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MALIMBUS

Journal of the West African Ornithological Society
Societe d’Ornithologie de FOuest Africain

1982

VOLUME 4

Number

1

May

WEST AFRICAN ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY

SOCIETE D’ORNITHOLOGIE DE L’OUEST AFRICAIN

Council 1982-1985

President Professor Brian J. Harris
Vice-President Dr Gerard J. Morel

Hon. Secretary Professor John H. Elgood

Hon. Treasurer & Membership Secretary Mr Robert E. Sharland
Managing Editor, Malimbus Dr C. Hilary Fry

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Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB9 2TN , Scotland, U.K.) regarding contribu-
tions to Malimbus and purchase of back numbers (i.e. the Bulletin of the
Nigerian Ornithologists' Society)

- to the Hon. Treasurer (39 Avon Castle Drive, Ringwood, Hants, U.K.

regarding subscriptions and financial

matters

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University, Zaria, Nigeria) or Vice-President (Station d'Ornithologie,
Richard-Toll , B.P. 20, Sdndgal) regarding policy matters

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regarding all other matters

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ISSN : 0331 - 3689

Emblem design by Philip Blasdale

Malimbus

Vol. 4 1982 No. 1, May

THE MOULT OF SOME BIRD SPECIES ON MOUNT CAMEROON*

by R. Eyckerman and D. Cuvelier

Received 23 March 1982
Revised 6 April 1982

Biological field work was carried out during a visit to the slopes of Mount
Cameroon in February, March and April 1981 (Bosmans 1982) . Systematic
mist-netting at several localities from 22 February to 24 March resulted in
the capture of 305 birds belonging to 64 species (Eyckerman & Cuvelier, in
prep.). For some of these species large samples were caught and examined
for moult. Moult data for African birds being scant, our data are
presented here even if they are sometimes fragmentary.

Moult was assessed by scoring according to the numerical method used
by Newton (1966). Each remex and rectrix feather was scored as 0 (old),

1 (missing, or small pin) , 2 (one-third grown) , 3 (half grown) , 4 (three-
quarters grown) and 5 (full-grown), and the moult score determined simply
by summing the individual feathers scores.

VERREAUX'S TOURACO Tauraco macro rhynchus verreauxii

A male and a female with regressed gonads were shot at 1,900 m; both
were in heavy moult:

left

&

u
( u

■p

Primaries

0,0, 0,0, 2, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5,

right ^ 5,0,0, 2, 2, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5,

Secondaries Tertials

5. 5. 5.0. 4. 4, 5, 5, 5, 5,

5. 5. 5.0. 5. 5, 5, 5, 5, 5,

Rectrices

5 , 5 , 3 , 5 , 0,

0, 5, 5,0, 1, ^

left (damaged; moult not scored) 2, 1,5, 5,0,

right 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 , 0, 5 , 5 , 5 , 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 2, 0,0, 0,0, 0,5, 5, 5, 5,

The moult of the male agrees with Stresemann's (1966) findings: distal
primaries start moulting when the proximal reaches P5. The secondaries of
the male seem to follow a similar pattern with a proximal and distal group,
but in the female there is no evidence for this. The tail moults very
irregularly. Louette (1977) recorded remex moulting specimens of this
species in the months February, July, October, November, December.

* Scientific results of the Belgian Mount Cameroon Expedition, February-
April 1981: VI.

2

R. Eyckerman & D. Cuvelier

MALI MB US 4

BROWN-BACKED CISTICOLA Cisticola hunteri discolor

This species has a complete postnuptial moult in March, April and May
(Lynes 1930). We caught 18 individuals at 1,900 m in March; the presence
of family parties and juveniles suggests that the breeding season ended
shortly before. Of 13 adults ten were moulting, with primary scores
between 14 and 55. This span was too small for assessing the relationship
between primary, secondary, and tertial moult. Comparing primaries and
rectrices, we find the relationship y = 24.31 + 0.82 x; i.e. tail moult
starts when P3 is growing and has finished before P8 grows. Tail feathers
seem thus to grow somewhat faster than primaries. Tail moult is irregular
and many feathers are growing simultaneously:

Bird

T6 54321 123456

no .

151055 555250

OOOOOO 000050

1 22240 022221

003202 443330

2 33330 033332

2 05020 000022

2 00000 000002

000000 100011

123305 522221

1 11221 500011

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8
9

10

PREUSS'S DOUBLE -COLLARED SUNBIRD Nectarinia preussi preussi

Eight were captured at 1,900 m, all moulting. Five males had primary
scores from 37 to 55 (mean 43) and three females from 24 to 44 (mean 34) .
Thus females may moult slightly later than males. The relation between
primary and secondary moult in males was: y = 34.79 + 0.85 x. The first
secondary remex is thus shed when P4 is growing, and secondary moult is
completed when P9 is growing. For the relation between primaries and
tertials we find: y = 36.19 + 0.70 x. Tertials seem to follow the
sequence: middle (2), proximal (3), distal (1) . The first (2) is shed
when P4 is growing and the moult of the tertials is complete when P6 is
growing. Only two birds were moulting tail feathers, and tail moult
appears normally to be centrifugal. Rectrix 1 is thus dropped first and
not last as Hanmer (1981) found in several species of Nectarinia in
Mozambique and Malawi .

BLACK-CROWNED WAXBILL Estrilda nonnula

20 were caught at 1,200 m and seven at 1,900 m. Seven were moulting
flight feathers and one was in contour moult. For six birds we calculated
the relationship between primary and secondary moult to be: y = 44.68 +
1.08 x; i.e. secondary moult starts when P5 is growing and lasts somewhat
longer than primary moult.

1982

MOULT ON MOUNT CAI1EROUN

3

BRONZE MANNIKIN Lonchura cucullata cucullata

Bronze mannikins were very common around the camp site at 1,200 m and
24 were caught, mainly juveniles. All except one were moulting. In juven-
iles, primary and secondary moult are related by the equation: y = 34.22 +
1.27 x (n = 15), which means that the secondary remiges moult starts when
P4 is growing and continues some time after primary moult is completed.
Secondary remiges thus appear to grow at a slower rate.

Woodall (1975) described moult in Zimbabwe. Post- juvenile and post-
nuptial moult is complete and he found no differences between the two
moulting patterns. He found that secondaries only started to moult with
P6, P7 or P8, considerably later than in our population. Also, in
Zimbabwe, secondary moult extends beyond the primary moult period. Tertial
moult follows the pattern: middle (2), proximal (3), distal (1) in contrast
with Woodall's sequence from distal to proximal (1, 2, 3) . The relationship
with primary moult is: y = 31.77 + 1.40 x (n = 4) . The first tertial is
thus dropping when P4 is growing and continues until P8 is growing. This is
in agreement with Woodall's findings. Many individuals had new feathers in
their tails but only five were actively moulting rectrices (y = 58.2 + 0.23
x) . Tail moult would thus take place between the P6 and P8, which is also
later than Woodall found in his population where tail moult started with or
before primary moult.

YELLOW BISHOP Euplectes capensis phoenicomerus

Nine were caught at 2,800 m of which eight were moulting flight
feathers. We derived the following equation: primaries - secondaries
y = 88.84 + 0.56 x (n = 7) ; primaries - tertials y = 69.30 +0.75 x (n = 5)
primaries - tail y = 60.80 + 0.77 x (n = 8) . Moult of secondary remiges as
well as tertials and tail start while P7 is growing. They all end at about
the same time as primary moult.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The expedition was supported by grants of the Belgian National Science
Foundation and the King Leopold III foundation for exploration and
conservation of Nature. We wish to thank the Cameroonian authorities for
their kind cooperation, especially Dr. E. Tebong, director of the Institute
of Animal Research at the General Delegation for Scientific and Technical
Research. We wish to thank Prof. Dr. J. Huble, Prof. Dr. A. Dhondt and Dr.
M. Louette for reading the manuscript and helpful criticism.

SUMMARY

Moult data are discussed for Tauraco macrorhynchus , Cisticola hunter i ,
Nectarinia preussi , Estrilda nonnula , Lonchura cucullata and Euplectes
capensis .

4

R. Eyckerman & D. Cuvelier

1ALIMBUS 4

REFERENCES

BOSMANS, R. (in prep.) Scientific results of the Belgian Mount Cameroon
Expedition (February-Apri 1 1981) . Situation of the collecting sites
on the altitudinal zonation. Description of Hahnia leopoldi n.sp.
(Araneae: Hahnidae) . Rev. Zool . Afr.

EYCKERMAN, R. & CUVELIER, D. (in prep.) Scientific results of the Belgian
Mount Cameroon Expedition ( February-Apri 1 1981) IV: Birds. Rev.
Zool. Afr.

HANMER, D.B. (1981) Mensural and moult data of nine species of sunbird
from Mozambique and Malawi. Ostrich 52: 156-158

LOUETTE, M. (1977) De avifauna van Kameroen en haar Zoogeografische
interpretatie (Partim Non-Passeriformes). Unpub 1. Ph.D. Thesis,
pp . 384

LYNES, H. (1930) Review of the genus Cisticola: Ibis suppl.: 1-673

NEWTON, I.R. (1966) The moult of the Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula. Ibis
108: 41-67

STRESEMANN, E. & STRESEMANN, U. (1966) Die Mauser der Vogel. J. Orn.
107: 1-448

WOODALL, P.F. (1975) The life history of the Bronze Mannikin. Ostrich
46: 55-86

R. Eyckerman and D. Cuvelier , Laboratorium voor Oecologie der Dieren
Zodgeografie en Natuurbehoud , K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35,
B-9000-Gent , Belgie

5

REMARQUE S A PROPOS DES BUSES ( Buteo buteo ssp.)
OBSERVEES EN AFRIQUE OCC I DENT ALE

par Rene de Naurois

Received 12 October 1981

Morel & Browne (1981) ont enumere les observations et captures de buses
faites par divers auteurs et par eux-memes en Mauri tanie, au Senegal, au
Liberia et au Ghana. En dehors de plusieurs mentions relatives a Buteo
rufinus , ils relatent la douzaine de cas suivants: une capture dans le
Sud Mauri tanien, l'oiseau ayant ete identifie comme Buteo b. buteo ; quatre
notations dans le Sud-Ouest Mauritanien et le Nord-Ouest Senegalais,
portant sur six sujets, Buteo buteo ssp, sans qu'il ait ete possible de
preciser la sous-espece ni l'origine; une capture a.u Liberia, le specimen
ayant ete rapporte (Forbes-Watson) a la forme intermedius (non reconnue par
Vaurie 1961) qui represente une transition entre Buteo b. buteo et Buteo
b. vulpinus , faites en Mauritanie, au Senegal et au Ghana. Ces donnees
appellent quelques commentaires . Je les presenterai sous forme de
suggestions et d 'hypotheses .

Une possibility semble n 1 avoir pas ete envisagee jusqu'a ce jour.

C'est que s'aventurent en Afrique Occidentale des Buses originaires de
l'Archipel du Cap-Vert ou, a la rigueur, des lies Canaries, de Madere, ou
des Agores. Dans le present travail, je ne aiscuterai que la premiere de
ces eventualites , la moins improbable: celle d 1 apparitions sur le
continent africain, de ces Buses cap-verdiennes auxquelles Swann (au vu
d'un seul specimen!) donna le nom de bannermami .

Leur presence occasionnelle ne peut itre qu'un evenement rare. D'abord
en raison de la distance qui separe l'archipel de la cote continentale :

5 a 600 km selon les lies! Mais aussi parce que les populations de Buteo
buteo, dans les di verses lies ou elles sont reproductrices , sont fort
reduites: en tres petit nombre a l'lle de Fogo, mais jamais vue a Brava

toute voisine; quelques sujets, anciennement, a Boa Vista, mais aucun a
Sal; quelques couples a S. Nicolau, mais rien sur les ilots Raso et Branco,
ni a l'ile de Santa Luzia; quelques paires peut-etre a S. Vicente, sans
certitude; et une population residente a S. Antao, dont 1 'importance n'a
pas pu etre estimee correctement . C'est seulement a Santiago (pres de 1,000
km^ ) que le contingent est surement substantiel. Au terme de recherches
poursuivies au cours de nombreux sejours (de 1963 a 1968) j"evaluais a moins
de 100 oiseaux le nombre total - un nombre qui s'averera sans doute plus
eleve si l'ile de S. Antao, avec ses 780 km2, porte une population plus
nombreuse qu'il ne m'est apparu au cours des prospections (Naurois 1968) .

NDLR: nous avons respecte la decision de 1' auteur qui, estimant la

systematique des Passereaux plus difficile que celle des Non-Passereaux, a
tenu a preciser la sous-espece.

6

R. de Naurois

MALIMBUS 4

A ces deux causes immediate - eloignement et faiblesse des effectifs -
s'ajoute une raison plus generale: l'humeur sedentaire, bien connue, des
oiseaux insulaires . II ne s'ensuit pas qu'aucun facteur ne puisse jouer
en sens inverse: dans le sens d' incursions de Buses capverdiennes vers
l'Afrique con tinentale .

Ce qui vient donner quelque appui a l'hypothese ce sont trois ordres
de f aits qui ne sont pas totalement independants les uns des autres : la
rigueur des conditions climatologiques et ecologiques dans l'archipel, les
competitions, les va-et-vient probables ou ef fectivement constates.

Le climat capverdien est caracterise non seulement par l'aridite mais
aussi par 1' extreme irregularite des precipitations. Plusieurs annees de
secheresse peuvent se succeder (jusqu'a 3, 4, ou 5 annees), entralnant des
disettes ou famines pour les humains, limitant de fagon brutale les nombres
d 'especes vegetales et animales, obligeant les oiseaux de basse altitude
(Alaudidae surtout) a transhumer du Nord ou du Nord-Ouest vers le Sud, en
quete de conditions moins defavorables , obligeant meme, dans certains cas,
a des deplacements vers le continent (je reviendrai sur ce dernier point) .

On congoit que de telles conditions puissent aggraver des competitions
qui, normalement, resteraient d'ordre potentiel. En voici un cas, qui nous
interesse directement. II existe dans l'Archipel quatre especes de
Falconiformes : Falco peregrinus madens tres rare, F. tinnunculus tres

abondant, Milvus m. migrans abondant, Milvus ( milvus ) fasciicauda assez
commun et Buteo buteo bannermani. S'il n'y a pas competition effective
entre le Pelerin et les quatre autres, il existe surement deux conflits
latents : entre le Milan Noir et le Milan endemique ; mais aussi entre le

Milan Noir et la Buse. ... Il y a cent ans Milvus fasciicauda, occupait
toutes les lies. Sur pres de 10 specimens de Milans capverdiens, collectes
par Boyd Alexander a la fin du siecle dernier, deux seulement sont des
Milans noirs (collections du British Museum). L'invasion (ou- re-invasion)
recente par le M. migrans a eu pour effet de repousser fasciicauda vers les
lies du nord et du nord-ouest (S. Nicolau et S. Antao) . Quant a la Buse le
moins qu'on puisse dire est que sa situation est precaire. Le Milan l'a
exclue presque partout des altitudes basses (100 a 300 m) et l'a refoulee
vers l'amont de certaines vallees, audessus de 4 ou 500 m. D'une maniere
generale, l'eventail des proies disponibles est toujours plus reduit dans
les lies que sur les continents. Mais ici, en s ' appropriant les fonctions
de voirie, le Milan a enleve a la Buse une partie des ressources qui
faisaient encore partie de son regime a une epoque recente. Le resultat
est que bannermami semble raser les ... parois rocheuses, occupe une
position marginale et fait figure d'expulsee dans son propre pays. Il
n'est pas absurde de supposer qu'elle puisse parfois chercher a s'evader ...

De fagon plus generale on constate chez plusieurs autres especes des
arrivees recentes en provenance du continent, mais aussi des va-et-vient
plus ou moins irreguliers. Divers Ardeidae ( Egretta gularis , E. ardesiaca)
et Flataleidae apparaissent a Santiago mais ne s 'y fixent pas (Naurois
1964). Bubulcus ibis a envahi les lies depuis plusieurs decennies, mais sa
reproduction, apres plus de cent ans de recherches, n'a ete decouverte
qu'a un seul endroit (S. Domingos, lie de Santiago) en 1965 (v. Bannerman
1969). Encore ne s'agit-il en ce lieu que de deux ou trois couples
(Naurois 1968) ! Ou done nichent les bandes de Garde-Boeufs que l'on
rencontre sur un bon tiers des lies? Viendraient-elles d'Afrique, et y
retourneraient-elles? Ce n'est pas tout. L'arrivee d 'Himantopus himantopus
comme nicheur a l'ile de Sal est toute recente. Mais surtout, cas plus sug-

1982

Buteo buteo EN AFRIOUE OCCIDENT ALE

7

gestif, Gallinula chloropus est absente de ses lieux de reproduction (a Boa
Vista et Santiago) pendant les series d'annees seches: sans doute repart-
elle en direction de l'Afrique continentale , sauf a revenir dans l'archipel
apres que les pluies ont rempli a nouveau les lagunes cotieres (Naurois
1969) . Un dernier exemple est peut-etre fourni par Milvus m = migrans lui-
meme. En effet sa population sur les lies ne paraxt pas etre stable. II
est, certes, nicheur dans plusieurs lies (Naurois 1970) mais il semble que
ses effectifs varient en cours d'annee: comme si des migrateurs se
deplagaient non plus du Senegal vers la Berberie et l'Europe (migration
"classique" de M. m. migrans) mais du Senegal vers l'archipel capverdien;
comme si certains contingents ayant eu l'occasion de faire escale sur les
lies, avaient decide de les adopter en lieu et place de destinations plus
septentrionales - et ceci en nombres variables d'une annee a 1' autre.

Seuls des baguages nous fixeront.

Bref, Buteo buteo bannermani , quoique residente, voire endemique
(faiblement comme je vais le montrer) , pourrait s'aventurer sur le
continent: rarement sans doute, et non sans risques, mais peutetre moins

rarement que son indolence toute insulaire ne le laisserait supposer.

Le probleme pose au depart - identite et origine des Buses collectees
en Afrique Occidentale (Continentale!) - sera de toute fagon difficile a
resoudre. Il faudrait en effet que les examens (ou re-examens) comparatifs
incluent des specimens authentiquement capverdiens. Mais existe-t-il des
caracteres distinctifs pour la Buse de ces lies? Vaurie ne put examiner
qu'un specimen et se refusa a conclure (1953) . N ' ayant eu en mains que
trois adultes et deux immatures, j'ai moi-meme reserve mon jugement (1972).
La Buse insulaire est sans doute un peu plus petite que les Buses d 'Europe;
elle semble surtout avoir une queue plus courte. Mais ces caracteres,
impossibles a apprecier avec certitude sur des oiseaux en vol (in natura) ne
pourront pas etre proposes comme tests avant qu'une plus longue serie de
specimens soit a disposition. La meme reserve s' impose, autant sinon plus,
en ce qui concerne les colorations. Flancs et culottes sont assez rouges
chez bannermani (moins rouges, semble-t-il, que chez les Buses de Socotra);
mais le reste du plumage ne presente de couleur rouille que chez les
sujets jeunes. Je croyais avoir note sur les parties superieures une teinte
originate: non pas franchement brune et foncee (comme chez les buses

europeennes) mais d'un brun plutot clair et lave de verdatre (ou de sepia) .
Il n'est pas certain que cette difference, qui me frappa sur des plumages
frais, se conserve en collection; de fait je ne la retrouve pas ...

Reste le pattern des poitrines et abdomens. Chez les sujets que j'ai pu
observer a courte distance, les parties blanches etaient inegalement
etendues (il n'existe pas de phase blanche!); et tous les adultes
presentaient des barres brunes, plutot rouge-brun, etroites et serrees, sur
les cotes et le bas du ventre (la Buse de Socotra est plus rouge; Frost et
Sigfried 1970). C'est tout, et c'est trop peu.

Nous nous retrouvons ainsi, avec cette Buse des lies du Cap-Vert, en
proie a des perplexites analogues a celles que nous cause, a 1 ' autre bord
de l'Afrique, la Buse de l'lle de Socotra (Frost et Siegfried 1970). Et
pour cause si, comme je le pense, il s'agit a 1 'extreme Est comme a
1 'extreme Ouest, de populations relictes , issues d'ancetres d'origine
palearctique (et non ethiopienne comme Buteo oreophilus) , qui se seraient
etablies en zone inter-tropicale a quelque epoque "humide" du Ouaternaire
recent, peut-etre pas plus anciennement qu'a 1 ' "optimum climatique"

(il y a 6 ou 8,000 ans) . Dans le vaste espace intermediaire (Sahara) une
evolution plus rapide aurait produit Buteo rufinus . Aux deux extremites,

8

R. de Naurois

MALIMBUS 4

les populations insulaires, beneficiant de l'effet moderateur des climats
oceaniques, auraient diverge moins vite . Elies auraient meme pu ac-
querir, par convergence, quelques traits communs. Rien de tout cela ne
vient faciliter nos diagnoses touchant des Buteo buteo erratiques au Sahel
et en zone soudano-guineenne !

Ni mes recherches passees ni mes speculations presentes n'eussent ete
possibles si je n'avais regu la genereuse hospitalite des Museums de New
York, de Tring et de Paris, et si je n'avais ete aide de toutes manieres
par MM les Gouvernements et Administrateurs de 1 'Archipelago de Cabo Verde
ainsi que par mes nombreux amis des lies. Je leur exprime ici ma gratitude.

SUMMARY

Some tropical bird species visit the Cape Verde Archipelago without
settling there. Others have successfully colonized the islands only
recently; or breed there sparsely and irregularly because desertic
conditions and prolonged droughts make life difficult. It suggests that
Buteo buteo, a rather rare inhabitat of some islands, handicapped by the
invasion of the Black Kite, may perhaps leave them at times and wander to
adjacent parts of Africa.

REFERENCES

FROST, P.G.H. & SIEGFRIED, W.R. (1970) Notes on the plumage of buzzards
from Socotra. Bull. Br. Orn. Cl. 90: 136-142

MOREL, G.J. & BROWNE, P.W.P. (1981) Les Buteo palearctiques en Mauri tanie
et au Senegal. Malimbus 3: 2-6

NAUROIS, R. de (1965) Faits nouveaux concernant le peuplement avien de
1'Archipel du Cap-Vert. C. R. Ac. Sc. Paris 260: 5911-5914

NAUROIS, R. de (1969) Notes breves sur l'avifaune de l'archipel du Cap-
Vert. Bull. I.F.A.N. 31 (Ser. A), 1: 143-218

NAUROIS, R. de (1969) Problemes concernant la Poule d'eau ( Gallinula
chloropus L.) de 1'Archipel du Cap-Vert. Bol . Soc. Port. Ciencias
Natturais 2e ser., 12: 141-154

NAUROIS, R. de (1973) Recherches sur la Buse ( Buteo buteo L.) de

1'Archipel du Cap Vert. Vol. d'hommage au Prof. Fernando Frade.
Lisbonne .

NAUROIS, R. de (1972) The kites of the Cape Verde Islands ( Milvus milvus
fasciicauda and Milvus m. migrans ) and a hypothesis about speciation
and geographical distribution in the genus Milvus. Proc. XV Int. Orn.
Congr . (The Hague, De Hagen 1970) : 671-673

VAURIE , C. (1961) Systematic notes on palearctic birds. No. 47.
Accipitridae : the genus Buteo. Amer. Mus . Nat. Hist. 2042

R. de Naurois, 2 Allee des Daims , 91800 Brunoy , France

9

COMPORTEMENT, VOIX ET RELATIONS DE PARENTE DE L'AMARANTHE
DU MALI ( Lagonosticta virata)

par J. Nicolai

Received 12 March 1982

Dans sa "Liste commentee des oiseaux du Mali", Lamarche (1981) mentionne
une espece d 'Estrildide qui , de par sa repartition geographique et ses
exigences ecologiques, occupe une place speciale dans la famille des
Estrildides. Aucun autre Estrildide africain n'a une aire de repartition
contenue tout entiere a l'interieur des frontieres politiques d'un f.eul
pays. Seule cette forme peu connue de Lagonosticta est limitee dans sa
repartition aux massifs greseux du Mali, a l'Est de Mopti, en passant par
Koulikoro jusqu'aux Monts Mandingues.

Pour la couleur du plumage, c'est a la sous espece polionota de
Lagonosticta rubricata que virata ressemble le plus. Cependant le dessus
de la tete, la nuque et le dos sont gris ardoise pur et non pas nuance de
rouge, comme chez polionota. Les joues, la gorge et le ventre sont rouge
brique chez virata et non rouge sombre comme chez polionota. La femelle ne
se distingue du male que par la coloration plus pale du ventre. Cette
ressemblance avec polionota a conduit la plupart des auteurs a considerer
cet Estrildide comme une sous espece de Lagonosticta rubricata .

Une caracteristique commune a toutes les sous especes de Lagonosticta
rubricata est un retrecissement des barbes interieures de la 8eme remige
primaire, ce qui la difference nettement de ses voisines quand I'aile est
deployee. Chez virata, par contre, la 8eme remiges primaire n'est pas
retrecie et la largeur de ses barbes interieures est la meme que pour les
autres remiges primaires. Ce fait a conduit White (1963) a considerer
I'Amaranthe du Mali comme une sous espece de Lagonosticta rhodopareia* , qui
elle non plus ne presente pas de retrecissement de la 8eme remige primaire.

De proches relations de parente entre rhodopareia et virata sont
cependant extremement invraisemblables , ne serai t ce qu'a cause de leurs
repartitions geographiques respectives. Lagonosticta rhodopareia est un
Estrildide dont la principale zone de repartition se trouve en Afrique
orientale, de l'Erythree en direction du Sud jusqu'en pays zoulou. Elle
est representee en Afrique occidentale par la sous espece ansorgei ,
distribute de 1' embouchure du Congo en direction du Sud jusqu'au Kunene .
Environ 3,000 km a vol d'oiseau separent la frontiere la plus meridionale
de l'aire de repartition de virata du point le plus rapproche de la limite
nord de repartition de Lagonosticta rhodopareia ansorgei . Par voie de terre,
ce sont 3,500 km qui separent les lieux de reproduction les plus rapproches
de ces deux Estrildides.

*

jamesoni est seulement une sous espece de L. rhodopareia (Wolters, 1963) .

10

J. Nicolai

MALIMBUS 4

Outre ces arguments geographiques , virata et rhodopareia sont dans
leur coloration et leur voix si differentes qu'une proche parente est a
exclure. Le fait que les barbes interieures de la 8eme remige primaire ne
soient pas retrecies est certainement le signe d'une adaptation ecologique,
a interpreter comme une adaptation a un meme genre de vie dans un milieu
relativement ouvert et offrant peu de protection (Wolters, 1965). Le
groupement de virata avec les sous especes de Lagonosticta rhodopareia ,
entreprise par White sur le seul critere de la forme de la 8eme remige
primaire, ne trouve aucune justification dans les autres caracteris tiques
morphologiques et surtout ethologiques .

Dans le cadre de recherches sur le comportement de parasitisme chez
les veuves, Viduidae, (Nicolai 1964, 1969, 1972), j 1 ai eleve en captivite
entre autres toutes les especes du genre Lagonosticta. L'elevage jusqu'a
1 ' emancipation des jeunes reussit chez Lagonosticta senegala, L. rubricata,
L. nitidula , L. rufopicta , L. rara et L. vinacea. Des enregistrements des
appels et chants existent pour toutes les especes ainsi que les sous
especes rhodopareia et jamesoni de Lagonosticta rhodopareia et polionota ,
haematocephala , ugandae , congica et landanae de Lagonosticta rubricata.

J'ai pu me livrer a des observations sur la vie en liberte et la
biologie de la reproduction dans les pays africains suivants: Kenya
(L. senegala, L. rhodopareia, L. rara); Tanzanie (L. senegala, L.
rhodopareia, L. rubricata); Ouganda (L. senegala, L. rufopicta, L. rara);
Cameroun (L. rara, L. rubricata) ; Nigeria (L. senegala, L. rufopicta,

L. rubricata, L. rara, L. vinacea); Mali (L. senegala, L. virata).

J'ai consacre un voyage de deux semaines au Mali (14.-28 aout 1976)
uniquement a des recherches sur l'Amaranthe du Mali. J'ai trouve ces
oiseaux, en parcourant la region entre Bamako et Koulikoro, sur chaque
massif greseux de quelque importance. Des ma premiere rencontre avec
l'Amaranthe du Mali, je remarquai que ces oiseaux se montrent beaucoup plus
a decouvert que ceux des sous especes que je connais de Lagonosticta
rubricata . Ils etaient perches, souvent par paires ou en petits groupes,
sur de gros morceaux de rochers et fuyaient a mon approche non pas en un
vol court vers le buisson le plus proche comme Lagonosticta rubricata , mais
volaient adroitement sur de longues distances en remontant la pente. Ce
comportement different de celui de rubricata est pourtant certainement une
adaptation a un biotope plus ouvert, plus depourvu de protection et
autorise par la aussi peu de conclusions en ce qui concerne la systematique
que la forme de la 8eme remige primaire.

