndoki Camp (heard). One bird
called apparently in response to playback of Fraser's Eagle Owl, Bubo poensis,
as had two individuals found in the adjacent Lobéké Reserve of SE Cameroon;
possible Itombwe Nightjar, Caprimulgus prigoginei - tape recorded in
open-canopy, dry-land forest in Nouabalé-Ndoki. "The song is a dry staccato
somewhat reminiscent of that of C. natalensis, but lower-pitched, of a
different timbre, and delivered a little faster." It is identical to a tape
obtained by T. Butynski in the Itombwe forest, whence came the only known
specimen of C. prigoginei.
MALIMUS, the Journal of the West African Ornithological Society, is a
particularly good value, and I would urge twitchers to support West African
ornithology by subscribing, at £10, from the Treasurer, R.E. Sharland, 1,
Fishers Heron, East Mills, Fordingbridge, Hants. SP6 2JR, England.
Congo-Kinshasa (formerly Belgian): An important
paper supplementing Dowsett (1993) and Lippens & Wille (1976) adds 12 species to
the country list, describes range extensions in the country, and provides new
information on rare and little-known species. "Additions and annotations to the
avifauna of Congo-Kinshasa (ex-Zaïre)", by Ron Demey, Paul Herroelen & Tommy
Pedersen. Bull. B.O.C. 120(3):154-172 (September 2000).
Burundi: Police arrest a radio-collared White
Stork as a "spy." (They probably think it's a Tutsi witch.)
IOL, 5 October 2001.
Kenya:
The December 2001 - January 2002 report by Duan Biggs on birding-africa.com has
good logistical details.
Tanzania &
Eastern Kenya Trip Report by Jon Hornbuckle, August - September 2001.
Reports by the
BBC and the
Kenya Wildlife Service on a major die-off of Lesser Flamingos,
Phoeniconaias minor, at Lake Bogoria.
A study of the East Coast Akalat, Sheppardia gunningi sokokensis,
found the species to be more abundant than previously thought, with an estimated
7,500 to 9,000 territories in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest alone. The Akalat
prefers areas where the undergrowth is partially open with large amounts of dead
wood, foraging near the ground. Erwin Nemeth & Leon Bennun, Bird
Conservation International 10(2):115-130 (June 2000).
Nik Borrow reports on the
AfricanBirding list that both David Ngala and Alex Mwinga are first-class
guides in the Sokoke Forest and that arrangements may be made at the visitors'
center near Watamu.
Mau
Forest dismembered for political payoffs. (ENS)
Uganda:
Rwanda & Uganda
Birding Trip Report by Dave Sargeant & Nigel Moorhouse, June 2003, with maps and
GPS waypoints.
Jon Hornbuckle's report of
a trip in July - August 2001.
Malcolm Wilson reports on
AfricanBirding that he has found a new site for Grauer's Scrub-Warbler
Bradypterus graueri, "in a football pitch size patch of rushes" just
outside Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. He adds: "There are probably
only 6 sites for this Albertine Rift endemic in Uganda and only 2 which are
protected. This land is being cleared and dug up for maize and sweet potato, but
with a new community birding trail in the making and visitors spending time and
money doing the trail, the farmer could receive £2 from
each visitor and hopefully not have to do such work. The site is 10 minutes from
Bohoma camp site and the safari lodges."
"Uganda suspends game viewing after attack." (Wildnet Africa News, 4 April
2001). Following a rebel ambush in which at least 10 people were killed,
Ugandan wildlife officials have suspended game viewing activities in the
northern bank of Murchison Falls National Park and traffic through the park to
Pakwach. Recent reports as of July 2001 by Giles Mulholland and Malcolm Wilson
indicate that the security situation in Uganda is much improved
The species list for Queen Elizabeth National Park now stands at 604, with
most recent additions by Malcolm Wilson, who has recorded 200 species from his
garden on the outskirts of Kampala. (Derek Pomeroy on
AfricanBirding, 8 March 2001.)
A two-week survey of wetland sites in Uganda found only 19 Shoebills,
Balaeniceps rex. Uganda had been thought to have up to 600. Bird
Conservation International 8(2):208 (1998), citing Naturalist
2.1, 3.
Tanzania: Pamela Beresford, Jon Fjeldså, &
Jacob Kiure. A new species of Akalat (Sheppardia) narrowly endemic in the
Eastern Arc of Tanzania.
The Auk 121(2):23-24 (January 2004). The Rubeho Akalat, Sheppardia
aurantiithorax.
Tanzania &
Eastern Kenya Trip Report by Jon Hornbuckle, August - September 2001.