Les vocalisations de rubricata et virata sont cependant tres
differentes. Les males de rubricata ont un chant, qui change un peu de
sous espece a sous espece, mais qui consiste toujours en un nombre de
strophes, composees selon le cas de 3 a 6 elements iden tiques qui se
succedent. Selon la structure des elements, les strophes rappellent par
leurs resonnances certaines strophes de l'Alouette lulu ( Lullula arborea) ,
du Pipit des arbres ( Anthus trivialis) ou du Rossignol philomele (Luscinia
megarhynchos) .

Le chant est plus souvent introduit par une sequence de sons
croassants tres legers, rappelant un peu les combinaisons de sons rauques
dans le chant du Bouvreuil ( Pyrrhula pyrrhula) . Elle est souvent repetee
pendant plusieurs minutes a intervalles de 4 a 8 secondes, avant que
l'oiseau se decide a passer a ses strophes sonores et peut aussi se faire
entendre pendant le chant lui-meme. Les trilles, qui jouent le role

1982

L ' AMARANTHE DU MALI

11

Figure 1 Biotope de Lagonosticta virata. Massifs greseux pres de Bamako/'
Mali

12

J. Nicolai

MALIMBUS 4

KHz

0 J

Figure 2 Les motifs du chant de Lagonosticta virata (A, B, C) et strophes
typiques des chants de Lagonosticta rubricata haematocephala (1),
Lagonosticta rubricata congica (2) , Lagonosticta rubricata landanae
(3)

1982

L'AMARANTHE DU MALI

13

principale dans le chant de Lagonosticta rhodopareia , n 'apparaissent chez
rubricata que tres brievement et rarement et sont d' importance secondaire
pour la composition du chant. L' impression generate que donne le chant de
rubricata est determinee par la nette division en strophes, separees par
des pauses relativement longues.

Le chant de virata est par contre organise de fagon toute differente.

II est reduit a l'extreme et consiste principalement en trois motifs, dont
chacun comporte un seul element. Le premier de ces motifs (motif A) est un
son court rappelant l'appel de contact du Diamant Mandarin (Taeniopygia
guttata) ou du Bouvreuil githagine ( Bucanetes githagineus) , repete a
intervalles de 3 a 6 secondes pendant plusieurs minutes. Ce n'est que tres
occasionellement que le chanteur execute ce motif A dans une succession
plus rapide, 3 a 5 fois de suite, de sorte que l'ebauche d'une formation de
strophe apparait. Le second motif (B) , moins frequent, est un sifflement
aigu allonge qui commence a 5 kHz, tombe rapidement a 3,5 kHz et qui se
prolonge a ce niveau d'intensite. Ce motif se fait entendre aussi de fagon
isolee, repete sans cesse a des intervalles variant entre 5 et 13 secondes.
Le dernier motif (C) est relativement rare. C'est un sifflement, que ses
frequences superieures rendent doux, d'une intensitee de 2,5 kHz et plus
bref que le motif B.

Un male commence normalement son chant par une suite de motifs A
pendant plusieurs minutes, passe ensuite au motif B et introduit a la fin
de ce chant simple quelques motifs C isoles au milieu des motifs B qu'il
continue d'executer. Dans une execution de 12 minutes, le male chanta 38
motifs A successifs, interrompus par 2 motifs B, passa ensuite au motif B
qu'il repeta 25 fois et n ' interrompi t par 4 motifs C isoles qu'a la fin de
son execution.

La difference la plus frappante entre le chant de virata et les chants
des sous especes de L. rubricata est, outre la pauvrete des motifs chez
virata, 1' absence to tale chez celle ci d'une formation de strophes. De par
la succession interminable de motifs identiques a intervalles relativement
longs, le chant de l'Amaranthe du Mali donne une impression d' extraordinaire
mono ton ie .

Les differences de chant sont tres repandues parmi les sous especes
d'Estrildides africains, et leur simple inventaire ne suffit pas a etablir
des conclusions systematiques importantes. Si pourtant ces differences
atteignent une telle importance comme dans le cas decrit ci dessus, il est
douteux que s ' etablissent entre leurs representants des relations sociales
et sexuelles, quand ils se rencontrent dans les zones de contact de leurs
aires de distribution. On ne sait si l'Amaranthe du Mali, a un endroit de
son aire de distribution, entre en contact avec Lagonosticta rubricata
polionota: je suis en consequence dependant d 'observations sur des oiseaux

captifs pour 1 ' exploitation des differences de chant entre virata et
rubricata . Un male virata, en bonne sante et parfaitement adulte, vecut
dans une de mes grandes volieres pendant plusieurs mois avec quelques males
et femelles des sous especes haematocephala et ugandae de L. rubricata ,
sans se lier a eux. Par contre, des individus des sous especes
haematocephala, ugandae, congica et landanae , faute de compagnes et dans
les memes conditions, s ' associaient a peu pres immediatement a des
representants d'autres sous especes. Leurs vocalisations differentes
semblent constituer entre virata et rubricata une barriere sociale
infranchissable qui, chez les tres sociaux Estrildides, a toujours pour
suite une isolation sexuelle totale.

14

J. Nicolai

MALIMBUS 4

C'est a la sous espece polionota de L. rubricata , sa voisine la plus
proche geographiquement, que virata ressemble le plus en ce qui concerne
les caracteris tiques de coloration. Depuis la colonisation des massifs
greseux du Mali, situes plus au Nord, elle s'est pourtant eloignee de
polionota , tant geographiquement et ethologiquement qu'en ce qui concerne
la voix, de sorte que l'echange de genes entre ces deux formes est depuis
longtems interrompu. En consequence, je propose de reconnaitre le statut
d'espece distincte a l'Amaranthe du Mali ( Lagonosticta virata).

SUMMARY

Observations on the behaviour and vocalisations of the Mali Firefinch
Lagonosticta virata, restricted to rocky outcrops of Mali, show that it is
not a subspecies of Lagonosticta rhodopareia , as previously proposed, but
a relative of the Dark Firefinch ( Lagonosticta rubricata) . The non-
attenuated primary (as it is in L. rubricata) is an adaptation to life

in an open rocky habitat. The extreme differences in the vocalisations of
L. virata and the subspecies of L. rubricata , and the laboratory observation
that a single L. virata individual was unable to make social contact with
individuals of the subspecies of L. rubricata , suggest that the Mali Fire-
finch is an independent species, etho logically separated from L. rubricata
for a long time.

BIBLIOGRAPHIE

LAMARCHE, B. (1981) Liste commentee des oiseaux du Mali. Part II.

Malimbus 3: 73-102

NICOLAI, J. (1964) Der Brutparasi tismus der Viduinae als ethologisches
Problem. Z. Tierpsgchol. 21: 129-204

NICOLAI, J. (1969) Beobachtungen an Paradieswi twen ( Steganura

paradisaea L., Steganura obtusa Chapin) und der Strohwitwe ( Tetraenura
fischeri Reichenow) in Ostafrika. J. Orn. 110: 421-447

NICOLAI, J. (1972) Zwei neue Hgpochera-Arten aus West-Afrika. J. Orn.

113: 229-240

WHITE, C.M.N. (1963) Notes on African Estrildinae. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl.
83: 25-29

WOLTERS , H.E. (1963) What is Lagonosticta rhodopareia Heuglin, 1968?
Ostrich 34: 177-178

WOLTERS, H.E. dans IMMELMANN, NICOLAI, STEINBACHER, WOLTERS. Vogel in

Kafig und Voliere. Prachtfinken , Part I. H. Limberg, Aachen (1965 ff)

Prof Dr J. Nicolai, Institut fur Vogel forschung , Vogelwarte
Helgoland , 2940 Wi lhe lms haven , Rep. Fed. d' Allemagne

15

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES IN WESTERN DARFUR, SUDAN, OVER HALF A CENTURY AND
THEIR EFFECTS ON SELECTED BIRD SPECIES

by R. Trevor Wilson

Received 22 December 1981
Revised 14 April 1982

INTRODUCTION

It is almost 60 years since Capt. (later Admiral) H. Lynes, accompanied by
C. McConnel in 1920 and by W. Lowe in 1921-22, studied the avifauna of
Darfur. His intention was to remove the blank "as far as natural history
is concerned . . . constituted by Darfur and western Kordofan" and he did it
splendidly. His basic ornithological studies in Ibis (Lynes 1924-25)
remain the only major work on the birds of Darfur, and in addition his
visits resulted in important contributions in botany, mammalogy and geology

Information on the bird life of Darfur prior to Lynes' visit was very
scant, generally unscientific and scattered in a variety of books of travel
and memoirs in various languages; a brief review was given by Lynes (1924)
Three subsequent papers (Madden 1934, 1935, 1946) and some scattered
references in official reports represent the total new information, with
some earlier results of the present study (Wilson 1976, 1981; Wilson &

Ball 1979) .

I spent two 18-month periods in Darfur; from 1972 to 1974 and from
1976 to 1977, working on livestock and range resource surveys throughout
much of southern Darfur province. Its environment was described by Lynes
(1924) in some detail. The first part of the present paper details some
of the inevitable environmental changes in the intervening period.

CLIMATE

Few firm rainfall data are available for Darfur although a general climatic
description is given in Wickens (1977) . Nicholson (1978) suggested there
were 'wet periods' from 1875 to about 1910 in the southern Sahara and Sahel
zones (Fig. 1) and that 1910-1920 was 'dry', even with a 'severe drought'.
He postulated that rainfall increased from 1920 to culminate in a 'wet'
period in the 1950s, which was followed by a severe dry period from 1968 to
1973.

An analysis of rainfall at four stations with long run data (Table 1)
supports Nicholson's conclusions. Running means for five stations in
western Darfur all exhibit a generally high level of rainfall in the 1950s
with a marked fall in the average in the 1960s and 1970s (Figure 2) .

The general reduction in rainfall, undoubtedly accompanied by reduced
cloud cover, greater solar radiation, and higher wet season temperatures
has produced a more arid landscape, reflected in the hydrology and
vegetation.

16

R.T. Wilson

MALIMBUS 4

Figure 1 Map of the main part of Darfur showing all geographical names
mentioned in the text

Table 1 Trend analysis of rainfall in Darfur

Station

Record period

Ave rage
(mm)

Rainfall regression equation
(on 5-year running mean)

Zalingei

1931-1976

637.8

y = 655.53

- 0 . 31x

El Geneina

1928-1976

545.8

y = 576.26

- 1 . 49x

El Fasher

1917-1976

283.7

y = 331.27

- 1.45x

Nyala

1920-1976

473.0

y = 547.42

- 2 . 25x

1982

CHANGES IN WESTERN DARFUR

17

HYDROLOGY

There has been a marked decline in vegetative cover over the last few years,
with much overgrazing and increased areas of cultivation. River flow is
now of shorter duration, and sheet erosion is becoming widespread with some
gullying.

Lynes remarked on the lack of surface water in the dry season, but
some permanent waters may have escaped his notice. At the present time
(even after the recent drought) 'lakes' Kundi and Kili usually contain some
water all year round. There are also ox-bow lakes along the 'Azum, for
example at Amballa and Mongororo, which normally contain water. At El
Fasher the improvement of the town pond has ensured an almost permanent
area of surface water and at Zalingei, Nyala s recent excavations for

brick making and building earth have created pej_ anent, if small, bodies of
water .

VEGETATION

In the past the Wadi 'Azum basin has provided some of the best dry season
pasture grounds along the southern edge of the Sahara. Studies carried out
in 1964-65 (F.A.O. 1968, Wickens 1977) and by the same ecologist in 1977
(Hunting Technical Services 1977) show that the vegetation is now very much
poorer. The most serious degradation, arising from increased cultivation
and overgrazing, is probably occurring in the alluvial valleys of the Wadi
'Azum and its major tributaries. The most important tree is Acacia albida,
but cultivation has reduced natural regeneration to a negligible level and
mature trees are being lopped and burnt. Government plans for irrigation
schemes will cause even more degradation of Acacia albida. No adequate
conservation measures are apparently being taken.

There have been, on the other hand, certain improvements to the
vegetation as a bird habitat. While the 150,000 ha of gazetted or proposed
forest reserve are that only in name, 2,600 ha of plantation on Jebel Harra
have undoubtedly provided new habitats. Similarly the area under fruit,
particularly mango and guava, has greatly increased in recent years and now
provides shelter and food for a variety of birds.

STATUS OF SELECTED BIRDS

OSTRICH Struthio camelus Very uncommon and in danger of extinction
through egg collection and shooting for plumes. Eggs are still used to
decorate mosques and private houses: in 1977 they were offered for sale in
Darfur for as little as 10 piastres (US $ 0.28) and in Khartoum tourist
shops for £SUD 5 (US $ 14) . Prime white plumes were on sale in Mongororo
in February 1977 at £SUD 3 per rotl (about 430 g) . I saw one young bird
from the ground south of Kabar, but saw several from the air. One nest
containing 12 eggs was seen from a helicopter a few kilometres east of
Zalingei in 1965 (Wickens, pers. comm.). Recent aerial surveys (Watson
et al. 1977) gave estimates of 3,600 Ostriches in Darfur in three main
areas, about 250 centred on 11°30'N, 23°30'E, nearly 3,100 in 10° 30'-
11° 30 ' N, 24° 00 '-27° 00 ' E (sandy soils with Combretum woodland) and nearly
300 centred on 10°00'N, 27°00'E. Wilson (1976) has reviewed briefly the
history of the Ostrich in Darfur.

percentile of annual rainfall

18

R.T. Wilson

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1982

CHANGES IN WESTERN DARFUR

19

LITTLE GREBE Poliocephalus ruficollis Present on the brick ponds at
Zalingei, November 1976 to February 1977 and again in October 1977.

Probably resident and certainly a winter breeder as young birds accompanied
two adults throughout December 1976 and January 1977. Winter breeding
recorded at Umm Ruaba in Kordofan (Hogg 1958) .

BUFF-BACKED HERON Bubulcus ibis Summer breeding visitor, as noted by Lynes .
First large flocks (50-100 birds) noted at Nyertete, 22 June. By no means
all birds breed and where nesting in company with Abdim's Stork and Sacred
Ibis (mainly in Balanites aegyptiaca and occasional Adansonia digitata) ,
the breeding season was slightly later, from mid- July. Occasional birds may
pass the winter in Darfur, some being recorded at Umm Badr (14°15'N) on the
Darfur/Kordofan border in January 1955 (Mackenzie 1955) .

GREY HERON Ardea cinerea Common winter visitor. A few stayed through the
rainy season but were not observed to breed although breeding in the rains
has been noted in Kordofan (Hogg, pers. comm.) .

BLACK-HEADED HERON Ardea melanocephala Lynes could not estimate its status
but it is now definitely a common resident throughout western Darfur,
breeding in the early rains. Several nests were being constructed in fan
palms Borassus aethiopum in Kabar village 30 April 1977. A colony of 140
pairs in company with Sacred Ibis (31 pairs) and Abdim's Stork (5 pairs)
started building operations, all in A. albida in early May in Zalingei.

Young herons hatched from about 28 June, adults quit the nesting colony in
late September and the last young left the nests 16 October 1977. July
breeding is recorded for the species along the Nile (Hogg 1950) .

GOLIATH HERON Ardea goliath One record 5 km west of Zalingei, 27 October
1977. Not recorded by Lynes but apparently fairly common in south-east
Darfur (Madden 1934) . In western Darfur probably a vagrant at the extreme
northern edge of its range.

HAMERKOP Scopus umbretta Probably less common than previously as only
three records: two birds on 15 November 1976, one on 17 November 1976 at
Amballa and one on 19 January 1977 at Zalingei . No signs of nests and may
possibly be a non-breeding visitor. Madden (1934) has one record.

BLACK STORK Ciconia nigra One in Zalingei in latter part of January and
early February 1977. Probably uncommon palaearctic winter visitor or
passage migrant to and through the alluvial valleys in addition to the
winter visitors to Jebel Marra noted by Lynes.

ABDIM'S STORK Ciconia abdimii The earliest of the intra-African migrants
in Darfur. Common throughout by mid-April, well before the normal rains
begin. Breeds commonly in towns and villages, most often in Balanites
aegyptiaca , at least as far north as El Fasher and Kebkabiya. Most
clutches set by end of May and few birds seen after 19 October 1977.

It also appears to be an early arrival farther east being recorded at
Bara before 2 May, Shendi on 16 May but nesting slightly later, in June.
Departure from Khartoum 10-20 October but still at Sodiri on 13 November
(Hogg, pers. comm.) .

SADDLE-BILL STORK Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis Although not recorded by
Lynes this unmistakable stork is widespread and not uncommon, probably
resident and breeding (during the rains), in Darfur in suitable habitats.

20

R.T. Wilson

MALIMBUS 4

MARABOU STORK Leptoptilos crumeni ferus Two sightings: three birds on 17
November 1976 south of Kabar and one bird on 26 January 1977 at Zalingei
confirming its vagrant status noted by Lynes .

SACRED IBIS Threskiornis aethiopicus Generally a summer breeding visitor
throughout the province but with small numbers (scattered groups of 1-3
birds) overwintering where there is permanent water. Visitors arrive later
than Abdim's Stork and about the same time as the Buff-backed Heron. On
the other hand they apparently stay later in Darfur than either of these
two species and were still present in numbers at the end of October 1977 in
and around Zalingei .

HADADA Hagedashia hagedash One seen and several heard calling at Kabar,

26 May 1977, probably confirm it as an occasional vagrant, as noted by
Lynes .

KNOB-BILLED GOOSE Sarkidiornis melanotus The status appears to have
changed from summer passage migrant to common rainy season visitor with
some birds breeding. First birds were noted on 7 June and then in numbers
from 30 June. Several pairs had nests in hollow A . albida trees on the
flood plain of the 'Azum 5 km north-east of Zalingei: the one nest examined
had five eggs (two of which measured 56.9 x 38.5 mm and 54.3 x 38.5 mm and
weighed 48.6 and 45.8 g respectively) on 1 August and two additional eggs
two days later.

VULTURES All species appear to have undergone a drastic reduction in
numbers throughout most of Darfur. I have records of: one Nubian Vulture
Torgos tracheliotus which had got itself partially trapped in a small
acacia bush 20 km west of Zalingei in the late evening 19 November 1976;
one Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus overflying Zalingei on 18
December 1976; one Hooded Vulture Aegypius monachus at Kebkabiya about mid-
day on 3 June 1977; two Hooded Vultures roosting in Zalingei town on 12
August 1977; and two groups of the brown phase of the Whi te-backed Vulture
Gyps bengalensis , one of seven birds on the ground 17 km east of Zalingei
and one of five birds on the ground 12 km east of Kas, both on 7 September
1977 towards the end of the rains.

No vultures were ever present at Zalingei slaughter house throughout
late 1976 and the whole of 1977 nor were any seen at the several weekly
village slaughterings visited. Seven Egyptian Vultures were noted at El
Fasher town midden on 1 November 1977.

BATELEUR Terothopius ecaudatus Fairly common in the south of the province
in the Buram and Tullus areas . Never seen north of Nyala or in western
Darfur and its range is probably being compressed towards the south.

FISH EAGLE Haliaetus vocifer Status has changed since 1920. From being
an occasional summer visitor or migrant it is now a fairly common resident
in suitable localities. Several were present at Lake Kundi in Southern
District throughout the winter and there were four distinct breeding
territories at Lake Kili. A single bird was seen most days at Zalingei
brick ponds throughout January and February 1977.

BLACK KITE Milvus migrans Lyne ' s general remarks are endorsed. Large
concourses, of several thousands, arrived in Zalingei on almost exactly
the same dates as in 1920 - 26 June, 27 June, 1 July, 10 July 1977. A
slightly earlier passage was recorded in Nyertete on 20 June. Several
hundreds of birds stayed in Zalingei throughout July and August, and an
estimated three thousand in Nyala.

1982

CHANGES IN WESTERN DARFUR

21

GREY KESTREL Falco ardosiaceus Resident in small numbers throughout the
year at least as far north as Zalingei where a pair roosted throughout the
winter 1976-77 in the lower town at the confluence of the Wadi Aribo and
the 'Azum. Numbers augmented in the rains by visitors.

FOX KESTREL Falco alopex Resident and late dry/early rains season breeder.
A pair at Jebel Galabat were feeding fledged young, 8 July 1977.

SECRETARY BIRD Sagittarius serpentarius While being the national emblem of
the modern Sudan and enjoying complete (and undoubtedly real) protection,
the Secretary Bird remains uncommon to rare. Eight records, all of single
birds except one: 22 April, 2 November, 17 November (of one and of two
birds on recently burnt areas) 1976, 10 January, 1 flay, 1 July and 12
August 1977. Probably resident and not just an off-season visitor as
considered by Lynes .

SCALY FRANCOLIN Francolinus squamatus Present in the "gallery forests"
(Wickens 1977) on Jebel Marra. Lynes did not visit these areas - at least
not according to his itinerary - and it is possible that further exploration
would reveal other forest species on Jebel Marra. Recorded from Jebel Marra
by Cave and Macdonald (1955) but otherwise noted in the Sudan only from
Equatoria Province .

STONE PARTRIDGE Ptilopachus petrosus Much reduced: resident in a
scattered and irregular distribution, no longer common throughout as
heretofore. A family group of 10-12 birds was seen in a typical habitat
of laterised soils south of Kabar although the birds were actually foraging
in a clump of bamboo. A second record was of several groups in a burnt out
plantation of Cupressus above Golol on Jebel Marra at about 2,000 m.

GUINEAFOWL Numida meleagris Much reduced in populated areas and in the
vicinity of main towns. Still very common in remote areas and particularly
in the south where access by vehicles is difficult or impossible during the
rains breeding season.

CROWNED CRANE Balearica pavonina If there are, as Lynes indicated, only a
small number of resident Cranes in Western Darfur, then there must be
considerable seasonal movements. Two flocks of several hundred birds were
seen on the 'Azum between Amballa and Mongororo on 29 December 1976. In
Southern Darfur there is a more or less permanent winter population of
several hundred at Lake Kundi .

ARABIAN BUSTARD Otis arabs and DENHAM'S BUSTARD Neotis denhami Common in
Lynes' time, the resident population of the Arabian Bustard is probably
extinct or nearly so. The seasonal movement of a probably more southerly
population continues, in seemingly greatly reduced numbers. Sixteen birds
(groups of 5, 1, 1, 8, 1) were noted flying south on 17 November 1976, one
bird having been noted earlier on 28 October; all of these were south of
Kabar. Although the northward passage was waited for in 1977 only three
birds were noted on 24 June, flying strongly towards the north 15 km west
of Nyertete.

I had no sightings of Denham's Bustard although I was presented with
one shot in mid- December 1976. Formerly scarce, it is probably almost
extinct in Darfur.

Birds of both species, presumably residents were present in Sodiri in
Kordofan in November to February and between Jebel Meidob and 'Atrun (Bir
Natron) in Northern Darfur in December- January in the period 1938/39 (P.
Hogg, pers. comm.) .

22

R.T. Wilson

MALIMBUS 4

BLACK-WINGED STILT Himantopus himantopus A much more common winter visitor
than suggested by Lynes, and not at all local, occurring along the length of
the 'Azum from Zalingei to at least Amballa. Earliest records were on 29
October 1976 at Amballa and 28 October 1977 at Zalingei. Latest record was
11 February 1977.

EGYPTIAN PLOVER Pluvianus aegyptius A few noted on 22 August 1977 at
Zalingei. However, it was common on the 'Azum at Amballa throughout the
winter of 1976-77; a resident breeding population is probably established
in the far west of Darfur. Perhaps these are an offshoot colony from the
Bahr el 'Arab population which was quite conspicuous in March 1974 (Field
1974) .

SPECKLED PIGEON Columba guinea Common resident in towns and in country
throughout, breeding occurring in most months . Particularly common in areas
of the Fan Palm Borassus aethiopum in which several nests were found, thus
confirming the preference indicated by Harwin (1963) in Nigeria. At least
in the Sudano-Sahelian zone the Speckled Pigeon has an apparent affinity
with this palm as a nest site.

GREEN PIGEON Treror waalia Common where there are wild fig trees, to
which it is apparently confined having not made any transition to
cultivated fruits.

BROWN PARROT Poicephalus meyeri Very common, particularly in the A. albida
areas as far west as Amballa. Two pairs feeding young in nests, end of
January 1977.

RED-HEADED LOVEBIRD Agapornis pullaris Not recorded by Lynes. Fairly
common along the whole of the Sudan/Chad boundary in Western Darfur,
particularly from November to February. Recorded on the Wadi Barei at
13°00'N 23 °00 ' E ; probably representing a northward extension of its range.

GREY PLANTAIN-EATER Crinifer zonurus Has probably benefitted from man's
activities and has spread everywhere that mangoes and guavas grow; can be
considered abundant. Diet not confined to fruit trees, however, as leaves
and winged termites found in the stomach of one bird.

BROAD-BILLED ROLLER Eurystomus glaucurus Common summer visitor in the
A. albida zone. Probably more plentiful and widespread than in Lynes' time.
Very active. Several breeding pairs in Zalingei throughout July and August.

ABYSSINIAN GROUND HORNBILL Bucorvus abyss inicus Although found in various
habitats is much more common in the Acacia albida alluvial zones than else-
where. Normally in pairs with one young, identification being based on
facial colours and casque characteristics. Congregations of six or more
foraging birds were generally seen in the late afternoon or evening. Nests
are probably mainly in hollow A. albida. One 1-week-old nestling was being
fed by both parents on 28 July 1977. The booming call is not strictly
confined to the breeding season - recorded 2 February, 8 March, 22 April,

24 May, 7 July and then almost continuously through July and August, almost
all calls being noted before or around dawn. Calling was again heard 13- IS
October.

BLACK-BREASTED BARBET Lybius rolloti General status given by Lynes
confirmed in the northern savanna-like extensions. Has now successfully
colonised the Eucalyptus plantations at Nyertete from where it probably
forages out to mango and guava orchards .

1982

CHANGES IN WESTERN DARFUR

23

BLACK-HEADED GONOLEK Laniarius barbarus and CRESTED HELMET SHRIKE Prionops
cristata Both shrikes are common residents but subject to local movements.
They move out of the A. albida zone in the rainy season when the trees are
leafless .

The Gonolek has successfully colonised the Eucalyptus plantations in
the Nyertete area.

YELLOW-BILLED OXPECKER Buphagus africanus Is now resident throughout most
of Darfur as far north as Zalingei . Several records in Zalingei for
December 1976/January 1977 and March/April 1977.

PIED CROW Corvus albus Observations largely confirm those of Lynes - the
Pied Crow is still a winter visitor throughout most of the province. First
arrived in the Zalingei area, 28 October 1976, a large number of birds
remaining until well into the next rainy season, last recorded 23 July 1977.
First arrivals in the following year after the rains, 14 October 1977.

Nyala is evidently large enough to provide an attraction for Pied Crows even
during the rains: several large flocks each of over 100 birds inhabited
Nyala throughout July-August rains of 1977.

Most birds were associated with human activity, foraging usually in
pairs. Only three breeding records, each of a single nest, noted in 1977.
One successful brood in an Acacia albida in Zalingei town in early June,
another in a Khaya senegalensis 5 km west of Nyertete raised a brood in
late June/early July, and one in a baobab Adansonia digitata 3 km north of
Nyala airfield was in the process of being built in early June but whether
a brood was reared is not known.

FAN-TAILED RAVEN Rhinocorax rhipidurus The 1920 status is largely
confirmed. Common at Dereisa gorge in addition to Jebel Marra. The
slaughter slabs in the towns and villages have become important food
sources. At Zalingei slaughterhouse the first birds usually appeared just
after first light; if these birds roosted on Jebel Marra, over 100 km
north-east, they would have had to travel during darkness.

PI API AC Ptilostomus afer Has apparently extended its range. Mackworth-
Praed & Grant (1960) give its distribution as southern Sudan, associated
with the Fan Palm Borassus aethiopum and subject to erratic seasonal move-
ments. It is now resident in Darfur as far north as Kas and Garsila, where
in both villages there is suitable habitat in the form of B. aethiopum
groves and ample food supplies from insects disturbed by the large numbers
of domestic animals. It is probably extending its range still farther
northwards: recorded at Zalingei (12°54'N), early March and mid-April 1977
and at Nyertete (12°58'N) June 1977. Its presence in Zalingei may be a
result of movement along corridors of suitable habitat, relicts of former
savanna and gallery forest conditions (Wickens 1977) .

The Corvidae in Darfur have been treated in detail elsewhere (Wilson
1981) .

WHITE-CROWNED CLIFF-CHAT Thamnolea coronata Occurs on the isolated
volcanic plug of Jebel Galabat 30 km west of Zalingei as well as on Jebel
Marra where Lynes found it. A pair were feeding young at a nest on J.
Galabat on 8 July 1977. Probably also occurs on the hills and crags of the
Dereisa gorge.

24

R.T .Wilson

MALIMBUS 4

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

It is possible that Darfur in the late 1970s was at the end of a gradual
decline in rainfall over a 50-year period, just as it was in the early
1920s. Climatic change, however, has had little effect on vegetation in
the alluvial valleys of the Wadi 'Azum and its major tributaries. Thus,
while climatic change can explain some of the changes in bird distribution
and movement it does not explain them all.

Of those species which have been affected beneficially by man's
activities the Black Kite and the Pied Crow probably provide the best
examples. The Black-headed Heron also appears to have adapted successfully
to human influences and in fact a measure of commensalism would explain its
presence as a breeding bird in Zalingei and Kabar. Other birds which have
benefitted from man's activities are the Sacred Ibis, the Saddle-billed
Stork and the Fish Eagle: increases in water surface areas from irrigation
schemes often coupled with the planting of trees, which provide nesting
sites, are undoubtedly beneficial to these species.

The relatively high density of the Ground Hornbill is also related to
human activity but in a rather anomalous way. The even-aged stands of
Acacia albida date from the period when western Darfur was a battleground
between the Sultan and his sedentary cultivators on the one hand and the
Arab pastoralists on the other. In Lynes ' time - Ground Hornbills were
present but apparently not in considerable numbers - these trees would be
about 25 years old and not yet mature. In the mid-1970s the remaining
stands are comprised of mature and over-mature trees, many of them hollow.
These provide nesting sites for this hornbill (and others) and have
probably resulted in a rapid increase in population over the last 30 years
or so. With increasing destruction of these trees it is likely that the
Ground Hornbill population will decline in the near future. A decline of
other species, for example the shrikes, the parrots, the Broad-billed
Roller and the Knob-billed Goose, which make use of the ample dry season
cover and/or nesting holes provided by Acacia albida, may also be expected.

The direct effects of man's activities are most in evidence in the
game birds, the vultures and the Ostrich. Ducks, geese, Guineafowl and the
Stone Partridge have all suffered from the increased mobility of people and
the general availability of firearms. The bustards are in real danger of
extinction although the smaller ones are still relatively numerous. The
most spectacular crash in the bird populations of Darfur (and of the Sudan
in general) has certainly been in the case of vultures. Many former
members of the Sudanese Civil Service and other long time inhabitants of
the country have remarked on it (P. Hogg, pers. comm.; A. Pettit, pers.
comm. ) . The reason is perhaps obvious and provides an excellent example
(chemical control of tsetse flies is another) of the consequences of the
application of control measures to one species without thought to the
effects on others. Reduction in vulture populations can almost certainly
be related to the indiscriminate use of strychnine to poison hyaenas. In
Darfur this was done on an enormous scale as can be gathered from government
archives for 1947-52 for Southern Darfur district which record almost 700
hyaenas and almost as many jackals poisoned (and carcasses noted!) during
the period (Wilson 1979). This continues, as it does in Mali where vultures
are also uncommon (pers. obs . ) . On the other hand where poisoning is not
practised and where hyaenas are still common, as in the case of Ethiopia,
vultures are still among the most obvious birds and in fact make up more

1982

CHANGES IN WESTERN DARFUR

25

than 90 per cent of the raptor biomass.

The commonness of the Ostrich has probably always been rather relative
but they have undoubtedly suffered in numbers from egg-taking and shooting
for plumes. It has been pointed out to me by the late L. H. Brown that in
areas where Ostriches are fairly numerous, as in the Nairobi National Park,
over half the eggs laid are never incubated and thus a harvest of kinds
might be possible.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to P. Hogg, J. S. Monk and G. E. Wickens and the late L. H.
Brown for comments on an earlier draft of this paper. I acknowledge grate-
fully the opportunity which was presented to me by Hunting Technical
Services to be in Darfur. My wife's help with the field observations was
invaluable.

REFERENCES

CAVE, F.O. & MACDONALD, J.D. (1955) Birds of the Sudan. Edinburgh:
Oliver & Boyd

FIELD, P.A.G. (1974) Report on a feasibility study on a proposed

conservation area in Southern Darfur, Sudan. London: Ministry of
0 ve rs e a s De ve lopme n t

F.A.O. (1968) Land and water resources survey of the Jebel Marra area.
Rome : FAO

HARWIN, R.M. (1963) Thoughts on a five weeks study in Northern Nigeria.
Bokmakierie 15: 10-15

HOGG, P. (1950) Some breeding records from the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
Ibis 92: 574-578

HUNTING TECHNICAL SERVICES (1977) Agricultural development in the Jebel
Marra area. Borehamwood, England: Hunting Technical Services

LYNES, H. (1924-1925) On the birds of north and central Darfur, with

notes on the west-central Kordofan and north Nuba provinces of British
Sudan. Ibis XI (6): 339-446, 648-719; XII (1): 71-131, 346-416,
541-590, 757-797

MACKENZIE, P.Z. (1955) A record of the species of birds observed and
collected at Umm Badr lake in north-west Kordofan in January 1955.
Sudan Notes Rec. 36: 176-179

MADDEN, J.F. (1934) Notes on the birds of southern Darfur. Sudan Notes
Rec. 17: 83-101

MADDEN, J.F. (1935) The birds of southern Darfur, Part II, Passerines.
Sudan Notes Rec. 18: 103-118

MADDEN, J.F. (1946) Bird migration at El Fasher, 1944. Sudan Notes Rec.
27: 221-224

NICHOLSON, S.E. (1978) Climatic variations in the Sahel and other African
regions during the past five centuries. J. Arid Env . 1: 3-24

26

R.T. Wilson

MALIMBUS 4

SEVENTY, D.L. (1977) The use of data on the distribution of birds to
monitor climatic changes. Emu 77: 162-166

WATSON, R.M., TIPPETT, C.I., RIZK, F. , BECKETT, J.J., JOLLY, F. & CASBON,

F. (1977) Sudan national livestock census and resource survey.
Nairobi: Resource Management and Research Limited

WICKENS, G.E. (1976) Speculations on long distance dispersal and the
flora of Jebel Marra, Sudan Republic. Kew Bull. 31: 105-150

WICKENS, G.E. (1977) The flora of Jebel Marra (Sudan Republic) and its
geographical affinities. Kew Bull. Additional Series V.

WILSON, R.T. (1976) The Ostrich, Struthio came 1 us , in Darfur, Sudan.

Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 36: 123-125

WILSON, R.T. (1977) Temporal changes in livestock numbers and patterns of
transhumance in Southern Darfur, Sudan. Journal of Developing Areas
11: 493-508

WILSON, R.T. (1979) Wildlife in Southern Darfur, Sudan: Distribution and
status at present and in the recent past. Mammalia 43: 323-338

WILSON, R.T. (1981) The Corvidae in the Sudan Republic with special
reference to Darfur. Afr. J. Ecol. 19: 285-294

WILSON, R.T. & BALL, D.M. (1979) Morphometry, wing loading and food of
western Darfur birds. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 99: 15-20

R. T. Wilson, B.P. 60, Bamako, Mali

27

NOTE SUR L ' ENVAHISSEMENT DU NORD DU SENEGAL PAR LE MOINEAU DORE
PASSER LUTEUS (LICHTENSTEIN) EN PERIODE DE REPRODUCTION

par P. J. Ruelle et R. Semaille

Received 18 February 1982
Revised 18 March 1982

Les travaux de Morel & Morel (1973 a et b, 1976) sont fondamentaux pour la
connaissance de ce Ploceide granivore, particulierement pour le comporte-
ment reproducteur . Aussi nos observations de terrain pour les annees 1979
a 1981 se refereront constamment, et suivant le meme plan a leur article
de 1976 (designe MM dans la suite) . Les coordonnees des lieux cites sont
donnees en annexe.

Le Moineau dore est une espece importante dans l'Afrique sahelienne.
C'est sans doute l'oiseau le plus abondant, notamment au Senegal et dans le
sud de la Mauri tanie ou a eu lieu cette etude; la comprehension de
l'ecologie et des mouvements de cette espece fait partie des objectifs du
Projet FAO/GCP/RAF 126 (BEL) d'assistance technique a l'OCLALAV (Organisation
Commune de Lutte Antiacridienne et de Lutte Antiaviaire) pour la protection
des cultures cerealieres.

DYNAMIQUE DE REPRODUCTION

Nids

Les especes ligneuses utilisees: les arbres epineux sont seuls
choisis. Si Balanites aegyptiaca est presque exclusivement le support des
nids dans le Ferlo senegalais, vaste savane arbustive au sud du fleuve
Senegal, d'autres especes epineuses peuvent servir d'abri ailleurs: Acacia
Senegal et A. raddiana en Mauri tanie et a l'est de Saint-Louis et surtout
A1 albida en Mauri tanie et au sud de l'axe Louga-Linguere.

La taille des nids semble dependre de la disponibilite en materiaux:
les nids sur A. albida sont generalement plus petits que ceux etablis sur
B. aegyptiaca et les males qui construisent les nids se disputent aprement
les materiaux, peu abondants la ou A. albida domine.

Le nombre de nids par arbre reste stable dans le Ferlo par rapport aux
donnees connues (MM) : 1-5 a Diagle; 1.4 a Madina Ndiatebe; 1*3 a Maka;
mais certaines colonies sont fort dispersees avec un pourcentage eleve
d'arbres inoccupes (0.85 nid/arbre et 41% d'arbres inoccupes sur 259 a
Niassan te en 1979) . Par contre, les densites de nids par arbre sont plus
elevees au sud de l'axe Louga-Linguere, surtout sur A . albida: 3*4 et 5*4
a Louga en 1979 et 1980; 2*5 a Ouarak en 1981; 2*1 a Kebemer en 1981,

avec une moyenne et 5*9 nids par A . albida. Dans la zone sud, la taille
des arbres depasse generalement 4 m, et plus de 20% des nids sont situes
plus haut tandis qu'en Mauri tanie, la majorite des nids se situent a moins
de 2 m de haut en raison de la faible taille des arbres de cette region.

Le densite de nids a l'hectare est proportionnelle a la densite des

28

P.J. Rue lie & R. Seraaille

MALIMBUS 4

arbres. Les observations varient de 10 a 200 nids/ha - le plus souvent de
20 a 100 - avec les raoyennes les plus basses dans la zone sud, en raison de
la faible densite des arbres epineux.

Chronologie de la reproduction

Par rapport aux donnees publiees (MM) , nous trouvons des reproductions
nettement decalees vers les mois de septembre et meme octobre. Les dates
de ponte peuvent etre resumees comme suit pour les trois dernieres annees:

Ferlo et Mauritanie
Maka

sud de Louga

Ferlo et Mauritanie

Tal Bakle

nord de Louga

Sagatta - Pekesse

Ferlo

Sagatta

Ouarak - Linguere -
Sagatta - Pekesse -
Kebemer

Pi re - Baba-Garage

5 au 10 sept.

1 au 5 oct.

20 oct.

15 au 25 aout
15 au 25 sept.
25 au 30 sept.
1 au 5 oct.

25 au 30 aout
5 au 15 sept.

1 au 5 oct.

20 au 25 oct.

1979

1980

1981

Succes

Comme il a ete remarque (MM), le succes des colonies a l'envol est
tres variable (2.1 ± 1.5 oisillons/nid) . En 1981, nous avons trouve des
moyennes de 2.77 oisillons/nid a l’envol de 21 oct. a Kebemer (3.27 si on
ne compte que les nids occupes) et 2.53 oisillons/nid le 6 nov. a Mecke sur
70 nids. Ces donnees indiquent une bonne productivity dans une region
colonisee pour la premiere fois a des dates tres tardives .

REGIME ALIMENTAIRE DES OISILLONS AU NID

Nos etudes n'ont pas approfondi cet aspect mais la presence des grains de
petit mil ( Pennisetum ) trouves dans le gesier de quelques oisillons au nid
confirme la possibility, envisagee par Bortoli & Bruggers (1976) d'un regime
mixte (graines et insectes) .

DISTRIBUTION ET HABITAT PENDANT LA REPRODUCTION

(a) Au nord, 1' absence de nids en activity au-dela du 18°22'N et de
moineaux dores dans la region d'Atar etait signalee en 1975 (MM). Des
observations recentes (A. Din, comm, pers.) font etat de dortoirs et de
nids de Moineaux dores en 1980 et 1981.

(b) A l'est, les moineaux dores sont abondants au Mali (S. Manikowski, comm,
pers.) au Niger (FAO, 1982), au nord de la Haute-Volta (L. Bortoli, comm,
pers.) et du Nigeria (C.O.P.R. 1977, Sharland & Wilkinson 1981), a l'est du

Novembre 1981

30

P.J. Rue lie & R. Semaille

MALIMBUS 4

Tchad (J. Newby 1980) ainsi qu'au Soudan, en Ethiopie et en Somalie (R.
Bruggers, comm. pers.).

II semble y avoir des relations entre les populations des bassins du
Senegal et du Niger car, d'apres les rapports de l'OCLALAV, les Moineaux
dores seraient abondants a Aioun-el-Atrouss , Yelimane, Nioro du Sahel, Nara,
Nema ainsi qu'a l'Office du Niger.

(c) Vers le sud, des mouvements d' invasion, qui seraient le reflet de la
degradation de 1 'habitat (Morel & Morel 1978), se sont deve loupes au
Nigeria (C.O.P.R. 1977) et plus recemment au Senegal.

En 1975, les nids les plus meridionaux recenses au Senegal etaient
situes au nord de Linguere et il n'etait pas exclu d'en trouver plus au sud
a condition d'y rencontrer le support adequat, B. aegyptiaca (MM) . Les
colonies etaient cependant rares avant cette date puisqu'elles n'ont ete
notees qu'en 1961 et 1967 (Morel & Morel 1978) . Depuis 1976, nous avons
trouve, de maniere reguliere et croissante des nids au sud et a l'ouest du
Ferlo, considere comme zone favorable. L 'emplacement des nidifications
decouvertes entre 1979 et 1981 et 1'etendue de la zone de reproduction en
1981 figurent sur la carte 1.

On y remarque des colonies jusqu'au sud de Baba-Garage (14°49'N,
16°28'W) a pres de 150 km au sud de la partie occidentale du Ferlo.

Un deplacement de cette important devait se traduire par des vols
nettement orientes. La chance nous permit de decouvrir un important point
de passage entre le Ferlo et la zone sud, a Keur Momar Sarr. Nous avions
constate en effet la coincidence des dates d' abandon des colonies du Ferlo
avec celles d ' ins tallation de colonies nouvelles plus au sud.

Entre le 27 septembre et le 30 octobre 1981, sur la digue boisee de
Keur Momar Sarr qui re lie les deux rives du lac de Guier distantes
d' environ 500 m a cet endroit, de nombreux comptages systematiques ont
permis d'estimer un passage de 1.5 a 2 millions de moineaux dores venant
du Ferlo et se dirigeant vers le sud-ouest (carte 1) . La taille des vols
(15-20 indi vidus) a permis de mesurer precisement 1 'importance de ce
passage (27 min. a 212 max. moineaux dores/minute a differentes heures de
la journee) .

Au cours des premiers comptages, la proportion de males atteignit 90-
95%, ensuite elle s' inverse a partir du 12 octobre. Ceci correspond bien
au decalage constate entre les colonies du Ferlo et du sud car on sait que
les males devancent les femelles pour choisir 1 ' emplacement des colonies et
les quittent les permiers. On nota parallelement la disparition des males
au Ferlo et 1 ' envahissement brutal et massif des zones meridionales , comme
celle de Kebemer par exemple .

CONCLUSIONS

La mise en evidence de ces deplacements orientes et le decalage quasi
general entre les colonies de reproduction du Ferlo et celles situees au
sud de l'axe Louga - Linguere (carte 1) constituent de serieuses
presomptions en faveur d'une double reproduction importante du Moineau dore

1982

Passer luteus au Senegal

31

au Senegal. La productivity de ces reproductions tardives semble satis-
faisante et meme meilleure que celle constatee dans le Ferlo. Ces observ-
ations eclairent d'un jour nouveau les mysteres de la reproduction chez
cette espece tres abondante et dont le taux de renouvellemen t de 2.1 a 2.3
poussins a 1 'envoi par nid (MM) paraissait derisoire. Vu l'echec des
nidifications tardives observe dans le Ferlo (MM), il etait admis qu'une
seule nichee pouvait reussir au cours de l'annee. Les observations recentes
permettent de penser qu'une double reproduction est fort possible et meme
importante certaines annees, mais dans des zones distinctes.

La pluviometrie, mieux repartie en 1981 qu'en 1979 et 1980, ne parait
guere pouvoir expliquer cet envahissement recent du Moineau dore vers le
sud. En effet, la pluviometrie, ainsi que le developpement gramineen, sont
assez semblables dans le Ferlo et dans la zone sud et, a partir d'octobre,
il n'y a pas plus d'eau libre ici que la.

II s'agit done d'un phenomene important et nouveau pour le Senegal,
dont le determinisme reste obscur et qui merite 1 'attention des ornithologues
et des specialistes de la protection des cultures, car cette espece est sans
doute la plus abondante au Senegal et aussi la plus depredatrice pour les
cultures traditionnelles dans le Sahel (Ruelle 1982) .

REMERCIEMENTS

Ces observations ont ete faites dans le cadre du Projet FAO/GCP/RAF 126 (BEL)
"Assistance technique a l'OCLALAV en matiere de lutte contre les depredateurs ,
en particulier les oiseaux granivores". Nos remerciements von aussi a M
L. Bortoli et a M et Mme G. J. Morel pour la lecture et la discussion du
manuscrit .

RESUME

Les travaux concernant la reproduction du Moineau dore sont discutes et
completes par des observations sur la dynamique de la reproduction (nids,
chronologie, succes) et la distribution, en particulier au sud d'un axe
Louga - Linguere, ou une invasion massive a partir du Ferlo et des nidifi-
cations tardives constituent de serieuses presomptions en faveur d'une double
reproduction importante.

SUMMARY

Earlier studies of breeding in Golden Sparrows are amplified by observations
on dynamics of reproduction (nests, timing, success) and distribution south
of the Louga-Linguere axis, where there is strong circumstantial evidence for
double breeding.

32

MALIMBUS 4

P.J. Rue lie & R. Semaille

Gaze tier

Aioun-e 1-Atrous s *

16° 40N

08° 37W

Nema*

16° 38N

07° 15W

Atar*

20° 31N

14°03N

Niassan te

16°09N

15°35W

Baba-Garage

14° 57N

16°29W

Niorot

15°30N

08° 36W

Diagle

16° 13N

15°41W

Office du Nigert

14° 30N

06°00W

Kebemer

1 5 ° 2 IN

16°25W

Ouarak

15° 3 IN

16°03W

Keur Momar Sarr

15°52N

15°59W

Pekesse

15°07N

16°25W

Linguere

15°23N

15 °07W

Pire

15 °01N

16°45W

Louga

15° 38N

15 ° 13W

Sagatta

15 ° 17N

16° 10W

Maka

15°52N

15°59W

Saint-Louis

1 6 ° 0 IN

16°30W

Madina Ndiatebe

16° 19N

14°08W

Tal Bakle

.6° OON

16° 23W

Me eke

15 °07N

15 ° 38W

Yelimanet

15 °08N

09°35W

Nara+

15° ION

07° 17W

* Mauritania

+ Mali

BIBLIOGRAPHIE

BORTOLI , L. & BRUGGERS, R.L. (1976) Nidification de Quelea quelea (L.) dans
le delta central nigerien en 1976. PNUD/FAO-RAF 73/055, rapport
interne (28p)

C.O.P.R. (1977) Quelea investigations Project Nigeria. Final Report 1972-
75. Centre for Overseas Pest Research, London, 57 p, multigr.

F.A.O. (1982) PNUD/FAO 77/047 "Assistance a l'OCLALAV au niveau regional".
Rapport final 1979-81

MOREL, G.J. & MOREL, M-Y. (1973) Premiere observations sur la reproduction
du Moineau dore, ( Passer luteus (Licht.)) en zone semi-aride de l'Ouest
africain. Oiseau R.F.O. 43: 97-118

MOREL, M-Y. & MOREL, G.J. (1973) Elements de comparaison du comportement
reproducteur colonial de trois especes de Ploceides: Passer luteus,
Ploceus cucullatus et Quelea quelea en zone semi-aride de l'Ouest
africain. Oiseau R.F.O. 43: 314-329

MOREL, G.J. & MOREL, M-Y. (1978) Elements de comparaison entre Quelea
quelea quelea (L.) et Passer luteus (Lichtenstein) dans les savanes
tropicales de l'Ouest africain. Cah. ORSTOM, ser. Biol. 13(4): 347-
358

NEWBY, P.J. (1980) The Birds of the Ouadi Rime-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve.

A contribution to the study of the Chadian avifauna. Malimbus 2: 29-50

RUELLE, P.J. (1982) Le Moineau dore, Passer luteus (Licht.), comme

depredateur des cultures en Afrique de l'Ouest. FAO-RAF 126 (BEL)
rapport interne (16p)

SHARLAND, R.E. & WILKINSON, R. (1981) The birds of Kano State, Nigeria.
Malimbus 3: 7-30

P. J. Ruelle et R. Semaille, Projet FAO / GCP-RAF 126 (BEL), B.P. 1066 Dakar

Senegal

33

EVALUATING THE BIRD REPELLENCY OF METHIOCARB

by M. Hamza, B. Ali, I. El Haig, W. Bohl,
J. Besser, J. De Grazio, and R. L. Bruggers

Received 5 October 1981
Revised 30 March 1982

INTRODUCTION

The Red-billed Ouelea Quelea quelea, while only one of the many ploceid
weaver pest species in Africa, is probably the most numerous avian species
in the world, and perhaps the most destructive. It ranges over floodplains
in semiarid parts of Africa south of the Sahara (Magor 1974) , inhabiting
about 20% of the land area and adversely affecting the economies of 25
nations (De Grazio 1978). In Sudan, it occupies about 90% of the country's
grain production areas and is responsible for damage to sorghum, rice,
and wheat.

Because traditional farmers suffer a disproportionate share of the
total bird damage compared with large cereal schemes, economical, simple,
and appropriate methods of bird damage control are necessary for small
plantings. This report summarizes the fieldwork accomplished in Sudan,
Kenya, and Tanzania on the use and effectiveness of the chemical methiocarb
(4-methylthio-3 , 5, -xylyl N-me thy lcarbamate) as a bird repellent on broad-
cast seed and ripening grain. Methiocarb is widely used and registered for
several crop application uses in the United States as a bird repellent and
has been tested recently in Senegal (Bruggers 1979) and East Africa
(Bruggers et al. 1981) . At low levels of R50 = 0.015% to 0.178% (Shumake
et al. 1976; Shefte 1982), it is a repellent to Red-billed Ouelea, the
principal bird pest in Africa, and other pest species in Sudan like Village
Weavers Ploceus cucullatus , Red Bishops Euplectes orix, Golden Sparrows
Passer luteus , and Masked Weavers Ploceus taeniopterus . Methiocarb is
thought to repel birds by causing an illness-induced conditioned aversion
(Rogers 1974, 1978) .

METHODS

Ripening grain application

Demonstrations and trials were conducted between 1977 and 1980 with
farmers and agricultural researchers on ripening sorghum, millet, and
wheat in several provinces of Sudan. Repellency was evaluated for several
bird species in wire or net enclosures of 2 m^ to 8 m^ placed over ripening
crops and on entire fields of vulnerable cereal crops . Exposed cereal heads
in the cages or in small fields were sprayed with portable Handi sprayers,

B & M sprayers, and motorized CP3 knapsack sprayers; large fields were
sprayed using aircraft. In all enclosure studies, the birds were introduced
after the heads had been sprayed. Additional treatment details for certain
specific tests are described under results. Replications were used whenever
possible .

34

H. Hamza et al.

MALIMBUS 4

Broadcast seed treatment

The trial was conducted at the Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC)
station at Wad Medani. Two replicate 600 m^ adjacent bands in each of two
4.3 ha ricefields were seeded at a rate of 77 kg/ha. The seed for one of
each pair of bands was treated with methiocarb (0.20% by seed weight), and
Rhoplex AC 33 adhesives (48% solids — 0.10% by seed weight) in a water
solution in a barrel mixer, sun-dried (water evaporated) , and handsown into
7.5 to 10.0 cm furrows and covered with 2-3 cm of soil. The fields were
irrigated after seven days, simulating planting conditions at the Gezira
Scheme. Counts were made of the proportion of damaged to undamaged seeds,
the number of plants in a 625 cm^ sampling unit, and the number cf birds
feeding in the trial fields during peak activity periods. Seeds and seed-
lings were collected for residue analysis.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Ripening grain application

The initial work with methiocarb in Sudan was considered either
promising (Martin & Jackson 1977) or inconclusive due to insufficient bird
pressure (Martin 1976) . Since 1977 several other field trials and enclosure
studies have been conducted in Sudan to evaluate further the effectiveness
of methiocarb as a means of reducing damage by queleas and other birds to
cereals .

Enclosure tests In a test near Jodah (coord. 12°30'N x 33°0'E), in
which queleas and Village Weavers were placed in net enclosures in a sorghum
field with alternative food, excellent protection was achieved with 1 to 3
kg of methiocarb/ha head sprays (Table 1) . In this test, each head was
treated with 5 cm^ of either a 0.09% or a 0.27% methiocarb suspension with
a B & M sprayer. No more than 2.6% damage occurred in the treated
enclosures compared with 42.6% in the untreated enclosure (Table 1). Damage
was from 16 to 41 times greater in the untreated enclosure and the yield
was from 94% to 98% less. The birds consumed from 20 to 43 g of alternative
food in the untreated enclosures compared with 60 g in the treated enclosure.
Methiocarb was toxic to both species, particularly at the 3 kg/ha level
(estimated 200 ppm residue level) , as 43% of the 54 Village Weavers and 30%
of the 40 queleas died; only 3% of the 41 queleas died at the 1 kg/ha rate.
The mortalities indicate that low levels of methiocarb should be used and
probably would be effective in repelling queleas and Masked Weavers.
Methiocarb has been an effective, broad-spectrum, and nonlethal repellent to
many bird pests in many countries (Guarino 1972, Crase & DeHaven 1976, Calvi
et al . 1976) .

Aerial application In October 1977, at Hawata (coord. 13°28'N x
34°38'E), an aerial application of 4 kg/ha of methiocarb, by a Piper Supercub
with booms, with 1 kg/ha of an acrylic resin adhesive, Encryl E, on three
plots of 4 ha each of sorghum did not provide protection because of applic-
ation problems. Studies with birds put in enclosures in one of the aerially
sprayed fields confirmed that the spray was ineffective in the manner
applied. However, the same concentration, when applied to sorghum with a
knapsack sprayer, resulted in good protection.

1982

METHIOCARB REPELLANCY

35

Table 1 Protection of ripening heads of dura sorghum in 8-m^ enclosures
sprayed with methiocarb at Jodah, Upper Nile Province, Sudan;
November 1978

Treatment

rate

(kg/ha)

No. birds

n Species %

per enclosure

damage *

3

54 Village

weaver

1.4a

3

40 Quelea

0.9a

1

41 Quelea

2.6a

Untreated

40 Quelea

42. 6b

* Significant difference (P < 0.05; t-test) occurred between

damage

percentages with different superscripts

Table 2 Crop damage and bird pressure in wheatfields treated

with methio-

carb in

Kenya, Tanzania, and Sudan

Location

Untreated

field

Treated

fie Id

Nanyuki , Kenya

No. damaged heads/1,000

493

60

No. birds/observation

before treatment

612

1,278

after treatment

629

182

Rujewa, Tanzania

No. damaged heads/ 1,000

510

50

No. birds/observation

before treatment

65

32

after treatment

174

39

Shambat, Sudan

Plot 1

No. damaged he ads/ 1,000

116

31

Avg no. birds/observation

54

3

Plot 2

No. damaged heads/ 1,000

46

53

Avg no. birds /observation

463

22

36

H. Hamza et al .

MALIMBUS 4

Table 3 Comparison of the effectiveness of complete and edge-only methio-
carb applications to four varieties of ripening wheat at Shambat,
Khartoum; February 1980

Spray coverage

Complete

Edge

Replicates

% loss

Yield
(kg/32 m^)

% loss

Yield
(kg/32 m^)

Mex XG 155

L2 75/76

1

0

9.5

0

7.9

2

8.0

9.7

5.0

8. 1

Son 64 XC ■

- 271

1

8.0

10. 1

5 .0

10.9

2

10.0

9.3

0.0

9.6

Mex XG 155

L15 75/76

1

0

10.7

0

9.2

2*

-

-

10.0

9.5

3*

-

-

5.0

8.6

Ave rage

3.7

9.8

3.6

9.1

* Only one complete-spray coverage plot

Table 4 Residues of methiocarb and its sulfoxide and sulfone metabolites
(in ppm) from a 0.20% seed dressing treatment (by seed weight) of
rice seed in Sudan, June 1980

Growth stage

Time (days)

Methiocarb

Methiocarb

Sulfoxide

Sulfone

Presowing

0

0. 11%

_

__

Nongerminated

10

2

9 and 12

<1

<1

Seedlings

15

2

<1

<1

<2

Seedlings

20

3

1

<1

<2

Seedlings

25

<1

<1

<1

<1

1982

METHIOCARB REPELLANCY

37

Field tests Studies demonstrating the repellency of methiocarb to
pest birds also were carried out on sorghum, millet, and wheat at ARC field
stations at Shambat (coord. 15°35'N x 32°30'E), and Wad Medani (coord.