A survey made by Liz and Mark Baker in Minziro forest revealed two new
species for Tanzania, Yellow-crested Woodpecker and Toro Olive Greenbul. This
pushes the TZ-list to 1103 species. (Stein Nilsen, 8/2000.)
Angola: A six-day expedition to northern Angola
in January 2005 by Ian Sinclair et al. succeeded in relocating Orange-breasted
Bush-shrike Laniarius brauni, White-headed Robin-chat Cossypha
heinrichi, and Black-tailed Cisticola Cisticola melanurus.
BirdLife, 20 April 2005.
Zambia:
Zambia & Northeast Namibia
Birding Trip by Jon Hornbuckle, October 2003.
A census of the Bangwulu Swamp by the Zambian Ornithological Society in 1995
found only 44 Shoebills, Balaeniceps rex. G. Renson, Alauda
66(2):81-96.
Zimbabwe: Should be avoided until further
notice, as the natives are armed, dangerous, and running amok. See
"Connecticut man killed in Zimbabwe tried to help children there." AP, 12
November 2002.
Zimbabwe and Eastern South Africa:
1997 Trip Report by Jon Hornbuckle
Botswana: In what has been described as a
"farcical meeting" by a member of BirdLife Botswana, on 19 October 2000 the
government disclosed plans for aerial spraying of the toxic pesticide Endosulfan
over 7,180 square kilometers of the Okavango Delta starting in May, 2001 for
tsetse fly control. This is a continuation of the
15-year campaign funded by the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization
(FAO) to convert the Okavango from wildlife to large-scale cattle ranching.
Due to gross incompetence, odor-baited targets, which have been used
successfully against tsetse flies in other African countries, have not been
properly maintained in Botswana.
Namibia:
Vulture population on verge of extinction. Namibian, 22 February
2001: Only 8 Cape Griffons are left in Namibia due to widespread
anti-predator poisoning. In 1996, a single farmer killed 10% of the Namibian
Lappet-faced Vulture population.
South Africa: Kimberly Pipit, Anthus
pseudosimilis, a new species, has been described from South Africa.
Liversidge & Voelker, Bull. B.O.C. 122(2): 93-109. Although initially
confused with Long-tailed Pipit, it has been found to be most closely related to
Malindi Pipit, A. melindae, of coastal Kenya.
The first confirmed Chatham Island Albatross Diomedea (cauta) eremita
for Africa was found on a Cape pelagic trip on 27 May 2001. See photos on
zestforbirds.co.za.
Trip report by Mike
Hunter, October 2000.
A new edition of the Wakkerstroom Bird & Nature Guide, by Warwick and
Michele Tarboton, is available from the Wild Turkey on Church Square (Box 289,
Wakkerstroom 2480). It is indispensable for any birder going there.
Wakkerstroom, in eastern Transvaal, is one of the most interesting birding sites
in South Africa.
Indian Ocean Islands
Madagascar: The Madagascar Red Owl Tyto
soumagnei, formerly known only from the northeast, has been found in primary
rainforest in southeast Madagascar in the Kalambatritra Special Reserve. M.T.
Irwin & K.E. Samonds. Ibis 144:680-683 (2002). Other rare birds known
from Kalambatritra are Grey-crowned Greenbul Bernieria cinereiceps and
Slender-billed Flufftail Sarothrura watersi.
Handheld photos
of the new warbler, Cryptosylvicola randrianasoloi, described from the
eastern rain forest of Madagascar in Ibis (1996) 138:153-159, have been
posted on the BOU Website.
Madagascar Serpent-Eagle and Madagascar Red Owl Conservation, The Peregrine
Fund (donations recommended!)
Grand Comore (Comoros Islands):
Grand Comore Trip Report by
Peter Kaestner. Peter Kaestner, whose world bird list ranks first and
continues to grow among active birders, recently visited Grand Comore. He has
written a concise report with important details about finding choice endemics,
where to stay, and which guides to hire.
Moheli, Comoros: A new scops owl, the Moheli
Scops Owl, Otus moheliensis, has been described. World Birdwatch
20(4): 7.
EUROPE:
UK: Surely the British twitch of the Century
was the SLENDER-BILLED CURLEW, Numenius tenuirostris at Druridge Bay,
Northumberland during 4-7 May 1998. After an exhaustive inquiry,
the record was
confirmed by the British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee on 24
January 2002. See
BirdGuides for details and a freeze frame from video footage of the bird.
British Birds Rarities Committee press releases |
Surfbirds page.
"First European bird to become extinct for 150 years", by Brian Unwin. The
Independent, 10 February 1999.
Poland:
Help preserve and
protect Bialowieza Forest.
Copyright © 1998 - 2005 John Wall
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