14°23'N x 33°32'E). Applications of 2% and 6% methiocarb sprays to
individual heads of sorghum along one edge, and two days later the remaining
edges of a 0.1 ha field, markedly reduced the number of birds feeding on the
heads in the field during the first few days. Heads sprayed with either
concentration were not eaten. Birds repelled included House Sparrows Passer
domes ti cus , and weaver birds of the genera Ploceus and Euplectes . However,
the technique did not protect the remainder of the field; birds soon began
returning, and after one to two weeks, only the sprayed heads in the field
were not completely eaten.

A similar application of 2% and 6% methiocarb on vulnerable heads of
ripening millet resulted in a decrease in the number of Ploceus spp. feeding
on the millet from about 300 birds to fewer than 50 the day after application.
The bird population built up again following 6 mm of rain, which presumably
washed off the methiocarb since no adhesive was used. Respraying the heads
again reduced the numbers of Ploceus from several hundred to less than 50
birds a day.

Several additional methiocarb demonstrations were conducted in East
Africa (De Grazio & DeHaven 1974). At Nanyuki (coord. 0°1'N x 37°7'E),

Kenya, during January 1974, one of two 1/8 ha plots of ripening wheat was
sprayed with methiocarb and a 0.5% latex adhesive solution at the rate of
3 kg/ha. Sixteen days after application, bird damage was eight times greater
on the untreated than treated plot. Observations on and near the wheat plots
before treatment indicated twice as many birds in the area to be treated
than in the untreated area. Observations after treatment showed the reverse;
about three times more birds in the untreated than in the treated plot (Table
2). Many birds had apparently left the area. Queleas, Chestnut Weavers
Ploceus rubiginosus , and Long- tailed Whydah Euplectes progne were the most
obvious pests.

Another demonstration was conducted at Rujewa (coord. 8°54'S x
33°27'E), Tanzania, in February 1974 on one of two 0.05 ha plots in a 1.2
ha field with the same application methods and rates as the previous test.
After three days, bird damage was 10 times greater in the untreated than
treated plot. Bird pressure also increased on the untreated plot compared
to the treated plot (Table 2) .

As a consequence of the encouraging results obtained in some of these
preliminary tests, we decided in 1980 to determine the effectiveness of an
edge spray in protecting an entire field (edge applications being more
feasible economically than whole-field applications) . In a trial at Shambat,
Sudan, methiocarb was applied at the rate of 1 kg/ha to the outer edge (1/3
the area) of two 0.25 ha fields of ripening wheat during the milk stage and
again 10 days later during the soft-dough stage. Two similar size fields
were left untreated. Bird pressure and damage were monitored weekly. Each
treated field was less damaged than its untreated pair, and from 18 to 20
times more birds were counted in the untreated than treated fields (Table 2) .

In a second demonstration, also at Shambat during 1980, methiocarb was
applied to experimental national wheat variety plantings. All heads in 11
of 70 32 m^ plots (352 m^ total) were individually sprayed with a total of
1.3 kg of methiocarb and 16 1 of water; adhesive was not used. The edge
rows of three other 32 m^ plots also were sprayed to compare the effective-

38

H . Hamza et al .

MALIMBUS 4

ness of edge and complete coverage applications. Bird damage was estimated
visually before spraying and just before harvesting. Effectiveness
comparisons were made using yield and damage patterns of wheat grown at
Shambat during the same period in the previous two years when methiocarb
was not used. Bird counts were conducted before and after methiocarb was
applied.

Methiocarb repelled House Sparrows, bishops, and Ploceus weavers; the
number in the study plots decreased from an average of 73 per 10 min
observation period during the three days before treatment to less than one
bird per observation period during the two days immediately following
application. Ten days later there were still less than two birds per
observation period, on average. The reduced number of birds resulted in
an average of only 2.9% loss in the 14 plots, compared with 5.6% in 12 plots
in 1978/79 when methiocarb was not used.

Five varieties of wheat grown in 1979/80 also were planted in 1977/78
and 1978/79. Four of these varieties (Son 64 XC-271, Condor, Pato Argentina,
Nayab 70) were less damaged in 1979/80 than in the two previous years.
Finally, no significant differences (P < 0.05; ^t-test) occurred between the
yields of edge-sprayed and completely sprayed plots (Table 3) , again
supporting the feasibility of the less expensive edge application methods.

Dabar variety sorghum is not an easy crop to protect because (a) it has
small seeds (not unlike millet) , (b) the grains do not protrude far from the

glumes so that less chemical repellent is present on the surface areas of
grains that queleas attack, (c) queleas attack it immediately after the
flowering stage, (d) stands are sparse (ca 5,000 plants/ha), and (e) stands
often ripen unevenly. This last situation makes a spot spray to the first
ripening heads particularly appealing. For example, when the first 1% of
the heads are in the dough stage and under bird attack while others are
still in flower, these few maturing heads could be sprayed by villagers with
a repellent.

Broadcast seed treatment

Methiocarb was effective in West Africa as a seed dressing for reducing
bird losses to broadcast rice (Bruggers 1979) . Farmers at the Gezira Scheme
in Sudan sow their fields at rates of 77 to 110 kg/ha to compensate for
various causes of nongermination, including bird damage which can be so high
that some fields have to be entirely resown. Using a bird repellent can
provide a technique whereby farmers can sow at reduced rates and probably
also eliminate the necessity to resow.

In the one seed dressing trial conducted in Sudan, the main birds
eating the newly sown rice were Chestnut Sparrow Larks Eremopterix leucotis
and Crested Larks Galerida cristata. They were part of a small resident
population and averaged only 10-20 Sparrow Larks and 3-5 Crested Larks per
day in the area; three-quarters of the visits were to untreated plots. No
queleas or Golden Sparrows visited the fields, although both species were
in the area during the study.

The proportion of damaged seeds was 3.8 times greater in the untreated
plots than in the treated plots (averages of 16.9% and 4.4%). The rate of
seedling survival, 17 per sampling unit in the treated and 15 per sampling
unit in the un treated plots, was about the same due to displacement of seeds

1982

METHIOCARB REPELLANCY

39

during flooding, incidence of ungerminated seeds, and uneven distribution
of seeds on and below soil. The trial demonstrated that methiocarb can
reduce rice seed damage to larks; similar results were obtained in 1977 with
these species in a trial on melon seeds in Senegal (Bruggers) .

Residue analysis

Ripening grain: Residues averaging 74.6 ppm were found on heads of
wheat (seed and glume) 10 days after treating with 3 kg/ha of methiocarb in
Sudan. These are less than the 102 ppm found on sorghum in Senegal (seed
and glume) for the same time period following a 2 kg/ha application (Gras
et al . 1981) . Residues on the seed itself would be expected to be even
less than the 3.0 ppm found on sorghum after 25 days since the wheat seed is
completely covered throughout maturation. More detailed chronological
residue analyses are needed for ripening grains.

Broadcast seed: Seed and seedling samples for residue analysis of
methiocarb and its sulfoxide and sulfone metabolites were obtained by
randomly collecting at least 300 seeds or seedlings immediately after the
chemical was applied and at days 10 (after irrigation), 15, 20, and 25 (when
the plants were between 10 and 15 cm in height) . The samples were
immediately frozen and sent by air to the Denver Wildlife Research Center
( DWRC ) Chemical Research Laboratories. The samples were analyzed by the
procedure of Greenhalgh et al. (1976). A portion of each sample was
analyzed 'wet' as received at the laboratory. The rest of the samples were
dried, analyzed, and corrected to the wet weight basis. The results are
presented in Table 4. Methiocarb residues from the dried samples were all
< 1 ppm after 15 days indicating no toxicity hazards. Differences of only
1-2 ppm were found between the wet and dry samples. The chemical already
is registered in the U.S. for several fruit and grain crops at much higher
levels of 15-25 ppm (Schafer 1979) .

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that late dough-stage sorghum (dura variety) can be
protected initially at application rates as low as 1 kg/ha when sprays are
directed only at the heads. This probably is near optimum effectiveness as
the residue level at this concentration was computed to be about 65 ppm.

These results, supported by more detailed tests on the role of adhesives
in Texas (Besser & Elias 1979) , suggest that the acrylic resin, Rhoplex
AC-33, when used at one part adhesive solids to three parts methiocarb solids,
probably interferes with or masks the repellent properties of methiocarb.

When adhesives are used in spray treatments in very dry climates, such as in
Sudan, ratios of at least one part adhesive to 10 parts methiocarb should be
used.

Although the results of these studies are encouraging, additional field-
word testing, particularly with fanners, is necessary to further delineate
the conditions under which methiocarb can be recommended as a crop protection
method.

40

H . Hamza et al .

MALIMBUS 4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful for the logistical support and cooperation provided by the
Sudan Government's Plant Protection Department (PPD) and Agricultural
Research Corporation (ARC) . G. Ghobrial, ARC Plant Physiologist and Rice
Specialist coordinated the rice seed dressing trial. Residue analysis was
completed by W. Okuno and A. Medbery, DWRC. Sadig Beshir, Salah Ali,

Yousif Ahmed, Ahmed El Rahman, and Safi Mahadi, PPD, assisted in certain
aspects of the work. The manuscript was reviewed by M. Fall. This research
was conducted with funds provided to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by
the agency for International Development under the project "Control of
Vertebrate Pests: Rats and Noxious Birds," PASA ID/TAB-473-1-67.

REFERENCES

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BRUGGERS, R.L. (1979) Summary of methiocarb trials against pest birds in
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184

BRUGGERS, R. , MATEE, J., MISKELL, J., ERICKSON, W., JAEGER, M. , JACKSON,

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GUARINO, J.L. (1972) Methiocarb, a chemical repellent: a review of its
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1982

METHIOCARB REPELLANCY

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MARTIN, L.R. & JACKSON, J.J. (1977) Field testing a bird repellent chemical
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ROGERS, J.G., JR. (1974) Responses of caged red-winged blackbirds to two
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ROGERS, J.G., JR. (1978) Some characteristics of conditioned aversion in
red-winged blackbirds. Auk 95: 362-369

SCHAFER, E.W., JR. (1979) Registered bird damage control chemicals. Pest
Control (June) , pp. 36-39

SHEFTE , N., BRUGGERS, R.L. & SCHAFER, E.W. , JR. (1982) Repellency and
toxicity of three bird control chemicals to four species of African
grain-eating birds. J. Wildl. Manage. 46(2):

SHUMAKE, S.A., GADDIS, S.E. & SCHAFER, E.W., JR. (1976) Behavioral

response of quelea to methiocarb (MesurolR) . Proc. 7th Bird Control
Semin., Bowling Green, Ohio, 7: 250-254

M. Hamza, B. Ali , I. El Haig, Department of Plant Protection ,
Ministry of Agriculture , Khartoum, Sudan

and

W. Bohl , J. Besser, J. De Grazio, R. Bruggers , Denver Wildlife
Research Center, Building 16, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 USA

MALIMBUS 4

Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens

Nigeria. Photo: Philip Blasdale

43

BREEDING OF BLACK-HEADED BEE-EATERS IN NIGERIA

by M. Dyer, C. H. Fry and J. A. Hendrick

Received 12 March 1982

The Black-headed Bee-eater Merops ( Bombylonax ) breweri is one of the least
known members of its family. No nest has previously been reported, nor
field notes published other than by Chapin (1939) . West of the Congo basin
the species has been discovered at only two locations. In Ghana a pair and
a singleton a few km away were seen in 1952 near Mankrong on the Affram
River at 06°41'N 00°19'W, an area now inundated by Lake Volta (M. J.
Horwood, pers. comm, to C.H.F.). In Nigeria one was collected in Mamu
Forest (06° 10 ' N 07°10'E) in 1953 and another, undated, nearby at Idah
(07°07'N 06°45'E) on the lower Niger (Elgood 1982) .

Black-headed Bee-eaters were re-discovered in this same region of
southern Nigeria in January 1980 by J.A.H. (Hendrick 1980), as noticed with
an accompanying photograph in Malimbus 3 (1981): 51. A pair, later with a

third adult which may have been a helper as in several other species of
Merops (Fry, in press), was found at a nest burrow near Ugbabo (07°24'N
07° 00 1 E) and in 1981 J.A.H. found a nest at Alade (07°21'N 07°11'E) and two
more at Elubi (07°35'N 07°26'E). The five Nigerian localities embrace an
area of less than 25 x 100 km, centred on the Igalaland plateau at 300-350
m altitude, over 850 km from the closest point (Gabon) in the main range of
the species in the Congo basin.

Activity at the 1980 nest was studied by Hendrick (1980) and M.D. and
the Elubi nests were watched by M.D. and J.A.H. and kept under continuous
observation by C.H.F. in a hide from 23 to 26 March. The following account
supplements that of Hendrick (loc. cit.) .

Habitat

Igalaland is a mosaic of farmland, Oil-Palm Elaeis guineensis forest and
immature forest with patches of disturbed mature forest rooted in dystric
nitrosols and orthic acrisols (Anon 1980) . Forest with continuous .canopy
is generally absent in the area, and the appearance of the habitat is that
of forest/savanna ecotone. Patches of cultivation are fringed with the tall
annual weed Eupatorium odoratum . M . breweri inhabits degraded palm forest
(Dawtrey 1979) characterized by Oil-Palm plantations with scattered stands
of forest dominated by Chlorophora excelsor , Albizia adianthi folia and
Irvingia gabonensis . The birds foraged in open secondary growth around
cultivated fields, and in plantations, thickets and disturbed woods. Nest
burrows were in a heap of soft lateritic soil dumped from a roadside
drainage ditch; roadside banks of hard sand and compacted sandy laterite;
and a hoed sandy- loam field cleared of vegetation except for scattered
cassava shrubs and a number of tall dead trees, surrounded by much-
disturbed woods.

44

M. Dyer, C.H. Fry & J.A. Hendrick

MALIMBUS 4

Foraging Behaviour

Hunting was mainly from low perches, within 4 m of the ground, either a thin
horizontal limb over the roadside or other place with fairly open airspace,
or inside a thicket with very restricted room for manoeuvre. From the
former perches prey-capture was typically meropid in execution, a short,
quite rapid, gliding flight declining towards airborne prey, which was taken
back to the perch for vigorous beating. In pursuit of prey the very round
wings of this species make it look unlike the pointed-winged savanna bee-
eaters. In restricted airspace M. breweri had a more flapping, less sailing
pursuit flight, with short adroit chases through the vegetation. Most prey
was airborne, but one bird at the Ugbabo nest sometimes hunted like a drongo,
swooping down to snatch an insect from vegetation a few cm above ground
level .

Food

Items taken into nests were mainly hawkmoths and cicadas, with fewer butter-
flies and beetles (and possibly grubs). Nest litter included carpenter-bees
Xy locopa sp. and cetoniine beetles Plaesiorrhina recurva in abundance, also
worker Honeybees Apis mellifera, wasps Belanogaster sp. ( Vespidae) , Chlorion
maxillosum and Philanthus sp. (Sphecidae) and ruteline beetles (M. Walters
pers . comm, to J.A.H.). 66 insects identified from pellet remains in

another nest comprised 16 worker Honey-bees, 10 other Apidae of 10 species,

2 Philanthus and 4 other sphecids, 1 pompilid wasp, 17 vespids of five
species, 3 alate ants, 1 acridid grasshopper, 1 cicada, and 11 beetles of
five species I (including cetoniines and coprines) (det. C.H.F.).

Attendance at Nests

The disparity in size of the two eggs photographed by Hendrick (1980)
strongly suggests that one was a honeyguide ' s ; if this nest had been
parasitized that might be the reason for its failure soon after the evident
hatching (and disappearance) of a third egg. The Alade nest was deserted
after one of the birds had been caught by a boy and kept in captivity until
it died (the specimen was obtained and presented to the British Museum) ;
the Elubi nests both held young nestlings when discovered. On 24 March
three nestlings were extracted from one nest (and returned there after
examination, when adults immediately resumed feeding them) - they were about
10-14 days old and weighed 34, 40 and 43 g. The dead, starved adult weighed
41.5 g and an adult netted on 26 March was 54 g.

The three adults at the Ugbabo nest often perched together above the
burrow but because of its location in a road-cut, the frequent passage of
vehicles and pedestrians prevented them from feeding the young regularly.
Although it was suspected that all three were entering the nest with food,
it could not be ascertained that the third bird was definitely a helper.

Each Elubi nest was attended by its parents only; evidently neither
pair had a helper. All four were individually identifiable by streamer
length (which was 83 mm longer than the tail in the bird netted) , and none
of them entered the other nest despite its proximity, only 7 m away on the
opposite side of a metalled minor road. Some motor traffic, and consider-
able foot traffic on market days, did not disturb them unduly and the nest
feeding rate between 0800 and 1700 h averaged 6/h .

1982

BLACK-HEADED BEE-EATERS

45

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to thank M. E. Bacchus, G. R. Else, 0. W. Richards and C. T. Vardy
for the identification of insects, M. Walters for his good offices at the
British Museum, and M. J. Horwood for his helpful correspondence.

REFERENCES

ANON (1980) The Regional Plan Atlas of Benue State. Min. Economic
Planning, Lagos

CHAPIN, J.P. (1939) The Birds of the Belgian Congo. Vol. 2. Bull. Amer.
A/us. Nat. Hist. 75: 1-632

DAWTREY, B. (1979) The influence of farming and fire on the vegetation of
Igalaland. Elaeis 1: 43-54

ELGOOD, J.H. (1982) The Birds of Nigeria. British Ornithologists' Union,
London

FRY, C.H. (in press) The Bee-eaters : Evolutionary Biology of the
Meropidae . T. & A. D. Poyser, Calton

HENDRICK, J. (1980) 'That bird' Bombylonax greweri (sic) (Cassin) . Elaeis
2: 63-66

M. Dyer, Canadian Wildlife Service, Revelstoke , British Columbia VOE 2SO ,

Canada

C. H. Fry, Aberdeen University Zoology Dept., Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen

AB9 2TN , Scotland

J. A. Hendrick , Ayangba c/o P.M.B. 2178 Kaduna , Nigeria

46

NOTES

MALIMBUS 4

ADDITIONS TO LOCAL AVIFAUNAS: ZARIA - The following birds new to the Zaria
area have been reported since the additions made by Dyer (Bull. Niger. Orn.
Soc. 13, 1977, 82-83). Observers: M.D. - M. Dyer, M.E.G. - M. E. Gartshore,
A.U.E. - A. U. Ezealor, C.R. - C. Ryall, H.O.P.C. - H. Q. P. Crick.

Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus About 20 over University Farm Lake in
early April, 1981 (M.D., M.E.G.).

Wigeon Anas penelope A female feeding with Garganey A. querguedula at
University Farm Lake, 10-12 April 1981 (M.D., M.E.G. , H.F.C.).

Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus One over experimental plots near Bomo
Lake, Samaru, Zaria, on 31 January 1981 (M.D., M.E.G., A.U.E.) .

Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus Observed at the same time as the above,
this distinctive raptor circled over fields and alighted, allowing very
close approach (M.D., M.E.G., A.U.E.).

Scaly Francolin Francolinus squamatus A pair heard duetting at about 0800
hrs . , 5 August 1981 in dense savanna woodland adjacent to gallery forest at
Anara For. Res. 5 August 1981. This observation represents a substantial
range extension north in Nigerian savannas. (It is common at Nindam For.

Res. near Kafanchan and Kagoro (M.E.G., C.R.)).

Finfoot Podica senegalensis An immature bird was purchased from fisherman
at Kubanni reservoir in February 1979. It was later released at University
Farm Lake (M.D., M.E.G.).

Kittlitz's Sandplover Charadrius pecuarius Six feeding on shore of
Kubanni reservoir in early April 1981 (M.D.).

Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta Two in winter plumage on Kubanni reservoir,
late March 1981 (M.D., M.E.G.).

Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus Its inland status in West Africa has
changed in recent years (Sharland Malimbus 3, 1981, 54) and it is now a
frequent visitor to Zaria reservoirs in the dry season (M.E.G., M.D.).

Black Tern Sterna nigra One with a White-winged Tern S . leucoptera at
Samaru sewage works in early April 1981 (distinguished by marginally
smaller size, darker colouration, dark pectoral area and greyish tail)

(M.E.G. ) .

Yellowbill Ceuthmochanes aereus Observed on several occasions in gallery
forest at Anara Forest Reserve; also at Old Birnin Gwarri (just outside
the Zaria area) (M.D., M.E.G.).

Narina Trogon Apaloderma narina At least three observed throughout the
wet season in dense gallery forest at Anara Forest Reserve (M.E.G., A.U.E.,
C.R.) .

Yellow-bellied Bunting Emberiza flaviventris A pair in August 1981, the
male singing (M.E.G.).

Melba Finch Pytilia melba Seen on several occasions from August, 1979 to
August 1981 at Samaru also in June 1980. This species is normally
associated with Sudan savanna and may be shifting southward in response to

1982

NOTES

47

changes wrought by more intensive cultivation (M.D., M.E.G.).

Black-bellied See cracker Pirenestes ostrinus Reported by Hartert ( Novit .
Zool. 22, 1915, 244-266) as a breeding resident near Kaduna, its presence
at Zaria has never been substantiated. Several were observed in tall grass
in a fadama area at Anara Forest Reserve in September 1980 (M.D., H.Q.P.C.).

M. E. Gartshore

606 Martins Road, RR3, Dun das , Ontario L9H 5E3

DESTRUCTION OF EUROPEAN WHITE STORKS IN NIGERIA BY SHOOTING - Even more note-
worthy that the number of Spanish- ringed White Storks Ciconia ciconia
recovered in Nigeria in the last two years - eight - is their fate there.

One was caught and released alive with its original ring; the other seven
were shot. Details are:

C 15540 Ringed 07/06/1977 (pullus) , Miajadas, Caceres, Spain 39°09'N 05°54'W
-/ 12/1890, Nguru, Nigeria 12°53'N 10°30'E Shot

C 14334 26/05/1978 (pullus), El Gordo, Caceres, 39°52'N 05°20'W

-/01/1980, Gashua, Nigeria 12°53'N 11°05'E Released alive

C 11390 26/05/1978 (pullus), Elmaraz, Spain 39°50'N 05°37'W
-/12/1980, Nguru Shot

C 18943 27/05/1978 (pullus), El Gordo

19/01/1980 Kano 12°55'N 10°30'E Nigeria Shot

C 18823 05/06/1979 (pullus) Brozas, Caceres 39°37'N 06°47'W
-/12/1981, Nguru Shot

G 01351 06/06/1980 (pullus), Munana, Avila, Spain 40°35'N 05°03'W
-/12/1981, Nguru Shot

G 03338 04/06/1981 (pullus), Casas Viejas, Cadiz, Spain 36°21'N 05°49'W
-/12/1981, Nguru Shot

G 03491 06/06/1981 (pullus), Casas Viejas, Cadiz
-/12/1981, Nguru Shot

All of the indications are that the Iberian/Maghreb population of White
Storks, separated from the larger east European population by an ever-
increasing distance, is in a state of decline (S. Cramp The Birds of the
Western Palearctic , 1977. See p. 329 and map p. 331) . Doubtless the
principal cause is drainage of European wetlands, but unnecessary persec-
ution in African winter quarters cannot help. 17 other White Storks have
been recovered in Nigeria since 1964 (R. E. Sharland, Ringing in Nigeria
... Annual Reports Nos. 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15-16, 17, 21 and 23, Bull.

Niger. Orn. Soc. and Malimbus) , ringed in Spain (6), Tunisia (3), Morocco
(1), Algeria (1), France (2), Germany (3) and Greece (1); two of them were
recovered at Azare (39°37'N 22°16'E) (one "killed" and the other "caught
by trapper and later released"), one at Biu (10°36'N 12°11'E), and the
remaining 14 at Nguru. The fate of the Nguru 14 has not been given but it
is safe to assume that they were all or nearly all caught alive by trappers
for the well-known Kano live-bird trade. Presumably that trade continues
unabated (R. E. Sharland, pers. comm.), with illegal destruction by shooting
a new hazard and an additional burden for the wintering White Stork
population to bear.

C. H. Fry

48

NOTES

MALI MB US 4

BRONZE MANNIKINS ‘ FLYCATCHING ' - On the morning of 8 May 1979 a light drizzle
was falling, the end of a rainstorm which had lasted all night. The rain
had brought out large numbers of flying insects, mainly termites. From
branches on a small tree near Obudu, Nigeria, about half a dozen Bronze
Mannikins Lonchura cucullata were flying out a short distance, catching
insects in the air, and returning to their perch in a manner more typical
of flycatchers. Fairly frequently they would miss the insect at the first
attempt and would hover briefly before seizing it at the second or third
try. This species feeds principally on grass seeds, and although Bannerman
(1953) notes that they may flock to a termite swarm and seize the insects
amongst the grass, he gives no indication of this flycatcher- _ike behaviour.

A. M. Heaton

Sevenoaks Wildfowl Reserve, Sevenoaks , Kent TNI 3 3DH , U.K.

Note: ' Flycatching' from termites and ants is common in a variety of unex-
pected birds (J. M. Thiollay , Alauda 38, 1970, 255-273) but the behaviour
has hardly been described in detail for any of them. Editor.

OUT-OF-SEASON COURTSHIP BY BLACK-FACED FIRE-FINCH - On 9 February 1979 I
observed a pair of Black-faced Fire-finches Estrilda larvata chasing each
other around a piece of scrubland near Obudu, Nigeria. When they settled
close together on a branch it was apparent that the male had a blade of
grass in its beak, holding it over its head like an umbrella. It hopped
sideways along the branch up to the female and away again; it repeated this
a couple of times before they flew off and I lost sight of them. This would
appear to be a form of courtship behaviour, and recalls similar behaviour
seen at Lama-Kara, Togo, by Cheke & Walsh ( Mali mb us 2: 118); however,
Mackworth-Praed and Grant (1970-73) give the breeding season for E. larvata
as July and August, well after the date of my observation.

A. M. Heaton

Sevenoaks Wildfowl Reserve, Sevenoaks , Kent TNI 3 3DH , U.K.

THE STATUS OF SAVI 1 S WARBLER IN NIGERIA - In his excellent check list of the
birds of Nigeria Elgood (1982) lists Savi's Warbler Locustella luscinoides
as a 'vagrant palaearctic migrant', qualifying it with 'possibly vagrant' in
the text. To northern Nigeria we consider that it is not a vagrant but a
regular migrant. In support of that we note that a total of at least 13
Savi's Warblers have now been netted in Nigeria including six at one
locality, Jakara Dam (12°40'N 8°10'E) near Kano, in the short period
November 1981-February 1982. One of these, collected on 22 November 1981
(BM No. 1981 - 11 - 1) , was in advanced primary moult suggesting that it was
at least temporarily resident; three were collected in December and one in
early February, all from dense Typha beds surrounding the dam. We believe
that the low number of Savi's Warblers previously reported in Nigeria may
reflect the earlier concentration of mist-netting activity in the periods of
autumn and spring passage; our birds were all netted in the intervening
period.

R. Wilkinson and D. J. Aidley
Dept. Biological Sci . , Bayero University , P.M.B. 3011, Kano. Nigeria

1982

NOTES

49

A COLOUR VARIANT OF SPREO PULCHER AT KANO, NIGERIA - During the course of an
intensive study of the biology of the Chestnut-bellied starling Spreo
pulcher at Kano I observed a number of very pale coloured individuals which
are described below. The normal plumages of adult and juvenile Chestnut-
bellied Starlings are fully described by Bannerman (1948) and I am familiar
with these. In adult plumage the pale variant differs from the normal in
that those feathers which are normally dark glossy green are instead a dirty
fawn glossed with silver, the normally dark brown areas of the remiges are
diluted to a dull steel grey (and show considerably more evidence of wear
than in normal plumage) and the belly is a pale cinnamon' orange rather than
chestnut. Such pale variants are not represented in the skin collection of
the British Museum (Natural History) and to my knowledge have not previously
been recorded.

One pale variant was observed at the Agricultural Department Farm, some
8 kilometres east of Bayero University, but all other sightings were of
starlings on the University campus. In January 1980 at least four of the
pale birds, all of which belonged to the same social group, whose focal area
centred around the staff school, were present on the campus. The Chestnut-
bellied Starling is a cooperative breeder with birds other than the parents
helping to feed the nestlings (Wilkinson Bull. Niger. Orn . Soc. 14, 1978,
71-72) and at least three pale variants and four normal plumaged birds were
associated with one nest of this group in April 1980. A single nestling
which had been colour-ringed at a different nest of the same social group
in October 1979 proved to be a pale variant which in juvenile plumage was
already recognisable by its generally pale colouration. The percentage of
this nestling was unknown but a nest in the same bush in June 1980, where
both parents were of normal colouration, produced a mixed brood of pale and
normal coloured chicks. Of three birds known to fledge from this brood of
five nestlings, two were of normal plumage and one a pale variant. No pale
variants fledged from nests of this group in 1981 and by July 1981 all pale
birds had disappeared from the study area.

R. Wilkinson

Dept. Biological Sci., Bayero University , P.M.B. 3011, Kano, Nigeria

SPANISH BLACK KITES IN WEST AFRICA - Recent notification of ringing and
recovery data indicates that some Black Kites Milvus migrans reared in
Spain evidently winter as far east in West Africa as Ghana. Details are:

DE 08949 14/06/1972 (pullus) , Reserva Biologica Donana, Spain 37°02'N 03°27'W
-/11/1973, Agbenohoe, Ghana 07°00'N 00°25'E (road casualty)

MD 14782 22/06/1977 (pullus), Pescueza, Caceres, Spain 39°54'N 06°39'W
07/12/1977, Bolgatanga, Ghana 10°44'N 00 ° 5 3 ' W (caught alive)

MD 12641 25/06/1977 (pullus), Nava del Rey, Valladolid, Spain 41°19'N 05°05'W
15/01/1979, Tamale, Ghana 09°26'N 00°49'W (shot)

C. H. Fry

Aberdeen University Zoology Dept., Tilly drone Avenue, Aberdeen AB9 2TN , U.K.

50

REVIEW

MALIMBUS 4

THE BIRDS OF NIGERIA by J. H. Elgood. Checklist No. 4, British
Ornithologists' Union, London, January 1982, pp. 246. Price £14 (£10 to
B.O.U. members) .

In 1964 J. H. Elgood produced a provisional checklist of Nigerian birds
{Bull. Niger. Orn. Soc . 1, 13-25) which later became the basis of two
privately-circulated lists (Parker 1970 and Heigham 1975) , each with its own
species additions and omissions, and nomenclatural and taxonomic preferences.
With the publication of The Birds of Nigeria ornithologists have at last a
standardised reference list of Nigerian birds.

The previous lists were just that - lists. But this work offers far
more: a comprehensive and invaluable summary of the Nigerian ornithological

scene, past and present. The first 50 pages cover topography, climate and
vegetation of Nigeria; migration (Palaearctic and intra-African) ; breeding
seasons, population trends and conservation. I regard this section as one
of the volume's highlights and it should prove indispensible to anyone
wishing to know, in a nutshell, the relationship of the country's avifauna
to its environment.

The species treated in the annotated systematic list include all those
recorded up until the end of 1980, a total of 838. The author has followed
White's (1960-1965) taxonomy, but one wishes that he had offered some
opinions on certain taxonomic inconsistencies, such as the inclusion of the
Black-faced Fire-finch in Estrilda rather than Lagonosticta . Each species
receives up to ten lines of comment, indicating its relative abundance,
general habitat preference, distribution, migratory behaviour and breeding
status. With such a large number of species to deal with, errors and
omissions are surprisingly few. One glaring omission, however, the the
Grey-headed Gull Larus cirrocephalus which, oddly enough, is mentioned in
the paragraph on the Black-headed Gull (p. 93) . It is easy to find errors
in distribution amongst species with which one is familiar, and one cannot
fault the author if he has not been kept informed. All the same I would
like to set the record straight on two species reported for Kagoro. In
April 1977, John Elgood and I heard a bird in the forest there that was
unfamiliar to me but sounded familiar to him; he believed it was a Red-
cheeked Wattle-eye Platgsteira hlissetti . After many hours of netting, and
finally watching it singing, it turned out to be an Olive Green Camaroptera
Camaroptera chloronota . Likewise a call I assumed was of the Red-sided
Broadbill Smithornis rufolateralis proved to be the territorial 'song' of the
Spotted Honeyguide Indicator maculatus . The wattle-eye and broadbill are
noted in The Birds of Nigeria to occur at Kagoro, and I accept full
responsibility for those errors since I did not inform the author of my
subsequent discoveries.

This book is a must for anyone interested in Nigerian ornithology, and
all of us who have yet unpublished notes on Nigerian bird distribution and
breeding records must surely be stimulated by it to get our observations
into print.

It appears at a time when, because of intense human population pressure,
the natural vegetation of Nigeria is undergoing disastrous and irreversible
changes. How these changes will affect the avifauna is still open to
question, but the future of many forest species is bleak. The Birds of
Nigeria is not just an annotated checklist, but an historical document whose
ornithological value must increase with every Nigerian tree felled.

M . Dye r

1982

NOTICES

51

La Direction des Parcs Nationaux (BP 5135 Dakar - Senegal) porte a la
connaissance de tous les ornithologues que 55 Pelicans blancs sub-adultes
ont ete bagues au Parc National des Oiseaux du Djoudj le 29 janvier 1982.
Les bagues sont soit en Darvic de couleur jaune (BIRO) n° s 002 a 095, soit
en aluminium orange n° s S.A. 420 -34-38-40-63-66-69. En cas de
reprise ou d 'observation, priere d'ecrire a l'adresse susmentionnee .

55 pelicans in the Djoudj National Park in Senegal have been ringed with
yellow Darvic rings numbered 002 to 095 and orange aluminium rings S.A. 420
34-38-40-63-66-69. Please report any sightings to: La Direction
des Parcs Nationaux, BP 5135, Dakar.

BIRDS AND MAN : A SYMPOSIUM

The Witwatersrand Bird Club, a branch of the Southern African Ornithological
Society, is holding a symposium on BIRDS AND MAN in Johannesburg from 10 to
15 April 1983. Internationally renowned speakers have been invited and the
following sessions are envisaged:

11 April Exotic Birds in Cities

Indigenous Birds in Cities

12 April Indigenous Birds and Exotic Plants

Exotic Birds and Indigenous Plants

13 April Birds and Manmade Lakes

Miscellaneous - Bird/Man Interactions

Excursions are planned for 14 and 15 April. For information pamphlet please
write to the Symposium Secretary, PO Box 72091, Parkview, Johannesburg, 2122

CODED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF AFRICAN ORNITHOLOGY 1981

Now available, unbound, at £1.00 in U.K., £2.00 overseas (surface mail) or
£2.50 overseas (air mail) from C. H. Fry, Zoology Department, Tillydrone
Avenue, Aberdeen AB9 2TN, Scotland, U.K. Orders will be accepted only if
accompanied by self-addressed envelope of size to accommodate this issue
of Malimbus, and either cash sterling or cheque drawn on U.K. bank or cheque
drawn on overseas bank adding £1.00 to above prices (for U.K. bank charges) .

COTISATION

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franc a payer leur cotisation, Gerard J. MOREL vous propose que vous le
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material. Contributions should be typed on one side of the paper with double
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Textual matter will be retyped for offset printing, but FIGURES should be
prepared as for final reproduction, allowing for 20 percent reduction, using
Indian ink on good quality white paper, and Letraset and Letratone lettering
and shading (or equivalent) as appropriate.

CONVENTIONS regarding tabular material, dates, numbers, metric values,
references etc. should be carefully adhered to and can be sought in this and
recent issues. Articles containing lengthy SPECIES-LISTS should be of
tabular format (eg Malimbus 1: 22-28 or 1: 49-54) or of the textual format
of Malimbus 1: 36-42 for short texts per species or Malimbus 1: 90-109 for
longer texts .

OFFPRINTS 20 offprints of Papers (but not of Notes) will be sent to a
single author, gratis, upon request. 10 additional offprints will be issued
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STANDARD WORKS WHICH NEED NOT APPEAR IN REFERENCE LISTS

BANNERMAN 1930-51 or 1953 : Bannerman, D.A. (1930-51) The Birds of West

Tropical Africa. 8 vols. Crown Agents, London; (1953) The Birds

of West and Equatorial Africa. 2 vols. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh and
London

ELGOOD 1982 : Elgood, J.H. (1982) The Birds of Nigeria. B.O.U., London

ELGOOD, SHARLAND & WARD 1966 : Elgood, J.H., Sharland, R.E . & Ward, P.

(1966) Palaearctic migrants in Nigeria. Ibis 108 : 84-116

ELGOOD, FRY & DOWSETT 1973 : Elgood, J.H., Fry, C.H. & Dowsett, R.J.

African migrants in Nigeria. Ibis 115 : 1-45 and 375-411

HALL & MOREAU 1970 : Hall, B.P. & Moreau, R.E. (1970) An Atlas of Speciation
in African Passerine Birds. British Museum (Nat. Hist.), London

MACKWORTH-PRAED R GRANT 1957-73 or 1970-73 : Mackworth-Praed, C.W. & Grant,
C.H.B. (1937-73) African Handbook of Birds. Series I, Birds of Eastern
and North. Eastern Africa (2nd ed.) . 2 vols. Series II, Birds of the

Southern Third Africa. 2 vols. Series III, Birds of West Central and

Western Africa. 2 vols. Longmans Green & Co., London; (1970-73)

African Handbook of Birds. Series III, Birds of West Central and
Western Africa. Vol . I, 1970, Non-passerines, Vol. 2, 1973, Passerines.
Longmans , London

SERLE & MOREL 1977 : Serle, W. & Morel, G.J. (1977) A Field Guide to the
Birds of West Africa. Collins, London

SNOW, D.W. (Ed.) 1978 : An Atlas of Speciation in African Non-Passerine
Birds. British Museum (Nat. Hist.), London

WHITE 1960-65 : White, C.M.N. (1960) A check list of the Ethiopian

Muscicapidae (Sylviinae) Part I Occasional papers of the National
Museums of Southern Rhodesia 3 (24b) : 399-430; (1961) A revised check

list of African broadbills ... etc. Lusaka : Government Printer;

(1962a) A check list of the Ethiopian Muscicapidae (Sylviinae) Parts II
and III. Occ . Pap. Nat. Mus . S. Rhod . 3 (26B) : 653-738; (1962b) A

revised check list of African shrikes ... etc. Lusaka : Gov. Printer;
(1963) A revised check list of African flycatchers ... etc. Lusaka :
Gov. Printer; and (1965) A revised check list of African Non-Passerine
birds. Lusaka : Gov. Printer.

MALIMBUS 4 (1) May 1982

CONTENTS

The Moult of Some Bird Species on Mount Cameroon. R. Eyckerman and 1

D. Cuvelier

Remarques a Propos des Buses ( Buteo buteo ssp.) Observees en Afrique

Occidentale. R. de Naurois 5

Comportement, Voix et Relations de Parents de l'Amaranthe du Mali

( Lagonosticta virata). J. Nicolai 9

Environmental Changes in Western Darfur, Sudan, over Half a Century

and their Effects on Selected Bird Species. R. T. Wilson 15

Note sur 1 1 Envahissement du Nord du Senegal par le Moineau Dore

Passer luteus (Lichtenstein) en Periode de Reproduction. P. J.

Ruelle et R. Semaille 27

Evaluating the Bird Repellancy of Methiocarb. M. Hamza, B. Ali,

I. El Haig, W . Bohl, J. Besser, J. De Grazio and R. L. Bruggers 33

Breeding of Black-headed Bee-eaters in Nigeria. M. Dyer, C. H. Fry

and J. A. Hendrick 43

NOTES :

Additions to Local Avifaunas: Zaria. M. E. Gartshore 46

Destruction of European White Storks in Nigeria by Shooting. C. H. Fry 47

A Colour Variant of Spreo pulcher at Kano, Nigeria. R. Wilkinson 48

Spanish Black Kites in West Africa. C. H. Fry 48

Bronze Mannikins ' Flycatching ' . A. M. Heaton 49

Out-of-Season Courtship by Black-faced Fire-Finch. A. M. Heaton 49

The Status of Savi ' s Warbler in Nigeria. R. Wilkinson and D. J.

Aidley 49

REVIEW:

The Birds of Nigeria by J. H. Elgood. M. Dyer 50

NOTICES AND ACCOUNTS

51,52

MALIMBUS

/<&

s a

Journal of the West African Ornithological Society y

' \

K'tr} ,

Kociete d’Ornithologie de l’Ouest Africain

VOLUME 4

198 ‘2

Number 2, October

WEST AFRICAN ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY

SOCIETE DORNITHOLOGIE DE LOUEST AFRICA1N

Conseil 1982-1985

President Professeur Brian J. Harris
Vice-President Dr Gerard J. Morel
Secretaire Professeur John H. Elgood
Tresorier Mr Robert E. Sharland
Editeur, Malimbus Dr C. Hilary Fry

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ISSN : 0331 - 3689

Emblem design by Philip Blasdale

53

Malimbus

Vol . 4

1982 No. 2, October

SEASONAL MOVEMENTS OF THE PYGMY KINGFISHER CEYX PICTA IN WEST AFRICA

by Roger Wilkinson

Received 11 August 1982

In a recent paper on bird migration in southern Africa, Benson (1982)
contrasts the regular seasonal migration of the Pygmy Kingfisher Ceyx picta
south of the equator with its apparent sedentary nature in the northern
tropics. Elgood, Fry & Dowsett (1973) could find little evidence for
migration of C. picta within Nigeria, although with more recent evidence
Elgood (1982) notes seasonal movements in some areas of the extreme north.

The purposes of this paper are to demonstrate that seasonal migration
in C. picta is widespread over the northern savannas of West Africa, and
to emphasize the continuing need for information on the seasonal occurrence
of birds in many localities in West Africa.

SEASONAL OCCURRENCE

Recently published information on seasonal occurrence of C. picta at
various West African localities is summarized in Table 1, where the
localities are listed in sequence of rising latitude. The data have been
culled almost exclusively from papers in Bull. Nigerian Orn . Soc . /Malimbus .
Table I suggests that, in the terminology of Elgood et al. (1973) , C. picta
is a 'southern concertina' migrant extending northwards for the rainy
season and withdrawing south again for the dry season. South of 9°N the
species is present throughout the year, whereas north of 13°N (and extend-
ing to at least 16°25'N in Senegal) it occurs only during the rainy season.
At intermediate latitudes it is either present all year (e.g. Pendjari and
Arli Nat. Parks), or is a partial migrant (e.g. Mole Nat. Park), or is
totally absent in the dry season (e.g. Kano) ; what happens probably
depends more on local conditions, like rainfall distribution and extent of
kurmi woodlands, chan on the precise latitude.

Table 1 overleaf
Text cont. p. 108

Table 1 Seasonal occurrence of Ceyx picta in West

54

Roger Wilkinson

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Senegal

1982

55

MORE BIRD RECORDS FROM THE REPUBLIC OF TOGO

by Robert A. Cheke

Received 11 June 1982

Recently Browne (1980) and Cheke & Walsh (1980) have published
complementary papers on the birds of Togo; the former dealt with coastal
records and the latter authors mainly with birds in the north of the
country. From May to mid-August 1980 and from late August to early
December 1981 I was again based at Lama-Kara, in northern Togo, and
describe here some observations of interest made during the above periods.
These observations include records, marked in the following iisc with
asterisks, of 43 species which did not appear in the earlier list (Cheke &
Walsh 1980) . Coordinates of named sites are listed in an appendix but many
of the places mentioned were marked on the map in the earlier paper. The
order and nomenclature for all Afrotropical species follow Hall & Moreau
(1970) and Snow (1978).

* Tachybaptus ruficollis One on the Mono river 25 km east of Sotouboua at
08°33'N 01° 16 1 E on 4 November 1981.

*Nycticorax nycticorax Two beside the Mono river near Atchinedji on 4
November 1981.

Bubulcus ibis Ten at Cinkanse on 10 October 1981 is my earliest dry
season record and my latest is a single bird at Landa-Pozanda on 21
June 1980.

*Ardeola ralloides One near Naboulgou on 24 May 1980. Up to four in the
Tetetou area during November 1981. One 10 km N.W. of Anie at
07°50'N 01°08'E on 27 November 1981 and one at Sansanne-Mango on 7
December 1981. Also recorded by Browne (1980) and by Robinson (1972).

*Egretta garzetta One near Naboulgou on 10 October 1981 and another at
Tetetou on 10 November 1981. Also recorded by Robinson (1972).

Ciconia episcopus Five at Naboulgou on 19 May 1980 and another there on
24 May 1980.

Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis Two at Naboulgou on 19 May 1980.

Bostrychia hagedash Small groups recorded at Naboulgou in May and
December, at various sites along the Mono river in June, October,
November and December, beside the Ogou river in September and
October, beside the Anie river in October and the Kpaza river in June.

* Sarkidiornis melanotos Two on a bank beside the Oti river south of
Sansanne-Mango on 7 December 1981.

Nettapus auritus A pair at Naboulgou on 25 May 1981.

55

Robert A. Cheke

MALIMBUS 4

*Anas querquedula A pair at Naboulgou on 10 October 1981.

*Trigonoceps occipitalis One at 08°43'N 01°16'E in gallery forest beside
the Mono river on 20 October 1981.

*Pseudogyps africanus One 5 km N of Blitta on 13 June 1980 and another
at 08°44'N 01°16'E on 20 October 1981. Recorded by De Roo et al
(1972) .

Polyboroides typus Recorded from various sites along the Mono river in
May, June, October, November and December. One at Landa-Pozanda on 5
September 1981.

*Terathopius ecaudatus One at 09°04'N 00°44'E on 19 May 1980, one 15 km
E of Aou Losso at 08°43'N 01°12'E on 12 June 1980 and another at the
same site on 28 October 1981.

Buteo auguralis Recorded on seven different occasions in the Sokode area
in May, June, October and November.

Butastur rufipennis One near Tetetou on 26 November 1981 is my most
southerly record.

Polemaetus bellicosus Two in the Keran reserve near Naboulgou on 25 May
1980.

*Hieraatus fasciatus One 20 km E of Aou Losso at 08°41'N 01°15'E on 22
October 1981 and another being mobbed by Pied Hornbills Tockus
fasciatus near Tetetou on 28 November 1981.

*Aquila wahlbergi One near Bafilo on 15 June 1980.

*Haliaetus vocifer A juvenile beside the Anie river near Tchebebe at
08°23'N 00°58'E on 28 October 1981 and an adult near Tetetou on 19
November 1981.

*Chelictinia riocourii One as far south as Bafilo on 27 October 1981 and
another at Sansanne-Mango on 7 December 1981.

Pandion haliaetus One seen beside the Mono river south of Tetetou

(at 06°53'N 01°36'E) on 10 November, 28 November and 3 December 1981.

*Falco alopex One near Pewa on 22 June 1980.

*Francolinus albogularis One near Landa-Pozanda on 18 October 1981.
Recorded by De Roo et al (1969) .

Porphyrio alleni One at Lama- Kara on 19 July 1980.

Podica senegalensis During May to July 1980 this species was recorded
from many rivers including the Mono (as far south as Tetetou and as
far north as 08°56'N 01°21'E), the Na, Koue, Aou, Anie, Pasa and
Kpaza (where one record was from high up in the Fazao mountains) .
During the dry season of 1981 I have no records other than from the
Mono river and all these were south of Atchinedji.

1982

MORE TOGO RECORDS

57

Charadrius forbesi Three at Landa-Pozanda on 16 May 1980. Two of these
were apparently paired as they reacted together against the third when
it alighted near them. The paired birds opened their wings a little,
lent forward, puffed out their chests to display their pectoral bands
and ran simultaneously at the 'intruder' which recreated by flying off
on its own. One was also seen at Landa-Pozanda on 2 June 1980 and two
were present there on 31 October 1981.

*Himantops himantops One at Tetetou on 26 November 1981. Robinson (1972)
recorded this species many times and it was also seen by Browne (1980) .

*Tringa ochropus Flocks of up to 20 seen along the Anie and Mono rivers
during November 1981.

*Tringa glareola One 10 km N.W. of Anie at 07°50'N 01oO8'E on 25 November
1981. Recorded by De Roo et al (1969), Robinson (1972) and Browne
(1980) .

*Tringa totanus One beside the Keran river at Naboulgou on 7 December
1981. Recorded by Robinson (1972).

Glareola nuchalis Records in Togo, including breeding by G. n. liberiae
and the occurrence of G. n. nuchalis at Landa-Pozanda, have appeared
elsewhere (Cheke 1980, 1982) .

*Columba guinea One at Landa-Pozanda on 21 June 1980, three at Cinkanse
on 30 September 1981 and one at Sansanne-Mango on 7 December 1981.
Recorded by De Roo et al (1971) .

Corythaeola cristata Five near Fazao on 27 June 1980 and two there on 13
July 1980.

Tauraco persa One at Tchebebe on 12 October 1981 and another at Tetetou
on 28 November 1981.

Climator levaillantii One at Lama-Kara on 1 June 1980. A single at

Landa-Pozanda on 2 June 1980 and two there on 25 August 1981. One at
Lama-Kara on 17 October 1981.

*Cuculus solitarius One calling in the Assouakoko forest, 40 km N of

Badou, on 26 May 1980 and another calling and observed near Pewa on 6
September 1981.

Cuculus gularis One at Naboulgou on 25 May 1980.

Glaucidium perlatum One seen at Lama-Kara on 8 July 1980.

*Apus melba A group of about 50 birds seen in the Fazao mountains at

08°33'N 00° 40 ' E on 17 May 1980. Douaud (1957) recorded this species
from Togo in April during two different years and the few records from
West Africa were discussed by Moreau (1972) who doubted if they
referred to African residents. The only records from Ghana were in
February and March (Grimes 1974, Walsh & Grimes 1981). Snow (1978)
refers to the species as Tachymarptis melba.

53

Robert A. Cheke

MALIMBUS 4

Ceryle maxima Recorded from Naboulgou on 19 May 1980 and 7 December 1981.
Singles also seen in the Fazao mountains at 08°36'N 00°42'E on 13 June
1980, Landa-Pozanda on 11 October 1981 and beside the Anie river at
08° 2 1 1 N 00°58'E on 28 October 1981.

*Alcedo cristata One at 10°11'N, 00°54'E on 19 and 21 May 1980 and one at
Lome on 25 July 1980. Recorded by Robinson (1972) and Browne (1980).

Ispidina picta Singles seen in 1980 at Naboulgou (25 May) , Lama-Kara
(1 July) and Sansanne-Mango (6 August).

Halcyon leucocephala One at Naboulgou on 25 May 1980 and one at Lama-
Kara on 1 June 1980 which was engaging in disputes, presumably over a
feeding territory, with an H. senegalensis .

*Merops pusillus Two at Lama-Kara on 1 June 1980. Recorded by De Roo et
al (1969) .

*Merops hirundineus One in the Keran reserve near Naboulgou on 25 May
1980 and another at Lama-Kara on 1 June 1980.

Merops albicollis A flock of 50 seen flying over 09°04'N 00°44'E on 19
May 1980, 30 flying N.W. over Mo on 31 May 1980 and 32 flying in the
same direction above Landa-Pozanda on 1 June 1980. Three near
Tetetou on 28 November 1981.

Merops nubicus One near Sansanne-Mango on 30 September 1981.

Coracias cyanogaster Three seen near Fazao on 12 July 1980, two of which
were displaying by performing aerial acrobatics.

*Bycanistes fistulator Twelve near Paza on 17 May 1980. The extent of

white on these birds suggested that they belonged to the eastern race
B. f. sharpii (see Bannerman 1953, Snow 1978). De Roo et al (1969)
recorded B. fistulator from Aledjo but did not assign their specimens
to a subspecies. I also saw a flock of 20-30 in gallery forest along-
side the Ogou river near Goubi on 25 September 1981 and have other
records at various dates from similar habitats 30 km E of Sotouboua,

20 km S of Atakpame and in the Fazao mountains.

Tockus fasciatus Two at Lama-Kara on 29 May 1980 are my most northerly
records .

* Tockus erythrorhynchus One at Cinkanse on 7 December 1981. Recorded by
De Roo et al (1969) .

* Dendropicos fuscescens One near Cinkanse on 6 August 1980.

Hirundo smithii Two pairs bred at Landa-Pozanda in 1981. On 24 October
two active nests were found, one contained three 3-4 day old chicks
and the other also supported young but was in an inaccessible
position. The -species probably also bred there in 1980 as eight
birds, including some juveniles, were seen roosting near a recently
vacated nest on 28 May.

1982

MORE TOGO RECORDS

59

Hirundo lucida Bred at Naboulgou in May 1980. The species probably also
breeds further south as a pair were seen feeding fledglings at Fazao
on 12 July 1980 and of about 25 present at Lama-Kara on 5 August 1980
many were juveniles.

*Hirundo aethiopica At least 30 were present at Fazao on 22 November

1981. Louette (1975) recorded an adult and three juveniles of this
species taken in March 1970 at Kolekope, also in Togo, in company with
H. lucida. Louette 1 s records were the first for Togo of H. aethiopica
which is usually allopatric with H. lucida, the western representative
of the superspecies (Hail & Moreau 1970) . However H. aethiopica is now
known to occur in Ghana also and has been found breeding on the Accra
plains where it is thought to be a wet season visitor (Grimes 1972,

J. F. Walsh pers. comm.) . In addition, two were seen by J . F. Walsh
on 5 May 1971 at Sugu (09°00'N 00°58'W) in Ghana, a town where H.
lucida is known to breed (J. F. Walsh, pers. comm.) . Also H. lucida
has been found as far east as Jebba (09°08'N 04°49'E) in Nigeria
(Bannerman 1953) . These records, confirming an overlap in the species'
ranges suggest that further studies of their migrations and ecology
would be of interest.

Hirundo senegalensis Three at Lama-Kara on 8 July 1980 and two at Fazao
on 13 July 1980.

Hirundo fuligula One near Aledjo on 16 May 1980. Three at Djamde on 8
June 1980 and a pair seen at Pewa on 19 June 1980, 23 August 1981 and
6 September 1981.

Hirundo preussi At least twenty pairs nested under a bridge over the
Keran river at Titira in June 1980.

*Psalidoprocne obscura A pair seen at 09°04'N 00°44'E on 19 May 1980 and
three at Fazao on 12 and 13 July 1980.

Motacilla aguimp vidua In 1979 I did not see this species north of
Sokode but in 1980 a pair were resident in Lama-Kara, where they
probably bred as one was seen carrying food on 18 July. On 31
August 1981 a juvenile was found injured at Lama-Kara from which a
male Ornithophi la metallica Schiner (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) was
collected. Blood smears from the bird were examined but no parasites
were found.

Coracina pectoralis One at Mo on 31 May 1980 and present in October

1981 at Landa-Pozanda where two males were seen chasing each other in
the presence of a female on 31st.

Chlorocichla flavicollis Singles at Lama-Kara on 1 June 1980 and at Landa
Pozanda on 31 October 1981.

* Laniarius aethiopicus One at Naboulgou on 25 May 1980. Recorded by De
Roo et al (1969) and by Browne (1980) .

*0enanthe bottae Three on grass-covered hills north of Detale on 7 Decembe
1981.

*Cercomela familiaris One near Pewa on 23 August 1981. Recorded by De
Roo et al (1969) .

60

Robert A. Cheke

MALIMBUS 4

*Myrmecocichla cinnamomeiven.tr is At least three pairs were present amongst

rocky outcrops near Pewa on 18 July 1980. Two of the males were black-
crowned forms (M . c. bambarae or M. c. cavernicola) but a third was
white-crowned (M. c. coronata) , the subspecies previously recorded
from Togo (De Roo et al 1969, 1971) . This observation of both forms
occurring sympatrically is of interest since Green (1980) recently
drew attention to the presence of these forms in close proximity on
neighbouring hills in Benin and discussed their taxonomic status,
which remains unclear. Both Bannerman (1953) and Mackworth-Praed &
Grant (1973) treated the white-headed form as a separate species. On
23 August 1981 a pair was present at the same site near Pewa and the
white-crowned male sang repeatedly from near the summit of an insel-
berg .

Sphenoeacus mentalis On 1 June 1980 near Lama-Kara one was seen carrying
dead grass, presumably for nest-building, into reeds beside the Kara
river.

Cisticola aberrans At least three pairs, with singing males, were at
Djamde on 8 June 1980. Also recorded from inselbergs near Pewa in
June and July 1980 and August and September 1981. Males were singing
there in July 1980 and August 1981.

*Sylvietta brachyura Three at Mo on 31 May 1980. Recorded by De Roo
et al ( 1969) .

*Batis senegalensis A pair seen at Fazao on 13 July 1980. Recorded by
De Roo et al (1969) .

*Erannornis longicauda Two near Lama-Kara on 1 July 1980. Recorded by
De Roo et al (1969).

* Terpsiphone viridis Seen near Sokode, at Naboulgou and at Mo during May
1980 and at Landa-Pozanda in September and October 1981. Also
recorded by De Roo et al (1969) .

* Anthreptes collaris One near Aledjo on 19 June 1980 and another at

08°33'N 00°40'E on 27 June 1980. Recorded by De Roo et al (1969) and
by Browne (1980).

*Nectarinia pulchella A male seen at Naboulgou on 24 May 1980 and

another near Sansanne-Mango on 6 August 1980. Recorded by De Roo
et al (1972) .

*Vidua orientalis Males seen at Naboulgou on 19 May 1980 and at

07°50'N 01°08'E on 25 November 1981. De Roo et al (1969) recorded
V. o. togoensis from Sansanne-Mango.

*Nesocharis capistrata One near Lama-Kara on 1 July 1980. It was a
juvenile bird since it had a grey head (Mackworth-Praed & Grant
1973) .

Lagonosticta rara One at Titira on 14 June 1980 and pairs at Aleheride
on 22 June 1980 and Fazao on 12 July 1980.

Cinnyricinclus leucogaster One near Aledjo on 22 June 1980.

* Buphagus africanus Two on a buffalo Syncerus caffer at Naboulgou on 10
October 1981.

1982

MORE TOGO RECORDS

61

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am very grateful to J. F. Walsh for his comments on an earlier
draft and for details of his unpublished records of h. aethiopica in Ghana.
A. M. Hutson identified the hippoboscid fly and M. A. Pierce examined the
blood films from the M. aguimp.

SUMMARY

Records of birds of interest seen in Togo during 1980 and 1981 are
provided. These include information on 43 species which were not included
in a list of birds seen in Togo between 1972 and 1979 (Cheke & Walsh 1980) .

RESUME

Renseignements sur des oiseaux interessants vus au Togo pendant 1980
et 1981 sont donnes. 43 especes presentees ne furent pas indues dans une
liste publiee des oiseaux vus au Togo entre 1972 et 1979 (Cheke & Walsh
1980) .

REFERENCES

BROWNE , P.W.P. (1980) Birds observed near Lome, Togo in 1976 and 1977.
Malimbus 2: 51-55

CHEKE, R . A . (1980) A small breeding colony of the Rock Pratincole

Glareola nuchalis liberiae in Togo. Bull. Br. Orn. Cl. 100: 175-178

CHEKE, R.A. (1982) Additional information on the Rock Pratincole
Glareola nuchalis in Togo. Bull. Br. Orn. Cl. 102 (in press).

CHEKE, R.A. & WALSH, J.F. (1980) Bird records from the Republic of Togo.
Malimbus 2: 112-120

DE R00, A., DE VREE , F. & VERHEYEN, W. (1969) Contribution a 1 ' ornithologie
de la Republique du Togo. Rev. Zool . Bot. Afr. 79: 309-322

DE R00, A., HULSEMANS, J. & VERHEYEN, W. (1971) Contribution a

1 ' ornithologie de la Republique du Togo. 3. Oiseaux recoltes par la
deuxieme Mission zoologique beige. Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr. 83: 84-94

DE R00, A., DE VREE, F. & VAN DER STRAETEN, E. (1972) Contribution a
1 ' ornithologie de la Republique du Togo. 4. Oiseaux recoltes par
la troisieme Mission zoologique beige. Rev. Zool. Bot , Afr. 86:

374-384

DOUAUD, J. (1957) Les migrations au Togo (Afrique occidentale) . Alauda
25: 241-266

62

Robert A. Cheke

MALIMBUS 4

GREEN, A. A. (1980) Two populations of cliff-chats in the Arli-Pendj ari
region. Malimbus 2: 99-101

GRIMES, L. (1972) The Birds of the Accra Plains. (Duplicated typescript).

GRIMES, L.G. (1974) Weather conditions in temperate latitudes and the

occurrence of Alpine and Mottled Swifts at Accra, Ghana. Bull. Niger.
Orn. Soc. 10: 38-39

LOUETTE, M. (1975) Contribution a 1 ' orni thologie de la Republique du

Togo. 5. Oiseaux recoltes par la quatrieme Mission zoologique beige.
Rev. Zool. Bot . Afr. 89: 618-620

MOREAU, R.E. (1972) The Palaearctic-African Bird Migration Systems.
Academic Press. London and New York.

ROBINSON, N. (1972) Bird notes from Republique du Togo. Bull. Niger.

Orn. Soc. 9: 85-89

WALSH, J.F. & GRIMES, L.G. (1981) Observations on some Palaearctic land
birds in Ghana. Bull. Br. Orn. Cl. 101: 327-334

Dr R. A. Cheke, Centre for Overseas Pest Research , College House,
Wrights Lane, London W8 5SJ , UK

APPENDIX Gazeteer

Aledjo

09° 15 ' N

01° 12 ' E

Kolekope

07° 48 1 N

01° 18 1 E

Aleheride

09° 13 ' N

01° 12 ' E

Lama- Kara

09° 3 3 ' N

01° 12 ' E

Anie

07°45 'N

01° 12 1 E

Landa-Pozanda

09° 3 1 ' N

01° 17 1 E

Aou Losso

08° 45 1 N

01°03 1 E

Lome

06° 08 1 N

01° 13 ' E

Atakpame

07° 32 'N

01°08'E

Mo

09°05 'N

01°03 ' E

Atchinedji

07° 34 'N

01° 21 ' E

Naboulgou

10° 11 'N

00° 48 1 E

Badou

07° 35 ' N

00 ° 3 6 ' E

Paza

09° 13 1 N

01° 2 2 1 E

Bafilo

09° 2 1 ' N

01° 16 1 E

Pewa

09° 16 ' N

01° 14 ' E

Bli tta

08° 18 ' N

00° 59 ' E

Sans anne -Mango

10° 2 1 'N

00° 28 1 E

Cinkanse

11°06 ' N

00° 01 ' E

Sokode

08° 59 ' N

01°08 ' E

Defale

09° 53 'N

01°05'E

Sotouboua

08° 34 1 N

00° 59 1 E

Dj amde

09° 32 ' N

01°03 'E

Tchebebe

08°26'N

00 ° 5 9 ' E

Fazao

08° 42 'N

00° 46 ' E

Tetetou

07°01 ' N

01 °03 'E

Goubi

08° 3 7 ' N

01° 26 ' E

Ti tira

10° 00 'N

01°07'E

1982

MORE TOGO RECORDS

63

Colony of Preuss's Cliff Swallow Hirundo preussi (=H. spilodera) ,
Titira, Togo, June 1980. Photo R.A. Cheke

River

64

MALIMBUS 4

A PRELIMINARY CHECKLIST OF BIRDS IN THE
KILIMI AREA OF NORTHWEST SIERRA LEONE

Diana P. Harding and Robert S. O. Harding

Received 12 July 1982

In 1980, the government of Sierra Leone decided to create a national
park in parts of Tambakha Chief dom, Bombali District, in the northwest
corner of the country on the Guinea border. The proposed park, the nation's
first, would unite two nearby but not contiguous game reserves: Outamba,

750 km^ in size, and Kilimi, 250 km^ . These areas were selected because
they contained some of the last sizeable populations of threatened or
endangered animals in Sierra Leone, including among others chimpanzees, at
least seven other primate species, and forest elephants. In addition, the
Outamba- Kilimi area sits astride the catchment area of two of the country's
largest rivers, the Great Searcies (Kolenten) and the Little Searcies
(Kaba) . It was hoped that by putting an end to swidden (slash and burn)
farming and preserving the forests still left in the area, accelerated run-
off during the rainy season could be avoided so that the 6,000 km^ of prime
agricultural land downstream from the proposed park would continue to get
enough water during the dry season. As an additional benefit, siltation of
the large rivers would be retarded and the freshwater fisheries, on which
many Sierra Leoneans depend for protein, would be preserved.

Since that time, implementation of the decision to create a national
park has proceded at a measured pace, but at this writing, final government
approval has yet to be granted. While the government as a whole favors the
park and the conservation ideals which it represents, certain political
realities have had to be confronted, chief among these being the resettle-
ment and compensation of the several hundred farmers still living within the
boundaries of the proposed park. Nevertheless, progress continues to be
made, and it is hoped that Outamba-Kilimi will be formally designated a
national park by the end of 1982 or early 1983 .

To assist in planning for the proposed park, the authors were invited
to undertake a survey of the large mammals in the Kilimi section, and spent
from November 1981 to May 1982 in that task. While our previous field
experience had involved mammals, and particularly primates, we have long
maintained an enthusiastic interest in birds. Work done during the past
twelve years in Kenya had already exposed us to many African birds, and we
decided that during the Kilimi mammal survey we would try to identify as
many of the birds we saw in the course of our work as possible.

Thus, while the checklist appendiced here is the result of serious
fieldwork, it is by no means an exhaustive list of all the birds in the
Kilimi section of the proposed park. Those familiar with the West African
avifauna will note immediately that the list is long on large, conspicuous
species and short on' the smaller, cryptic ones. It will also be apparent
that the area contains forest, savannah, and water birds. This is so
because, although the Kilimi section is largely tail-grass savannah, small
deciduous forests remain along stream valleys and hilltops, so that both
forest and savannah species of the same genus can be found there (e.g..

1982

BIRDS OF NORTHWEST SIERRA LEONE

65

Centropus leucogaster and C. senegalensis) . Finally, since the Great
Searcies (Kolenten) river forms the western boundary of the Kilimi area,
water birds are numerous.

We do not doubt that a complete survey of the Kilimi section of the
park would greatly extend the list we present here, and indeed, we hope that
such a survey will take place during the next year, for the area is far
richer ornithologically than our limited resources allowed us to document.
Nevertheless, since this part of Sierra Leone is an unexplored area as far
as birds are concerned, we hope this list will be of interest to
ornithologists and of value to any eventual survey of the region.

For convenience and consistency, we have used the classification of
Serle & Morel (1977).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Alan and Hilary Tye of Fourah Bay College, University of
Sierra Leone, for their help and encouragement. Nigel Wakeham of Freetown
was most helpful with field identifications, and Dr Peter White and the
Dept, of Biological Sciences at Njala University College provided greatly
appreciated support. We are also grateful to the Ministry of Agriculture
and Forestry, especially to the Forestry Division and the headquarters and
field staffs of the Wildlife Conservation Branch, who provided invaluable
help during our stay in Sierra Leone. Finally, financial support from the
Charles A. Lindbergh Fund, the National Geographic Society, and the World
Wildlife Fund - US is gratefully acknowledged.

Diana P. Harding and Robert S. 0. Harding , Department of Anthropology ,
University Museum F-l, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , PA 19104, USA

APPENDIX 1.

Species

Abundance

Nesting

Month

Habitat

Annotated list of birds observed in the Kilimi section of the
proposed Outamba-Kilimi National Park, Sierra Leone, November
1981-May 1982.

Sequence and nomenclature follow Serle, Morel & Hartwig (1977) .
A, one or two sightings; B, frequent; C, common.

* = nest recorded.

Numerals indicate months when species observed.

A, riparian; B, boliland (seasonally flooded grassland) ; C,
swamp; D, deciduous forest; E, savanna; F, human habitation.
X = habitat(s) in which observed.

SPECIES

ABUNDANCE

NESTING

MONTH

A

HABITAT

B C D E

Phalacrocorax africanus

C

12-5

X

Anhinga rufa

B

12-5

X

Ardeola ralloides

B

3-5

X

X

A . ibis

B

12-5

X

X

Butorides striatus

B

1-5

X

Egretta alba

B

1-5

X

X

E. gularis

C

12-5

X

66

D. P. Harding & R. S. 0. Harding

MALIMBUS 4

SPECIES

w

Q H
2 ^

pq m MONTH
< 2

HABITAT
A B C D E P

Ardea cinerea
A. melanocephala
A. purpurea
Scopus umbretta
Ciconia episcopus
Bostrychia hagedash
Plectropterus gambensis
Pteronetta hartlaubii
Gyps bengalensis
Neophron monachus
Gypohierax angolensis
Circus macrourus
C. aeruginosus
Polyboroides radiatus
Circaetus gallicus
Kaupifalco monogrammicus
Butastur rufipennis
Buteo auguralis
Lophaetus occipitalis
Haliaetus vocifer
Milvus mi grans
Francolinus bicalcaratus
Numida meleagris
Podica senegalens is
Neotis denhami
Actophi lornis africana
Burhinus senegalensis
Vanellus lugubris
V. senegallus
Charadrius dubius
C. forbesi
Tringa glareola
T. hypoleucos
T. totanus
Pluvianus aegyptius
Glareola nuchalis
Streptopelia semitorquata

S. vinacea

Turtur tympanistria

T. afer

Treron australis
Tauraco persa
Corythaeola cristata
Centropus leucogaster
C. senegalensis
Macrodipteryx longipennis
Cypsiurus parvus
Ceryle maxima
C. rudis

Alcedo quadribrachys
A. cristata

B

A

A

C *

B *

C

B

A

A

B

C

A

A

A

B

B

B

A

B *

B

B

B

B

A

B

C

B

B

A

B

B

C

A

B

B

C

C

B

B

A

C

B

A

B

B

A

A

B *

C

A

12-5

12-5

12

12-5

1-5

1-5

12-5

1

12

1-5

12-5

12

12

12

12

4-5

3-5

12-5

11

12-5

12-5

12-5

1-5

12-5

12-5

12-5

12-5

4-5

12

4-5

3- 4
12-4

1-2

12-5

4- 5
12-5
12-5

3-5

3-5

12-1

12-5

12-5

5

12-5

2-5

3

12-3

12-5

12-5

12-5

X

X

X

XX X

X X

X X
X
X
X
X

X X
X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

x X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X X

X X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X X

X

X

X

XX X
X

X

X
X

X
X
X
X

X

1982

BIRDS OF NORTHWEST SIERRA LEONE

67

w

o

2 O
< 2

Q H

2 E-h

SPECIES

D CO

m w
<C 2

MONTH

A

HABITAT

B C D E

F

Halcyon malimbica

c

12-5

X

H. chelicuti

B

X

H. leucocephala

B

12-5

X

Merops albicollis

A

4

X

M. pusillus

A

5

X

Coracias abyssinica

B

1-5

X

C. cyanogaster

B

12-5

X

Eurystomus glaucurus

B

3-5

X

Phoeniculus purpureus

A

1

X

Tockus nasutus

B

12-5

X

X

X

T. fasciatus

B

12-5

X

X

Lybius bidentatus

A

3-5

X

Dendrocopos obsoletus

B *

2-5

X

Mesopicos goertae

A

1-5

X

Hirundo rustica

B

2-5

X

H. nigrita

B

12-5

X

H. smithii

A

1

X

Motacilla flava

A

12

X

M. aguimp

B

12-5

X

Macronyx croceus

B

2-5

X

Prionops plumata

C

12-5

X

Dryoscopus gambensis

A

3-5

X

Tchagra minuta

A

5

X

T. senegala

B

12-5

X

Laniarius turatii

B

1-5

X X

Malaconotus sulfureopectus

A

3-5

X

Oriolus auratus

B

1-5

X X

Dicrurus adsimilis

B

12-5

X X

Onychognathus fulgidus

A

3

X

Cinnyricinclus leucogaster

B

3-5

X

X

Corvus albus

B

12-5

X

Coracina pectoralis

A

3

X

Pycnonotus barbatus

C

12-5

X X

X

Baeopogon indicator

A

5

X

Nicator chloris

A

1

X

Saxicola rubetra

B

3-5

X

Stiphrornis erythrothorax

A

2

X

Cossypha niveicapilla

B

2-5

X

Malococincla cleaveri

B

1-5

X

Phyllanthus atripennis

B

1-5

X

Sphenoeacus mentalis

A 5|c

5

X

Hippolais polyglotta

A

5

X

Prinia subflava

B

5

X

Camaroptera brachyura

C

12-5

X X

Eremomela pusilla

B

2-5

X

Muscicapa cassini

B

5

X

Fraser ia cinerascens

A

2-3

X

Melaenornis edolioides

B

12-5

X

Bias musicus

A

3

X

Batis senegalensis

B

3-5

X

Platysteira cyanea

B

3-5

X

Tersiphone rufiventer

B

1-5

X

Ter s iphone viridis

B

3-5

X

58 D. P. Harding & R. S.

0. Harding

MALIMBUS

4

ABUNDANCE

NESTING

HABITAT

SPECIES

MONTH

A B C D E

F

Salpornis spilonota

B

3-5

X

Anthreptes gabonicus

B

3-5

X

Nectarinia coccinigaster

B

5

X

Ploceus cucullatus

C

1-5

X

X

P. nigerrimus castaneofuscus

B

2-5

X

X

P. melanocephalus capitalis

B

4-5

X

P. nigricollis brachypterus

B

5

X

Euplectes macrourus

B

4-5

X X

E. orix

A

11

X

Vidua macroura

B

2

X

V . funerea nigeriae

A

12

X

V. orientalis

A

12

X

Clytospiza dybowskii

B

3-5

X

Lagonosticta senegala

C

12-5

X

X

L. rubricata

B

2-5

X X

Amandava sub f lava

B

4

X

Lonchura cucullata

C

3-5

X

Three week old White-faced Scops Owl Otus leucotis in nest of Hamerkop
Scopus umbretta, central Mali. Photo R.T. Wilson

1982

69

PALAEARCTIC BIRDS WINTERING IN SOUTHWEST MAURITANIA: SPECIES,
DISTRIBUTIONS AND POPULATION ESTIMATES

by P . W . P . Browne

Received 7 May 1982

INTRODUCTION

Since the pioneering work (in so far as West Africa is concerned) of Morel
& Roux (1966, 1973), it has been known that many Palaearctic birds winter
in northern Senegal. There are also important wintering grounds for
Palaearctic waders, terns and gulls in northwest Mauritania (Banc d'Arguin -
Nouadhibou, Petetin & Trotignon 1972, Trotignon 1980). The inundation zone
of the Niger in Mali is another immense wintering area for Palaearctic birds
and information for that country has recently been summarized by Lamarche
(1980-81) . This paper reports on a study of Palaearctic birds wintering in
that part of Mauritania which lies between these three zones ( Fig. 1) .

The only previous work apparently consisted of two surveys from a boat of
c. 20 km of the north bank of the Senegal River (about 16°30'N, 15 0 40 ' W) by
Dr G. Morel (pers. comm.) in December 1963 and January 1964, an aerial survey
of 25 localities (mostly near the Senegal River) which attract water birds
by Treca and Roux (Roux et al. 1978 and pers. comm.) on 6 December 1975 and
records of recoveries of two ringed birds near Nouakchott in January 1978
(Trotignon 1980) .

I attempted to determine which Palaearctic species occurred, to
delineate the limits of winter quarters of those not found over the whole
area and to estimate the total numbers present.

All the observations were my own made in the months of January and
December 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 and January 1982 (except for supporting data
collected in other months) . December and January were chosen to as to avoid
if possible the inclusion of passage migrants. Passage of Palaearctic birds
was found to be noticeable in November and again in February (as shown below,
it also occurred to a small extent in December and January) .

A total of 122 hours of observation was made at 73 different localities,
usually near main roads reached by car from Nouakchott, and including all
major types of habitat in southwest Mauritania (see Table 1, Fig. 1) . The
amount of time spent in each habitat (Table 1) was not proportional to the
extent of that habitat in southwest Mauritania. In fact, this part of the
country is about 90% dry steppe, little influenced by man (A in Table 1) ,
but only about 35% of my time was spent in such habitat. More time was spent
in wet habitats where most of the Palaearctic species occurred.

Because birds were quite visible on dry steppe with scattered bushes
and little ground cover, I was able to identify and count most small birds
in an area of about 30 ha (0.3 sq km) per hour (and greater areas for
larger birds) . The 30 localities visited in natural dry steppe were a
reasonably random selection, so I have been able to estimate the populations
of some species which seemed to be evenly spread.

70

P. W. P. Browne

MALIMBUS 4

c

of

0

*rH

4-1

1 — 1

40

00

1 1

40

CN

CO

o

0)

X

d

>

CN

LD

<3*

CN

cn

CT>

CO

CN

3

0

X

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0

03

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CN

i — 1

o

x

o

d

0

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0)

43

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s

10

X

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cn

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>

43

c

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01
X
d

x

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x

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x

4-1

o

c

o

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x

a

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X

0

01
01
Q

OJ

I — 1

X!

d

Eh

Cn

G

& s

X

C

0)

X!

H

c

(0

e

4-1

0

0)

u

c

QJ

3

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4-4

G

<

0
•H
4-)

01
QJ

e

o

•H 43

d

3 4-4
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•H X
cn oi d
rO 43 E
O X X
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c

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c

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03

c

M

40

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0)

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d

4-4

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3

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cn 43 4-)

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c

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cn

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c

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0

d

d

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03

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0

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d

c

iH

*H

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0

43

O4

G

X

0

0

d

d

E

0

3

3

X

X

03

0

1 — 1

Cn

03

d

C

d

X

01

■rH

X

43

0

0

G

G

>

X

0

d

d

u

0

X

X

X

3

03

d

X

H

3

0

c

0

X

•rH

2

c

0

X

X

0

03

X

d

*rH

d

0

X

43

03

C

0

C

G

d

X

03

*H

0

rH

X

rH

0

01

*H

X

0

•rH

0

c

04

43

03

3

0

1 — 1

0

0

E

1 — 1

X

X

d

d

X

X

0

03

X

G

X

d

C

•rH

X

0

X

X

X

iH

iX

X

G

0

0

0

0

X

3

03

d

0

0

0

03

E

Sh

X

d

0

O4

Cn

01

X

0

0

X

0

X

X

d

Eh

d

X

01

1982

PALAEARCTIC BIRDS IN MAURITANIA

71

D

d

d

td

td

D

d

E

CX1

«.

CO

T3

d

C

0

d

td

l+H

D

d

CO

i — 1

td 2!

d)

d

D

T3

•rH

1 1

X!

m-h

td

• — 1

O

B

($

■rH

&

4->

D

u

D

T3

d

CO

c

(d

td

D

rd

•

CO

i — 1

d

0)

id

o

■rH

Cu

CO

+j

•rH

•H

tr>

d

■ — 1

d

td

td

•rH

Ot

o

d

S

0

0)

0

1 — 1

4->

o

d

td

•rH

d

d

3

0

UH

d

0

0

U

,d

D

(0

D

CO

nd

d

td

d

•rH

E

CO

d

td

td

D

D

+J

d

d

•rH

D

td

u

3

d

td

td

CO

d

2

d

•rH

0

d

-P

*H

d

CO

H->

o

<D

td

3

>

,d

5

d

D

td

•rH

d

CO

D

0

ja

d

CO

0

D

Jj

d

D

r~H

D

CO

X

d

D

3

•rH

3

id

•rH

Id

72

P. W. P. Browne

MALIMBUS 4

SPECIES CONCERNED

Altogether I observed 103 Palaearctic species. 11 are excluded as being
probable passage migrants and 14 more because they breed in or near
Mauritania and their Palaearctic origin was uncertain. Three species'
identities needed confirmation. See Appendix 3 for evidence used in
including and excluding species. Morel (pers. comm.), Treca & Roux (pers .
comm.) observed Platalea leucorodia , Limosa limosa and Sterna leucoptera,
while Trotignon (1980) recorded the recovery of Stercorarius skua and
S. parasiticus . I saw none of these five species in December and January.

I counted the number of birds of each species at each locality on each
visit and subsequently the bird days were summed for each species in each
type of habitat. A summary of the records of the 83 (103-11-14+5) species
is given in Table 2. This shows the number seen in each type of habitat as
well as the number of localities at which each species was recorded. At
the end of the table is a summary per type of habitat. For localities at
which each species occurred see Appendix 2.

LIMITS OF WINTER QUARTERS
(a) Habitat preference

For 55 species which I observed, winter quarters were limited by
habitat preference. 45 species were confined to the vicinity of standing
water, either salt or fresh. They can be divided into four groups:

(1) Open ocean: along the whole coast:

Sula bassana. Sterna sandvicensis .

(2) Salt water shores and pools: the whole coast and pools in the Senegal
delta, mainly west of 16 °W :

Ciconia nigra, Pluvialis squatarola , Charadrius hiaticula , Limosa
lapponica , Arenaria interpres , Calidris canutus , C. ferruginea , C. alba
Haematopus ostralegus , Larus fuscus.

(3) Vicinity of fresh or salt water shores and pools (winter quarters (2)
and (4) combined) :

Egretta alba, E. garzetta, Ardea cinerea, Anas acuta, Circus pygargus ,
Charadrius dubius , Tringa hypoleucos , T. totanus , Calidris alpina, C.
minuta, Philomachus pugnax, Recurvirostra avosetta, Larus ridibundus.

(4) Vicinity of fresh water: mainly pools and lakes left by rain, which
gradually dry up as the dry season advances (Nov. -June) but are still
very significant Dgc.-Jan. The pools appear to be found right across
the country south of about 18°N. Also irrigated areas near Rosso
(16°31'N, 15°48'W) and Nouakchott:

Ciconia ciconia, Plegadis falcinellus, Anas querquedula, A . clypeata,
Circus aeruginosus , Coturnix coturnix , Tringa nebular ia , T. stagnatilis
T. glareola, T. ochropus , T. erythropus , Gallinago gallinago, Calidris

1982

PALAE ARCTIC BIRDS IN MAURITANIA

73

temminckii , Apus melba, Riparia riparia, Motacilla cinerea, Anthus
trivialis , A. cervinus, Saxicola torquata, Luscinia megarhynchos .

The other ten species showed habitat preferences as follows:

(5) Where the influence of man was significant (mainly in or near towns and
villages) :

Milvus migrans, Hirundo rustica, Motacilla alba.

(6) Near water as well as man's influence (wet areas; on steppe near
cattle) :

Motacilla flava.

(7) In areas with many large trees:

Streptopelia turtur , Phoenicurus phoenicurus .

(8) Rocky escarpment and also around buildings:

Hirundo obsoleta, Monticola solitaria.

(9) Natural dry steppe:

Sylvia hortensis , Phylloscopus bonelli .

(b) Geographical limits

Thirteen species and one race were quite widespread but were not found
over the whole area studied, each being confined (or almost so) to one
section of the territory. My observations covered a range from 16°N to 19°N
and from 12 °W to 16°30'W. In this area there are 51 half degree squares
lying wholly or partly in Mauritania; I visited 17 of them (Fig. 1) . Because
the coverage was so sparse, I consider that half degree squares define the
occurrence of species with sufficient accuracy. Also this ties in with the
standard methods for mapping African bird distributions suggested by Ash &
Pomeroy (1981).

The amount of time spent in each half degree square was very variable
(Fig. 2) , but I was able to calculate an abundance rating of any species by
dividing the number of bird days by the number of hours of observation. The
rating takes the value 1 to 9 on a logarithmic scale (base: /lO or c. 3.2 -
see Fig. 2) . It has a wider range than the rating of 0-5 suggested by Ash &
Pomeroy, though the range can be changed easily. However, it is of a
different nature from theirs in that it is based objectively upon counts of
birds observed per hour instead of on a subjective assessment of abundance.

It has the advantage that scarcity, corresponding to low values of the rating,
can only be shown when the number of hours of observation in a square is
high. On the other hand, misleadingly high ratings can occur when the number
of hours of observation is very low, especially if the observer chooses a
relatively rich habitat for his brief survey. In the present study,
observations from all habitats were lumped together to produce tne ratings,

74

P. W. P. Browne

MALIMBUS 4

Table 2 Palaearctic winter visitors to southwest Mauritania: bird days in
each habitat and number of localities at which seen

Bird days in each habitat

Species

Dry

Wet

Number

of

A*

B

C

D

E

F

G

Total

Iocs .

Sula bassana

-

-

-

24

-

-

-

24

2

Egretta alba

-

-

-

-

50

-

6

56

2

E. garzetta

-

-

-

-

12

-

3

15

2

Ardea cinerea

--

-

-

-

32

-

40

72

7

Ciconia ciconia

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

1

1

C . nl gra

-

-

-

-

3

-

-

3

1

Plegadis falcinellus

-

-

-

-

-

-

30

30

1

Platalea leucorodia

seen by

Treca

and

Roux

Anas acuta

-

-

-

-

1

3

401

405

4

A. querquedula

-

-

-

-

-

-

93

93

5

A. clypeata

-

-

-

-

-

-

20

20

2

Gyps fulvus

1

-

-

-

-

-

1

1

Neophron percnopterus

-

1

2

-

-

-

1

4

3

Circus macrourus

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

1

C. pygargus

-

-

-

-

1

-

3

4

4

C. aeruginosus

-

-

-

-

-

-

7

7

4

Ci rcaetus galllcus

-

-

1

-

-

-

1

2

2

Buteo rufinus

1

-

-

-

-

2

-

3

2

Hieraaetus pennatus

1

-

-

-

-

-

1

2

2

Milvus mi grans

7

331

-

-

2

181

65

586

18

Falco peregrinus

-

1

2

-

-

-

1

4

3

F. tinnunculus

5

4

-

-

-

1

12

22

14

Coturnix coturnix

-

-

-

-

-

-

5

5

1

Pluvialis squatarola

-

-

-

-

14

5

-

19

3

Charadrius hiaticula

-

-

-

-

21

58

11

90

7

C. dub i us

-

-

-

-

-

2

18

20

6

Limosa limosa

seen by

Treca

and

Roux

L. lapponica

-

-

-

-

3

1

-

4

2

Tringa nebularia

-

-

-

-

-

-

3

3

2

T. stagnatilis

-

-

-

-

-

-

8

8

5

T. glareola

-

-

-

-

-

-

13

13

5

T. ochropus

-

-

-

-

-

-

3

3

3

T. hypoleucos

-

-

-

-

-

2

2

4

3

T. totanus

-

-

-

-

3

2

8

18

5

T. erythropus

-

-

-

-

-

-

28

28

4

Arenaria interpres

-

-

-

-

1

1

-

2

2

Gallinago gallinago

-

-

-

-

-

-

7

7

3

Calidris canutus

, -

-

-

-

8

1

-

9

4

C. alpina

-

-

-

-

63

17

4

84

6

C. ferruginea

-

-

-

-

15

2

-

17

3

C. minuta

-

-

-

-

36

50

38

124

11

C. temminckii

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

1

1

C. alba

-

-

-

-

216

217

-

433

4

1982

PALAEARCTIC BIRDS IN MAURITANIA

75

Philomachus pugnax

-

-

-

-

-

1

757

758

5

Haematopus ostralegus

-

-

-

-

12

2

-

14

2

Recurvirostra avosetta

-

-

-

-

25

1

1

27

3

Stercorarius skua

recovery reported by

Trotignon

S. parasiticus

recovery rep

orted

by

Trogignon

Larus ridibundus

-

-

-

-

18

6

8

32

7

L. fuscus

-

-

-

-

116

102

-

218

4

Sterna sandvicensis

-

-

-

38

-

-

-

38

2

S. leucoptera

seen

by

Morel

Streptopelia turtur

500

-

-

-

-

-

79

579

3

Apus melba

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

1

1

Calandrella
br achy dactyl a

7

92

-

-

-

-

306

405

5

Riparia riparia

-

-

-

-

-

-

54

54

5

Hirundo rustica

-

17

-

-

3

63

37

120

17

H. obsoleta

-

3

2

-

-

-

3

8

3

Deli chon urbica

-

5

-

-

-

i

-

6

3

Motacilla flava

7

3

-

-

1

9

57

77

12

M. cine re a

-

-

-

-

-

-

5

5

1

M. alba

13

178

-

1

199

585

976

23

Anthus campestris

6

5

-

-

-

-

3

14

9

A. trivialis

-

-

-

-

-

-

5

5

2

A. cervinus

-

-

-

-

-

-

7

7

1

Lanius senator

15

-

-

-

-

-

5

20

9

Saxicola torquata

-

-

-

-

-

-

3

3

1

Oenanthe oenanthe

22

22

-

-

1

18

21

84

27

0. hispanica

28

7

-

-

-

2

15

52

21

0. deserti

21

40

-

-

3

7

-

71

22

0. isabellina

-

2

-

-

-

2

-

4

3

Monticola solitaria

-

3

1

-

-

-

-

4

2

Phoenicurus phoenicurus

3

-

-

-

-

1

13

17

5

P. ochruros

-

-

-

-

-

1

1

2

2

Luscinia megarhynchos

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

2

1

Sylvia hortensis

13

-

-

-

-

-

-

13

9

S. atricapilla

4

7

-

-

-

5

59

75

8

S. communis

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

1

S. melanocephala

4

10

-

-

3

3

42

62

12

S. cantillans

23

10

-

-

2

3

12

50

21

S. conspicillata

17

6

-

-

-

2

-

25

12

Phylloscopus collybita

3

22

-

-

-

19

119

163

J 1

P. bonelli

16

—

-

-

“

“

16

7

Number of species

24

21

5

2

28

36

56

78

Total birds

719

769

8

62

671

992

3034

6255

Total hours

42.1

25.

6 4.

8

2.1

9.6

9.2

28.6

122.0

Birds/hour

17

30

2

29

70

108

106

51

* Habitats A, B, C, D, E, F, G defined in Table 1

76

P. W. P. Browne

MALIMBUS 4

though as shown in the bottom line of Table 2, the number of birds /hour
varied a lot from one habitat to another. More uniformity would have been
achieved by using only the results for natural dry steppe, but then less
complete geographical coverage would have been achieved. I would urge
other authors to explore the use of such objective ratings by counting all
birds seen and the number of hours of observation. The same rating can be
used to show seasonal distributions, as is done in Appendix 3.

The ratings are used in Fig. 2 to indicate the geographical distrib-
utions of the 13 species and one race. A layout such as this allows the
distributions of many species to be shown on the same map. By keeping the
position of each species constant within the square and indicating species
not found by it is easy to scan the map and pick out the distribution

of each species. This procedure is facilitated if a mask is made of the
size of the map, with one hole in the same position (eg top right hand
corner) for each half degree square, just large enough to reveal the record
for a single species. The fact that many species can be shown on one page
without the use of colour should allow distribution atlases to be produced
more cheaply.

Anthus campestris , Lanius senator, Sylvia hortensis and Phylloscopus
bonelli, exhibited a strong preference for southern areas. On the other
hand, Oenanthe deserti was limited to the northern part of the region.
Oenanthe oenanthe, 0. hispanica and Sylvia cantillans were fairly evenly
distributed except in the very north. Sylvia atricapilla , S. melanocephala
S. conspicillata and Phylloscopus collybita were observed only in western
areas. Calandrella brachydactyla and Oenanthe oenanthe seebohmi (the black
throated race, some specimens of which could be recognised in the field)
were mainly seen in the east.

ESTIMATES OF POPULATIONS

For eight species which were widespread and evenly distributed over the
natural dry steppe, it was possible to calculate approximately the
populations of birds in this habitat. Evenness of distribution was deter-

o

mined from the value of x based on observed occurrences (bird days) and
the number expected at each locality, given the number of hours of
observation there and that the number to be seen per hour was constant at
all localities. Of nine species occurring in five or more localities on
natural dry steppe, only Sylvia conspicillata gave a significant value of
X , indicating its distribution was uneven (ie flocking or bunching) , so
it was excluded. An estimate of the total population of each of the other
eight species was calculated by dividing the number of birds observed per
hour (on dry steppe only, therefore not the same as the ratio used for
calculating abundance ratings in Fig. 2, which refers to all habitats) by
the number of km^ searched per hour (0.3 km^ for all passerines except
shrikes, 0.4 km^ for shrikes, 1.0 km^ for raptors) and multiplying the
result by the number of km of dry steppe in the area where the species is
believed to winter (Table 3) . The total estimated population of these
eight species is 1,000,000 birds.

The only other species for which I have even partial estimates of the
wintering population were Milvus migrans and Motacilla alba. Nouakchott
attracted by far the largest numbers of both species and all those present
in Nouakchott often appeared to form a single group. I counted c. 300
M. migrans in January 1981 at the slaughter house, and twice during Dec.

1982

PALAEARCTIC BIRDS IN MAURITANIA

77

Figure 2 Abundance ratings per half degree square of 13 Palaearctic
species and one race wintering in southwest Mauritania

Table 3 Calculation of populations of eight species on natural dry steppe

78

P. W. P. Browne

MALIMBUS 4

G

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

O

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

•H

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

-P

■*.

v.

«.

rtf

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

i — 1

1 — 1

r-

LO

CTl

CN

CTl

m

CN

o

3

1 — 1

H

CN

' — 1

i — 1

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

CM

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

E cm

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

b ■—

*“

•»

*•

-r

CD

00

r-*

D

r-

CN

r-

CO

r-

r-

D

r-

D

$ CM
p p

G G

.13

in

O

LO

ro

ro

ro

D

■H *

oa

o

i — i

CN

CN

ro

i — i

CN

CN

U)

ro

ro

CT>

LO

00

CD

0^

Pi G

• — 1

O

LO

CT>

ro

D

G b

•H

O

O

o

o

O

O

O

O

PQ

44

0 •

1

CD

r-

D

LD

r-

03 CD

1 0)

O

r-

r-

i — i

ro

o

P b

ro

CN

ro

ro

CN

ro

ro

CN

o o

K

P

03 0)

T3 4-1
G C
•H P
CQ O
O

in

m cm co tH

rH CM CM CM

m m co

i — I CM ' — 1

44

44

44

44

44

44

44

44

0

2

0

0

O

2

0

2

o

2

0

2

0

2

p

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

04 rH

rG

O

rG

1 — 1

rG

CN

rG

O

rG

D

rG

rG

r-

rG

1 1

4->

o

4-3

CN

44

o

4->

O

b

CN

4-3

LO

-P

4-3

CN

<

P

o

P

0

P

o

P

0

!4

o

p

O

P

o

P

o

o

00

0

r-

0

CO

0

00

0

r-

0

r-

0

r-

0

0)

1 — 1

03

i — i

03

i — 1

01

i — 1

G

• — i

03

i — i

03

i — i

03

i — !

0)

Cl

Cl

0)

4-3

U3

Lg

b

rd

P
4-1
P

g

a

0

01
a
o

*H
4-1
P
>

G
CD
0)
b

0

>1

r— I

1
CD
b
4->

P

0

03

1

0

>i
rH

1

CD

b C

4-3 P

1 -rH

O C

C P

•H

CD

■H

1 — 1

S

G

p

P

CD

P

03

CD

0

03

CD

G

P

P

-G

-H

•H

03

G

G

-P

2

l~H

44

G

44

■H

P

O

X

3

1

C

P

G

03

P

b

0)

CD

03

0

0

P

Q.

CD

C

P

rG

CD

c

44

G

0)

03

CD

•H

03

CD

+J

•H

3

P

CL)

•H

CD

44

44

3

rG

o

c

G

0

-G

P

G

G

d

4-3

44

CD

. c

a)

0

p

0

O

a

•H

03

CD

CD

CD

b

0

0

e

CO

44

rG

-G

-G

03

0

o\°

0)

44

44

44

P

P

0

G

o

0

3

c

c

G

-H

•H

P

U-i

CTl

0

■H

p

p

P

b

P

r~H

c

G

G

G

P

1 — 1

3l

r r

p

p

CD

CD

CD

3l

3i

-G

1 1

CN

It

b

o

O

O

CO

CO

Cl

’ '

v —

land area shown in Figure 1 within the limits indicated in the column "Area

1982

PALAEARCTIC BIRDS IN MAURITANIA

79

1978 I counted c. 3500 M. alba leaving the apparently only roost in the town,
in Eucalyptus trees in the town centre.

DISCUSSION

(a) Comparison with neighbouring areas

Publications dealing with Senegal (de Smet & van Gompel 1980, Morel
1972, 1980), northwest Mauritania (Petetin & Trotignon 1972, Trotignon 1980)
and Mali (Lamarche 1980-81) , together with the present paper, give
information on Palaearctic birds wintering in a vast area comprising the
western third of the Sahel and the southern Sahara (c. 17°W to 3°E, see
inset map Fig. 1) . In Table 4, I have summarized the status of 171
Palaearctic species which are considered to be winter visitors to one or
more of the areas: northwest Mauritania, southwest Mauritania, northern
Senegal (north of 14°N) and central Mali (nortn of 14°N) .

All but one of the 83 Palaearctic species found to winter in southwest
Mauritania have also been observed wintering in at least one of these
neighbouring areas. The exception is Phoenicurus ochruros , but that has
previously been recorded south of the Sahara in Mauritania (Atar, 20°31'N,
13°03'W, 7 April 1947, Heim de Balsac 1949-51) and in south Mali (Lamarche
1980-81) .

All aquatic species found wintering in southwest Mauritania also winter
in nearby northern Senegal, in similar habitats. In northwest Mauritania,
the aquatic species occurring in winter are mainly those found in salt water
habitats further south, though there are exceptions, eg Tringa stagnatilis
and Motacilla cinerea , which have only been observed wintering near fresh
water in southwest Mauritania. Even though aquatic species made up a
majority of the species observed in southwest Mauritania, they must
represent a minority of the Palaearctic winterers since suitable habitat is
very restricted. The birds of the dry steppe form the majority of the
wintering populations. There are a few species of raptor, which are much
the same as those found in northern Senegal. The most characteristic and
numerous Palaearctic birds are passerines.

For two species, Sylvia melanocephala and S. conspicillata , western
Mauritania west of 14°W is the main wintering ground south of the desert.

S. melanocephala occurs in northern Senegal occasionally (Morel 1972, de
Smet & van Gompel 1980), but S. conspicillata has not been recorded at all
in that country. Neither species has been recorded in Mali. S. melanocephala
is quite common in the vicinity of Nouadhibou in northwest Mauritania in
winter (Trotignon 1980) , but the records there of S. conspicillata are very-
few. Consequently it appears that the principal southern wintering ground of
that species is in southwest Mauritania.

The other two species confined even more closely to western districts
in southwest Mauritania, Phylloscopus collybita (west of 15°W) and Sylvia
atricapilla (west of 15°30'W), winter commonly in both northwest Mauritania
and northern Senegal but in Mali apparently only in the south (Lamarche
1980-81) . That these species and the two above appear limited to western
areas may be accounted for by the marked difference in type of vegetation on
the dry steppe as one proceeds from west to east. Non-spiny bushes and
trees ( Salvadora persica , Euphorbia balsamifera and Tamarix senegalensis)

80

P. W. P. Browne

MALIMBUS 4

Table 4 Palaearctic winter visitors to the western Sahel and southwestern
Sahara

NW

SW

N (14°+)

Cent (14

Mauri t.

Mauri t.

Senegal

Mali

Podiceps ruficollis

w

a

A

A

Sula bassana

W

W

W

-

Ixobrychus minutus

-

_*

W

W

Nycticorax nycticorax

P

P*

VJ

W

Ardeola ralloides

-

P

A

VJ

Egretta alba

w

W

A

A

E. garzetta

W

W

W

W

Ardea cinerea

W

w

W

W

A. purpurea

P

p*

W

W

Ciconia ciconia

P

w

VJ

W

C. nigra

P

w

w

P

Geronticus eremitus

-

-

-

w

Plegadis falcinellus

w

w

W

W

Platalea leucorodia

w

w

w

P

Phoenicopterus ruber

W

p *

W

-

Branta bernicla

w

-

-

-

Anser fabalis

-

-

-

w

Tadorna tadorna

-

-

w

-

Anas penelope

w

-

w

W

A. strepera

-

-

w

w

A. crecca

-

_ *

W

W

A. platyrhynchos

-

-

-

w

A. acuta

p

w

W

VJ

A. angustirostris

-

_*

w

w

A. querquedula

p

w

W

W

A. clypeata

-

w

W

W

Aythya ferina

p

p

w

w

A. nyroca

-

_*

w

w

A. fuligula

-

-

w

w

Melanitta nigra

w

-

-

-

Gyps fulvus

w

w

w

w

Neophron percnopterus

w

w

w

W

Circus macrourus

-

w

W

VJ

C. pygargus

p

w

W

w

C. aeruginosus

W

w

W

w

Circaetus gallicus

P

w

W

VJ

Accipiter nisus

-

-

-

w

Buteo rufinus

w

w

w

VJ

B. buteo

w

p

w

P

Hieraaetus spilogaster

w

a

a

a

H. pennatus

p

w

w

w

Mi 1 vus mi grans

w

W

W

W

Pernis apivorus

-

P

w

w

Pandion haliaetus

W

P

w

VJ

Falco biarmicus

w

a

w

W

1982

PALAEARCTIC BIRDS IN MAURITANIA

F. cherrug
F. peregrinus
F. vespertinus
F. tinnunculus

w

p

w

w

w

w

-

-

w

w

w

w

Coturnix coturnix

P

w

W

Porzana parva
P. pusilla

P. porzana p
Gallinula chloropus p
Fulica atra p

Burhinus oedicnemus p

Vanellus vanellus p
Pluvialis apricarius w
P. squatarola W
Charadrius hiaticula W
C. dubius

C. alexandrinus W
C. asiaticus -
Numenius phaeopus W
N. arquata W
Limosa limosa w
L. lapponica W
Tringa nebularia W
T. stagnatilis w
T. glareola

T. ochropus p
T. hypoleucos

T. totanus W
T. erythropus p
Arenaria interpres W

Gallinago media
G. gallinago
G. minima

Calidris canutus W

C. alpina W

C. ferruginea W

C . mi nut a W

C. temminckii

C. alba W

Limicola falcinellus
Philomachus pugnax w

Phalaropus fulicarius w

Haematopus ostralegus W

Recurvirostra avosetta P

w

-* W

p* w

-* w

p* W

p w

p w

W ' w

w w

w w

A w

P w

p w

W W

w W

w W

w W

W W

w W

w W

w w

w w

w W

w

w W

P

w w

W w

W w

W W

w w

W W

W W

P

W w

W W

Cursorius cursor
Glareola pratincola

Stercorarius skua
S. pomarinus
S. parasiticus
Larus melanocephalus
L. tridactylus
L. ridibundus
L. genei
L. argentatus

a

P

W

W

W

P

w

W

A

P

A

P

w

P

w

W

P

P

w

W

w

p

w

w

p

W

A

w

82

P . VJ . P . Browne

MALIMBUS 4

L. fuscus
Sterna nilotica
S. caspia

S. sandvicensis
S. dougalii
S. hi run do
S. hybrida
S. leucoptera
S. nigra
S. albifrons

Streptopelia turtur

Otus scops
Asio flammeus

Caprimulgus ruf icollis
C. aegyptius

Apus melba

4. apus

A. pallidus

Upupa epops

Jynx torquilla

Calandrella brachydactyla

Riparia riparia
Hirundo rustica
H. rupestris
H. obsoleta
Deli chon urbica

Motacilla flava

M. cinerea
M. alba

Anthus campestris
A. novaeseelandiae
A. trivialis
A. cervinus
A. pratensis

Lanius collurio
L. minor
L. excubitor
L. senator

L. nubicus

Sturnus vulgaris

Saxicola rubetra

5. torquata
Oenanthe oenanthe
0. hispanica

0. deserti
0. isabellina
Monticola saxatilis

M. solitaria

w

VJ

VJ

A

p

a

A

p*

VJ

VJ

VJ

w

W

p

p

W

p

w

-

p

VJ

P

w

VJ

w

P

VJ

W

P

VJ

P

VJ

VJ

P

P*

VJ

P

P

p

-

P

p

-

_*

VJ

P

w

p

P

P

p

VJ

-

p

w

P*

VJ

p

P

w

w

W

p

-

VJ

W

w

VJ

w

-

-

p

w

w

-

w

w

p

w

VJ

VJ

w

w

w

W

VJ

VJ

w

VJ

w

P

w

w

VJ

w

w

w

a

A

VJ

P

VJ

VJ

w

-

-

P

P

w

w

w

a

W

VJ

VJ

P

VJ

VJ

W

VJ

w

-

w

w

-

P

-

-

w

w

VJ

VJ

VJ

w

w

VJ

W

VJ

W

w

VJ

W

w

w

A

VJ

w

P

P

VJ

VJ

VJ

w

w

shos u id ? s s s'o s sss ss; ££ s >^0

1982

PALAEARCTIC BIRDS IN MAURITANIA 83

Phoenicurus phoenicurus

P

w

w

W

P. ochruros

-

w

-

-

Cercotrichas galactotes

P

P* *

w

w

Luscinia megarhynchos

P

w

w

p

L. svecica

P

p*

w

w

Locustella luscinioides

-

-

w

w

Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

P

p*

w

W

A. paludicola

P

-

p

w

A. scirpaceus

P

p*

w

W

A. arundinaceus

-

p

w

w

Hippolais pallida

P

p*

W

W

Sylvia hortensis

P

W

W

w

S. atricapilla

W

W

w

w

S . communis

P

w

W

p

S. curruca

-

-

-

w

S. melanocephala

w

W

w

-

S. cantillans

P

w

W

W

S. conspicillata

w

w

-

-

Phy lloscopus trochilus

P

p

P

w

P. collybita

w

w

w

W

P. bonelli

-

w

w

W

P. sibilatrix

-

-

p

w

Ficedula hypoleuca

p

p

w

w

Ember iza calandra

w

-

P

-

KEY:

Common

A

P

Scarce Status

a Observed in winter but probably of Afrotropical origin

p Palaearctic passage migrant

W w Palaearctic winter visitor (Dec. -Jan.)

Not recorded

* Will probably be found to winter in southwest

Mauritania

Note: A further 38 species have been recorded as passage migrants or

vagrants in at least one of these areas but are not known to winter
in any of them, so do go further south or have been overlooked.

84

P. W. P. Browne

MALIMBUS 4

are abundant in the west near the coast, while Maerua crassi folia appears
mainly west of 14°W. Salvadora persica and Maerua crassi folia are important
berry bearing trees. Spiny vegetation ( Acacia sp. and Balanites aegyptiaca)
occurs right across southwest Mauritania, but is predominant in the east with
the decline of non-spiny types. Humidity of the air is another factor; it
steadily declines on the average as one gets further from the coast (Toupet
et al. 1977) .

The only Palaearctic species wintering exclusively in northern areas
of southwest Mauritania (north of 17°N) , Oenanthe deserti, is common also
in northwest Mauritania but is very scarce and has only recently been
recorded in Senegal (Morel 1980) . In Mali it occur: south to 15°N (Lamarche
1980-81) . I often saw it in association with Sylvia conspicillata , where
the ranges of the two species overlapped.

The four species Anthus campestris , Lanius senator, Sylvia hortensis
and Phylloscopus bonelli which favour southern parts of southwest Mauritania,
as well as Oenanthe oenanthe, O. hispanica and Sylvia cantillans which are
more widespread, are all common on the dry steppe in northern Senegal. The
observations reported in this paper establish the known northern limits of
the winter quarters of six of these species in West Africa (all except
Oenanthe oenanthe which winters as far north as northwest Mauritania) :

Oenanthe hispanica and Sylvia cantillans about 18°30'N, Anthus campestris
and Sylvia hortensis about 18°N, Lanius senator and Phylloscopus bonelli
about 17° 30 1 N . These seven species occur east to Mali, where northern limits
in winter are given as 18°N for Oenanthe hispanica and 17°N for Anthus
campestris , Sylvia cantillans and Phylloscopus bonelli (Lamarche 1980-81
and pers. comm.). For a further eight species which are scarcer or require more
specialised habitats, the wintering records in southwest Mauritania appear
to include the most northerly in West Africa: Ciconia nigra (16°26'N),

Circus pygargus (17°07'N), Circaetus gallicus (17°20'N), Hieraaetus pennatus
(16°51'N), Streptopelia turtur , Riparia riparia, Phoenicurus phoenicurus and
Luscinia megarhynchos (18°04'N).

One species, Calandrella brachydactyla , was found to be common (espec-
ially in millet fields) in winter in southwest Mauritania east of 14°30'W,
but it is considered to be a passage migrant only in northern Senegal (Morel
1972) . In Mali it is common in winter south of 16°N (Lamarche 1980-81) .

Most ornithological work in Senegal has been carried out west of 14°30'W;
it can confidently be predicted that the species will eventually be found
to winter in eastern Senegal. 4

The common wintering of Oenanthe o. seebohmi in the eastern part of
southwest Mauritania (Fig. 2) indicates that this is the principal
wintering area of that form; for no other has been found. Lamarche (1980-
81) mentions it in Mali, but only "quelques individus" and Morel (1972) has
only two records for Senegal, both in April. This finding answers a question
raised by Heim de Balsac in 1951 as to where this bird winters, for he had
noted that they leave their breeding grounds in the Atlas mountains and had
observed two specimens in April south of the breeding area, one in southern
Morocco, the other in northern Mauritania. We can roughly estimate the
population of this race in southwest Mauritania. East of 14°30'W, 8 out of
25 Oenanthe oenanthe were black- throated (compared with only 2 out of 59
west of 14°30'W) . Since only the male has this plumage, that would indicate
the majority in the east are seebohmi , with a population of at least 50,000
birds .

1982

PALAEARCTIC BIRDS IN MAURITANIA

85

In view of the finding of Morel & Roux (1966) that Oenanthe isabellina
was the commonest wheatear on 16 February 1965 80 km north of Rosso,
Mauritania (around 17°10'N, 15°15'W), it is surprising that I saw so few of
them, and these near Nouakchott. Possible reasons may be that I did not
visit the locality concerned, that their 1965 observation was outside the
December- January period and that there has been a marked climatic change
since 1965. Lamarche (1980-81) reports that 0. isabellina is the commonest
wheatear north of 16°N in Mali.

It seems likely that most Palaearctic species which have been recorded
as wintering regularly in northern Senegal near the frontier of Mauritania,
but have not so far been recorded wintering in Mauritania, will be found
eventually to winter there too. In Table 4 the 21 species concerned are
marked with an asterisk. 15 species are aquatic and six non aquatic.

It is worth noting that for a number of species which breed in the
Afrotropical zone as well as the Palaearctic, there is often no clear
evidence of the origin of the birds observed. This may lead to assessments
of status which differ among authors in neighbouring areas. For instance,
my assessment of Egretta alba as being a Palaearctic winter visitor and
Upupa epops as not so being in southwest Mauritania (Appendix 3) is just the
opposite of the assessment of Morel (1972, 1980) in northern Senegal only a
short distance away. The evidence available is different in the two
countries .

The finding (Appendix 3) of passage migrants as late as 14 December
( Asio flammeus) and as early as 20 January ( Upupa epops) was unexpected and
shows that there is only a very short time (about 5 weeks) when there was
no evidence of movement of Palaearctic birds.

(b) Estimates of populations

Of 24 species seen on the natural dry steppe, only eight were evenly
distributed (Table 3) . If the densities of these eight species are summed
within the geographical limits where each species is found, they average
about 10 birds per km^ at 17°N and 3 per krrh at 18°30'N. The other 16
species were unevenly distributed. Excluding a roost of 500 Streptopelia
turtur , the average density (calculated using the same assumptions
regarding area searched per hour as for the evenly distributed species) of
all 24 Palaearctic species is about 22 per km2 at 16-17° N, 16 per km2 at
17-18° N and 12 per km2 at 18-19° N.

Comparable densities can be obtained from other sources. Moreau
(1961 and 1972) estimated that about 155,000 birds migrate from the
Palaearctic into Africa per km of longitude. If we assume that these birds
winter from the southern edge of the Sahara to the Gulf of Guinea the
distance is 1,600 km; this gives an average density of Palaearctic winter
visitors to tropical West Africa of around 97 birds per km2. Elgood et al .
(1966) estimated in a similar way about 200 per mile2 or 77 per km2 for
Nigeria. These figures are averages based upon quite general assumptions.
Confirmation of their validity for northern areas derives from seven counts
of Palaearctic birds on a 0.25 km2 study area of bush savanna at Fete-Ole
in northern Senegal (16°13'N, 15°06'W) in December and January between 1969
and 1979 (G.J. and M.Y. Morel, pers. comm.). These give 99 ± 30 (95%
confidence limits) birds per km2.

86

P. W. P. Browne

MALIMBUS 4

These three estimates of 77-99 birds per km^ are about four times
higher than my estimate for the part of Mauritania lying only slightly north
of the counts made by the Morels. This may be partly accounted for by the
difference in techniques. We both used visual counts. However, they did
an exhaustive census of a small area by three observers. I counted the
birds I saw during steady walks at about twice their speed (c. 3.6 km/hr
instead of 1.7 km/hr), and assumed I could detect all birds present within
a certain distance. This assumption was based upon measurements of the
distance at which I first detected birds in the vicinity of Nouakchott, on
very lightly vegetated steppe. The further south one goes, the denser the
vegetation because of increased rainfall. Approximate rainfall annual
averages are (Toupet et al . 1977) : 16-17°N 300 mm. 17-18°N 200 mm, 18-19°

N 100 mm. I think it is likely that my density estimates for a given
species are quite realistic in the 18-19°N zone, but too low by a factor of
2 or 3 at 16-17 °N. This implies that the population of eight evenly spread
species is about 2,000,000 instead of 1,000,000 in southwest Mauritania.
Unevenly spread species are not included in this estimate; these apparently
are as numerous as the evenly spread species. Also I have excluded because
of insufficient evidence of Palaearctic origin (Appendix 3) Cursorius
cursor, Upupa epops and Lanius excubitor which occurred in numbers on the
dry steppe and which are considered Palaearctic winter visitors to Senegal
(Morel 1972) . Thus the total Palaearctic wintering population could well
be of the order of 5 million birds.

The records of Treca and Roux, obtained by aerial survey on 6 December
1975, show how difficult it is to estimate the population of water birds in
southwest Mauritania. This is because of the huge variation in the numbers
found on a given body of water. For instance, 44,900 Pintail Anas acuta
were counted on that day. The species was found on only six of the 22 lakes
inspected, in the following numbers:- 35,000, 8,000, 1,000, 500, 300, 100.
Yet, during a previous aerial survey on 5 November 1975 of the same lakes,
only 4,475 were present and the numbers on the same 6 lakes respectively
were:- 0, 0, 250, 0, 0, 0. The bodies of water in Mauritania form part of
a system which also includes lakes, marshes and irrigated areas in Senegal
(not included in the figures for the Pintail quoted above) ; conditions can
change quite rapidly as lakes dry out or according to irrigation needs.

This must cause large movements of birds between aquatic habitats in the
two countries, making calculation of wintering populations in Mauritania
alone rather meaningless.

Even though the number of species of water birds wintering in southwest
Mauritania probably exceeds that in the northwest, it seems clear that
southwest Mauritania does not rival northwest Mauritania as a wintering
ground for these birds, where the population is estimated of the order of
1,000,000 (Trotignon 1980) . However, the population of birds of the steppe
in southwest Mauritania exceeds that number, probably by several times.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Dr J.F. Monk for valuable comments on this paper,
Dr J.C.O. Harrison for examining slides of Saxicola torquata, Mr B.
Treca, Mr F. Roux, Dr G.J. Morel and Dr M.Y. Morel for making avail-
able to me unpublished data.

1982

PALAEARCTIC BIRDS IN MAURITANIA

87

RESUME

Cette etude sur les oiseaux palearctiques cantonnes dans le sud-ouest de la
Mauritanie a ete menee au cours des mois de decembre et janvier 1978, 1979,
1980, 1981 et Jan. 1982. 78 especes furent identifiees par l'auteur et 5

(principalement des especes aquatiques) par d'autres personnes. La
densite des oiseaux terrestres cantonnes sur la steppe (surtout des
passereaux) a ete estimee a 12 oiseaux au km2, au nord et au moins a 22
oiseaux au km2 au sud; l'effectif a ete estime entre 2 et 5 millions. Les
especes trouvees etaient en general les memes que celles observees dans les
regions avoisinantes : nord du Senegal, nord-ouest de la Mauritanie et
centre du Mali. Cependant, de nouveaux quartiers divers furent decouverts
pour Oenanthe oenanthe seebohmi , Sylvia melanocephala et Sylvia
conspicillata tandis que les limites septentrionales approximati ves de
quartiers d'hivers en Afrique de 1' Quest furent etablies pour 14 especes.

REFERENCES

ASH, V.S. & POMEROY, D.E. (1981) Mapping schemes in the Afrotropical
Region. Ibis 123: 552-3

BROWNE, P.W.P. (1981) Breeding of six Palaearctic birds in southwest
Mauritania. Bull. B.O.C. 101(2): 306-310

DE SMET, K. & VAN GOMPEL, J. (1980) Observations sur la Cote senegalaise
en decembre et janvier. Malimbus 2: 56-70

HEIM DE BALSAC, H. & T. (1949-51) Les migrations des oiseaux dans l'ouest
du continent africain. Alauda 17-18: 129-143, 206-221; 19: 19-39,

97-112, 157-171, 193-210

HEIM DE BALSAC, H. & MAYAUD, N. (1962) Les Oiseaux du Nord-Ouest de
1' Afrique. Editions Paul Lechevalier, Paris

LAMARCHE, B. (1980-81) Liste commentee des oiseaux du Mali. Malimbus 2:
121-158; 3: 73-102

MOREAU, R.E. (1961) Problems of Medi terranean-Saharan migration. Ibis
103a: 373-427, 580-623

MOREAU, R.E. (1972) The Palaearctic-Af rican Bird Migration System.

Academic Press, London & New York

MOREL, G.J. (1972) Liste CommentSe des Oiseaux du SSnSgal et de la Gambie .
ORSTOM, Dakar

MOREL, G.J. (1980) Liste CommentSe des Oiseaux du SSnSgal et de la Gambie,
Supplement No 1. ORSTOM, Dakar

MOREL, G.J. & M.-Y. (1978) Recherches ecologiques sur une savane

sahelienne du Ferlo septentrional, Senegal. Etude d'une commaunaute
avienne. Cah. ORSTOM Ser. Biol. 13(1): 3-34

MOREL, G.J. & M.-Y., ORSTOM, personal communication

MOREL, G.J. & ROUX, F. (1966) Les migrateurs palearctiques au Senegal.

La Terre et la Vie 20: 19-72, 143-176

cont. p. 92

88

P. W. P. Browne

MALIMBUS 4

Appendix 1

Latitude and longitude of localities and hours spent at each

Locality

no .

N

W

Hours

Locality

no.

N

W

Hours

A01

1615

1624

0.7

BIO

1305

1557

0.5

A02

1639

1601

0.1

B 11

1 305

1558

0.6

AO 3

1640

1602

1.6

B12

1806

1559

4.9

AO 4

1644

1605

0.8

B13

1806

1601

3.2

AO 5

1651

1606

4.0

B14

1807

1559

4.6

AO 6

1656

1615

0.3

B15

1810

1554

4.8

AO 7

1701

1605

0.9

B16

1822

1544

0.8

AO 8

1702

1403

1.2

A09

1703

1605

1.0

C01

1709

1212

2.3

A10

1709

1212

4 .0

CO 2

1710

1212

1.5

All

1711

1604

0.3

CO 3

1715

1218

1.0

A12

1718

1343

1.5

A13

1721

1423

2.2

D01

1804

1602

1.6

A14

1721

1604

2.1

D02

1805

1602

0.5

A15

1726

1320

1.4

A16

1731

1435

2.2

E01

1622

1622

0.1

A17

1732

1559

1.7

E02

1623

1620

0.3

A18

1734

1254

1.1

E03

1626

1620

0.3

A19

1736

1245

0.5

E04

1646

1618

0.5

A20

1737

1449

1.3

E05

1753

1602

1.7

A21

1738

1238

2.3

E06

1756

1602

1.4

A22

1746

1506

1.1

E07

1804

1602

3.2

A23

1747

1558

1.1

E08

1806

1602

1.0

A24

1754

1525

1.0

E09

1807

1602

1.1

A25

1801

1545

1.6

A26

1802

1558

1.6

F01

1613

1625

1.0

A2 7

1815

1550

2.0

F02

1803

1601

0.5

A28

1833

1540

0.1

F03

1805

1559

3.6

A29

1842

1537

1.2

F04

1805

1602

4.1

A30

1846

1535

1.2

G01

*L632

1548

2.3

B01

1634

1618

0.5

G02

1633

1548

2.0

BO 2

1703

1355

0.1

GO 3

1636

1555

0.4

B03

1724

1324

0. 7

GO 4

1702

1356

0.5

B04

1725

1234

0.3

GO 5

1707

1404

1.9

B05

1729

1306

1.0

G06

1715

1220

1.0

BO 6

1751

1508

1.0

GO 7

1720

1340

0.8

BO 7

1757

1528

0.3

G08

1735

1250

1.6

BO 8

1758

1531

1.3

GO 9

1804

1559

18.1

BO 9

1804

1556

1.0

1982

PALAEARCTIC BIRDS IN MAURITANIA

89

Appendix 2

Localities at which each species was observed

Sula bassana D01 02, Egretta alba E03 GOl, E . garzetta E01 G01, Ardea
cinerea E01 02 03 GOl 02 04 06, Ciconia ciconia GOl, C. nigra E03, Plegadis
falcinellus G05, Anas acuta E05 F02 G06 09, A. querquedula G02 05 06 08 09,

A. clypeata G02 06, Gyps fulvus A03, Neophron percnopterus B01 C02 G07,

Circus macrourus A17, C. pygargus E04 GOl 02 05, C. aeruginosus GOl 02 05
06, Circaetus gallicus C03 G07, Buteo rufinus A29 F02, Hieraaetus pennatus
AO 5 GOl, Milvus migrans A03 05 16 B01 09 12 13 14 E02 07 F02 03 04 GOl 02

04 07 09, Falco peregrinus Bll C02 G07, F. tinnunculus A03 08 12 13 25 B05

11 13 F03 G02 04 07 08 09, Coturnix coturnix G05, Pluvialis squatarola E05

07 F04, Charadrius hiaticula E05 06 08 F01 02 04 G09, C. dubius F01 03 GOl
02 04 09, Limosa lapponica E05 F04, Tringa nebularia GOl 02, T. stagnatilis
GOl 02 04 06 07, T. glareola GOl 02 05 06 08, T. ochropus GOl 02 06, T.
hypoleucos F01 G03 06, T. totanus E05 F02 GOl 02 06, T. erythropus GOl 02

05 06, Arenaria interpres E05 F04, Gallinago gallinago GOl 05 09, Calidris
canutus E05 06 F01 04, C. alpina E04 05 F01 02 04 GOl, C. ferruginea E05
F02 04, C. minuta E04 05 06 F01 02 GOl 02 04 05 06 07, C. temminckii G04 ,

C. alba E05 07 08 F04, Philomachus pugnax F02 GOl 02 05 06, Haewatopus
ostralegus E07 F04, Recurvirostra avosetta E05 F02 G02, Larus ridibundus
E04 05 06 08 F04 G04 07, L. fuscus E03 07 08 F04, Sterna sandvicensis DOl

02, Streptopelia turtur A12 G07 09, Apus melba G08, Calandrella brachydactyla
A13 B03 04 G05 08, Riparia riparia GOl 02 04 05 09, Hirundo rustica B05 07

08 09 11 12 13 15 E05 09 F03 04 GOl 06 07 08 09, H. obsoleta B12 C02 G09,
Delichon urbica Bll 12 F04, Motacilla flava A01 B04 05 E05 F03 04 GOl 02 05

07 08 09, M. cinerea G09, M. alba A09 13 25 26 B02 05 06 10 11 12 13 14 15
E02 F01 02 03 04 GOl 02 03 04 09, Anthus campestris A06 08 13 B03 04 05 G07

08 09, A. trivialis GOl 09, A. cervinus G09, Lanius senator A03 05 07 08 10
13 G02 05 06, Saxicola torquata G09, Oenanthe oenanthe A04 05 07 08 10 12
13 15 16 17 25 26 B03 05 12 13 15 E06 F03 04 GOl 02 03 04 07 08 09, O.
hispanica A05 07 08 13 14 15 16 17 20 22 23 24 25 B03 04 06 12 F02 G03 06
09, O. deserti A15 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 27 29 30 B06 08 12 13 14 15 16 E06

09 F03 04, O. isabellina B13 15 F03 , Monticola solitaria B12 C01, Phoenicurus
phoenicurus A03 05 12 F04 G09, P. ochruros F04 G09 , Luscinia megarhynchos
G09, Sylvia hortensis A01 03 04 05 07 13 14 18 24, S. atricapilla A05 17 B08

12 14 F04 G03 09, S. communis A01, S. melanocephala A13 27 Bll 12 13 14 15
E05 07 F03 04 G09, S. cantillans A01 03 05 06 08 10 12 13 14 16 18 23 B05 12

13 14 16 E04 F01 GO 5 09, S. conspicillata A04 07 13 17 20 23 25 27 29 B13 14
F03, Phylloscopus collybita A03 17 B06 08 11 13 14 16 F03 04 G09, P. bonelli
AO 3 04 05 07 10 12 13.

90

P. W. P. Browne

MALIMBUS 4

Appendix 3

Evidence for including and excluding certain species

1. Confirmation of identity of three species
12 x 40 binoculars were used.

Hirundo obsoleta : observed at Nouakchott perched on ledges of unfinished
houses at a range of c. 10 metres -- grey-brown ab eve with white spots on
tail, pale buff below with whitish unstreaked throat.

Sylvia conspicillata: distinguished from Whitethroat S. communis , which
also has a rufous wing patch, white on sides of tail, grey head and
whitish eye-ring, by call - a sharp rattling "trrrrrt" - and active
flitting behaviour, flying from bush to bush (Sharrock 1962) . Also the
season was different: Spectacled Warblers were seen only from 16
November to 21 February, whereas Whitethroats were netted in a garden at
Nouakchott 29 March-25 April and 19 September-25 October (nets set 27
January-13 June and 15 September-29 November) . No Spectacled Warbler was
netted (they did not come into the gardens), but one was shot by Mr C.
Lasausse (in my company) near Nouakchott on 7 February 1982. Identity
confirmed by wing 57-58 mm, emarginated 3rd-6th primaries, rufous patch
on wing (Williamson 1976b) . The specimen was deposited in the collection
of ORSTOM at Richard-Toll , Senegal.

Phylloscopus collybita: my impression, based on appearance, that no
Willow Warblers P. trochilus were present in winter was confirmed by
examination of birds caught in the nets referred to above - 24
Chiffchaffs between 27 January and 18 May and on 21 October and 37 Willow
Warblers between 22 March and 3 June (identification based on Williamson
1976a) . Also Chiffchaffs were heard in song at Nouakchott from December
to April whereas Willow Warbler song was heard only in April and May.

2. Palaearctic species which breed in or near Mauritania

26 species which breed in or near Mautirania as well as further north
(Browne 1981, Heim de Balsac & Mayaud 1962, Morel 1972, 1980) were seen
in winter in southwest Mauritania. *

For six species there was direct evidence of migration from the north.
Egretta alba, Ardea cinerea and Calandrella brachydactyla were observed
flying north in spring or south in autumn near Nouakchott (well away
from breeding areas) . For three species, Palaearctic races were identified.
Milvus migrans: all birds observed closely in December and January had
black beaks. In addition two found dead on 17 January 1981 had black
beaks and a wing length of 470 and 483 mm (upper limit of local race
tenebrosus is 454 mm, Mackworth-Praed & Grant 1970) . Falco tinnunculus
was observed over flat steppe, whereas the local race rufescens is
confined to rocky areas (Serle & Morel 1979). Saxicola torquata: a
male photographed at Nouakchott in November 1981 had the characteristics
of the west European race torquata rather than of any of the African or
eastern races - the whole underparts were rufous without a white belly and
the mantle was dark brown striped instead of being black (confirmed by Dr
J.C.O. Harrison in litt.).

1982

PALAEARCTIC BIRDS IN MAURITANIA

91

For the other species, the evidence is indirect, and based upon
seasonal presence or absence. The abundance rating (scale given in
Figure 2) of each of 24 species in two month periods (first letter of
months used) during the year over the whole of southwest Mauritania was
as follows :

F , M A, M

Ardeola ralloides 1 1

A. ibis 4 6

Egretta alba 2 1

E. garzetta 2 1

Ardea cinerea 4 3

Plegadis falcinellus

Falco biarmicus - 1

F. peregrinus

Charadrius alexandrinus 5 5

Cursorius cursor 3 4

Pterocles senegallus 1 5

Upupa epops 5 5

Alaemon alaudipes 4 4

Ammomanes cincturus 2 3

Calandrella brachydactyla 6 2

Galerida cristata 5 5

Hirundo obsoleta

Lanius excubitor 3 2

Corvus ruficollis 5 4

Saxicola torquata 1

Oenanthe deserti 3 1

Sylvia conspicillata 2

Rhodopechys githaginea 5 4

Passer simplex 4 2

* high value because of one large flock

J,J A , S 0 , N D, J

1

5

1

1

4

4

5
4

4
3

5

3

6

4

4

1

5

1

2

2

3
1

4
3
2

5
3
2

3
5

4
4

2

4

1

1

5
1
3
3

3
1
1

4
3

6

3

4
2
6

5
2

4

5
1
4
2
4
4

1

5
4

3

4

3
1
1

4

5*

4

3

4

3

6

5
2

4
4
1
4
3
2

5*

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

w

w

w

A peak in the column D,J indicates that the species is probably a winter
visitor. Ten species believed to have this status have a W in the last
column. For the other 14 species, I believe the evidence of Palaearctic
origin to be insufficient. As shown below, there was reason to think
that Upupa epops was on migration at Nouakchott in December and January.
Hoopoes were also seen further south, but in two cases song was heard,
indicating the local race senegalensis , which breeds in southwest
Mauritania (nest at 16°44'N, 16°05'W, 11 July 1978) .

3. Probable passage migrants

Ten species seen at Nouakchott in December and January were observed
only during either the first three days of December or the last two days
of January. These have been excluded as being probable late autumn or
early spring migrants (indicated respectively by A and S) : Nycticorax
nycticorax (A) , Ardea purpurea (A) , Pandion haliaetus (A) , Gallinula
chloropus (A) , Vanellus vanellus (A) , Numenius arquata (A) , Sterna

92

P. W. P. Browne

MALIMBUS 4

hirundo (A) , Saxicola rubetra (A) , Locustella naevia (S) and
Hippolais pallida (S) . Also the only example of Asio flammeus was one
flying south along the shore at Nouakchott on 14 December 1979. Upupa
epops was not observed at Nouakchott between 3 December and 20 January,
though they were common just before and just after that period,
presumably on passage. Records of Calandrella brachydactyla on and
before 6 December are excluded because birds were seen flying south
near the coast up to that date.

REFERENCES con t. from p. 87

MOREL, G.J. & ROUX, F. (1973) Les migrateurs palearctiques au Senegal,
Notes complementaires . La Terre et la Vie 27: 523-550

PETETIN, M. & TROTIGNON, J. (1972) Prospection hivernale au Banc d'Arguin
(Mauritanie) . Alauda 40: 195-213

ROUX, F., MAHEO, R. & TAMISIER, A. (1978) L ' exploitation de la basse
vallee du Senegal (quatier d'hiver tropical) par trois especes de
canards palearctiques et ethiopiennes . La Terre et la Vie 32: 387-416

SHARROCK, J.T.P. (1962) The field identification of Sardinian, Subalpine
and Spectacled Warblers in autumn. British Birds 55: 90-92

TOUPET, C., LACLAVERE, G. & MONOD, T. (1977) Atlas de la Republique
Islamique de Mauritanie . Editions Jeune Afrique, Paris

TRECA, B. ORSTOM & ROUX, F. CRBPO, Paris. Personal communication

TROTIGNON, J. (1980) Parc National du Banc d' Arguin . Comptes-Rendus
d' ActivitSs Scienti fiques (Oct. 77-F£v. 79) . Nouadhibou

WILLIAMSON, K. (1976a) Identification for Ringers The Genus Phylloscopus .
B.T.O. Tring

WILLIAMSON, K. (1976b) Identification for Ringers The Genus Sylvia.'

B.T.O. Tring

P. W. P. Browne, 115 Crichton Street, Ottawa, Ontario , KIM 1V8, Canada

1982

93

THE BIRDS OF CONAKRY AND KAKULIMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF GUINEE

by D. K. Richards

Received 21 May 1982

As far as I know, the birds of Conakry and Kakulima have not been
documented, although I have not been able to search the pre-independence
literature fully.

I lived in Conakry from mid December 1979 to mid May 1980 and again
from November 1980 to February 1981. Security in Guinee is very strict,
although this is now being relaxed to some extent; most of my early
records were made without the use of binoculars (their use was forbidden) .
In cases where I consider the identification less than certain, I have
marked the species other species whose identification is not positive

are placed in square brackets. A total of 178 species are listed below.

CLIMATE

During the months of my stay in Guinee the weather was humid and
mostly overcast, with visibility severely limited at times. The temperature
was always in excess of 30°C and the only rain experienced was on the
evening of 25th April 1980.

I did not reside in the area during the rain season; and in the early
part of my stay, travel around Conakry was greatly hampered due to security
restrictions. Thus I am sure many species will have been missed; hope-
fully, with the more relaxed security conditions coming into effect, a more
thorough coverage of the area will soon be possible.

CONAKRY

The city of Conakry is situated on the end of a rocky peninsular which
extends 14 km out to sea. The city itself is heavily populated and dense
suburbs stretch as far as the airport on the southern coast, and for 10 km
along the northern coast. The centre of the peninsular is formed by higher
ground consisting of rocky ironstone country with scant vegetation and a
low human population.

The following places are marked on the map (Fig. 2) and are where most
of the birds recorded were seen.

Botanical Gardens (A) - These gardens, situated in the suburb of Camayenne,
are not maintained and many trees have been felled. The Forestry Department
has an office there and part of the Gardens is used for rearing seedlings.
Next to the Gardens there is the Colonial Cemetery, almost completely over-

94

D. K. Richards

MALIMBUS 4

grown, but a rewarding birdwatching area.

Dabondi (B) - A heavily populated suburb on the southern coast with a small
muddy bay fed by a small tree- lined creek.

Airport (C) - A typical airport. There are areas of long grass which, when
dry, are harvested by the local population for bedding. The airport is
bordered on the north by irrigated cultivation and on the south by a man-
grove creek.

Airport Creek (D) - A tidal mangrove creek with a small area of mud
exposed at low tide. Between the mangroves and the airport the area is
scrub with a few tall trees.

Bare Hillside (E) - This ironstone area in the centre of the peninsular has
already been noted.

Kipe (F) - A village and suburbs on the northern coast where I lived in
February 1981.

Sangareya Bay (G) - Here restricted to the area of mudflats near the village
of Lembagui ; a very important feeding area for herons and Palaearctic
waders .

Marshy Area (H) - An unnamed fresh-marsh alongside the airport road.
Fresh-water Marsh and Pools (I) - Also unnamed, near the village of Fosside.
Sparse Woodland (J) - Near Fosside.

Kakoulima (not shown on map) - A prominent hill rising to 1000 m a.s.l.,

50 km NE of Conakry. There is a track normally only suitable for 4-whell
drive vehicles almost to the top. The upper third of the hill is heavily
forested while the lower third has been cleared; the intermediate third is
in the process of being cleared. The area would make an ideal first
national park for Guinee and, in any case, should be preserved. Not only
is tree-felling rampant but many local people roam the area carrying modern
automatic rifles. Apart from birds there are also Chimpanzees Pan
troglodytes and various species of monkey in the forest. Unfortunately I
was only able to visit the area twice during my stay in the country.

SYSTEMATIC LIST

Scientific and English names and sequence follow Serle & Morel (1977) .

Pelecanus rufescens Usually present off shore.

Phalacrocorax africanus Usually seen on small fresh water pools outside
the city, e.g. at H and I, but occasionally at Sangareya Bay (G) .

Phalacrocorax carbo lucidus Quite common at Sangareya Bay (G) but some
always present at other sites scattered along the coast.

1982

CONAKRY AND KAKULIMA , GUINEE

95

Figure 1 White-crested Bitter (Tiger Bittern) Tigriornis leucolopha .
See text. Photo D.K. Richards

Figure 2 Environs of Conakry. A-J, see text.

96

D. K. Richards

MALIMBUS 4

Ixobrychus sturmii Only seen once at the small marsh H along the airport
road, on 25 Feb 1980.

Tigriornis leucolophus (Fig. 1) One captured by fishermen in Jan 1980 at
Dixinn; three kept as pets by a Guinee family near the airport in .Mar
and Apr 1980; one seen at the airport creek D in Nov 1980.

Nycticorax nycticorax Odd birds seen occasionally in Sangareya Bay but on
15 Feb 1981 several hundreds were disturbed from a roost there.

Ardeola ralloides Occasionally seen at H.

Ardeola ibis Common, even in the city feeding on rubbish heaps.

Butorides striatus Always present in Sangareya Bay.

Egretta ardesiaca A few always present in Sangareya Bay and odd birds
seen at other suitable localities.

Egretta alba Very common in Sangareya Bay with as many as 220 seen
feeding together in Apr 1980.

Egretta intermedia Two on 17 Feb 1981 at G is the only record for this
species .

Egretta garzetta Not very common: mainly seen at H but a few also seen
feeding in Sangareya Bay with the next species.

Egretta gularis Common, found all along the coast but more particularly
at G.

Ardea cinerea A few always present at G and odd birds seen at other sites
from time to time.

Ardea goliath Occasionally single birds at G and on the Airport Creek (D) .

Ardea purpurea One immature at D on 25 Mar 1980 and an adult at G on 5

Feb 1981 are my only records.

Scopus umbretta Occasionally seen in the Airport area.

Ibis ibis Uncommon, only observed at Sangaria Bay (G) , maximum 7; all
sightings in Feb 1981.

Threskiornis aethiopica Occasionally at G but never more than 3 or 4 at
one time .

Platalea alba Occasionally seen at G.

[Platalea leucorodia A possible seen at G on 5 Feb 1981 feeding far out on

the mud flats; an immature seen there on 18 Feb 1981 was almost
certainly this species. 7

Phoenicopterus ruber Occasionally seen at G but common elsewhere along
the Guinee coast.

Neophron monachus Very common in Conakry city.

Gypohierax angolensis Occasionally seen in the area although quite common
along the Guinee coast (once five counted during a 160 km flight) .

1982

CONAKRY AND KAKULIMA, GUINEE

97

Circus aeruginosus Occasionally seen at G.

Accipiter toussenelii One seen at A on 13 Apr 1980.

Accipiter badius Seen several times in the city; a pair resident at A
and a pair with a juvenile in Apr at Dabondi (B) .

Kaupifalco monogrammicus One seen inland from Sangaria Bay on 7 Feb 1981.

Stephanoaetus coronatus A pair at Kakulima, 9 Feb 1981.

Hieraaetus dubius One at Kakulima, 17 Nov 1980 and another there on 9 Feb
1981.

Haliaetus vocifer Seen occasionally. Two immatures at G in Mar 1980.

Milvus migrans A few pairs resident in the city and at the airport.

Elanus caeruleus A pair resident at the airport.

Pandion haliaetus Occasionally observed, during the months I was
resident in Conakry.

Falco cuvieri Twice at Sangaria Bay, 15 and 17 Feb 1981.

Falco chicquera Two records, both in palms: at Sangaria Bay 17 Feb 1981
and at the airport 7 Feb 1980.

Falco ardosiaceus Two records from the airport, 13 Feb and 5 Nov 1980.

Francolinus bicalcaratus Present in scrub at the Airport Creek.

Ptilopachus petrosus Probably resident in the area of E (Hendrick Jacobs,
pers . comm. ) .

Numida meleagris A flock of guinea-fowl disturbed in secondary growth on
Kakulima were assumed to be of this species; domesticated birds
often kept in villages near Conakry.

[Crex crex A large brown crake, with long dangling legs, disturbed in long
wet grass at Airport, 16 Nov 1980, was possibly this species. 7

Actophilornis africana One on a fresh water pool at I on 19 Nov 1980.

Burhinus oedicnemus One on 18 Feb 1981 at G was seen with other
Palaearctic waders. Good views obtained of the wing-pattern.

Burhinus senegalensis Small group at the Airport in Feb 1980.

Vanellus lugubris Present at the Airport where their behaviour suggested
breeding. A chick, possibly of this species, was found there in Apr
1980.

Vanellus senegallus Found occasionally at low tide in area D.

Pluvialis squatarola Seen almost everywhere along the coast, even in the
city; most numerous at G where, in Apr 1980, many were in breeding
plumage .

98

D. K. Richards

MALIMBUS 4

Charadrius hiaticula Seen almost everywhere along the coast, even in the
city. Most common in Apr.

Charadrius forbesi Often found at the Airport and most often seen at
dawn .

Numenius phaeopus Present at all suitable areas, even in the city; most
common at G.

Limosa limosa At times very common in flocks at G; one flock in Feb 1981
contained over 300 birds.

Limosa lapponica Small numbers seen occasionally at D and G.

Tringa nebular ia Always present in numbers, and occasionally in flocks of

100 at D and G, during Feb and Mar.

Tringa stagnatilis A few usually present at G and occasionally at D.

Tringa glareola Sometimes present in irrigation ditches at the Airport;
one record from G.

Tringa ochropus Often present in irrigation ditches at the Airport and in
the marshy area next to the nearby Hotel Gbessia.

Tringa hypoleucos Most often found at G roosting in the mangroves at high
tide but some birds always present at all other coastal sites.

Tringa totanus Usually found in flocks, often with T. nebularia , at D and

G.

Tringa erythropus Several recorded at G in Apr 1980 among a mixed flock
of waders .

Arenaria interpres A few (5-10) occasionally at G but odd birds seen at
other places along the coast.

Calidris alpina Usually present at G in small numbers.

Calidris ferruginea Uncommon, but numbers increase frpm mid Mar while in
Apr many are in full breeding plumage.

Calidris minuta Seen all round the coast, most common at G.

Philomachus pugnax Several disturbed from a flooded rice field near G on
5 Feb 1981 is the only record.

Himantopus himantopus Occasionally 2-3 at G and also recorded on mud
flats near the docks in the city.

Recurvi rostra avosetta Very common, at times several thousands, in G

7 and 18 Feb 1981 and suspected of roosting at high tide on the lies
de Los.

Glareola pratincola Sometimes present at G and about 20 seen flying over
the Airport at dawn on 27 Apr 1980. Large flocks have been seen from
the air on 8 Feb 1980 just north and south of Conakry, outside the
area covered here.

1982

CONAKRY AND KAKULIMA, GUINEE

99

Larus cirrocephalus A few usually at G.

Larus sabini About 20 seen on 30 Nov 1980 off F. The distinctive wing-
pattern was seen as well as the dipping flight.

Larus fiscus Single birds seen occasionally at F and G.

[Larus argentatus Five gulls, possibly this species, seen resting on the
sea at G on 18 Feb 1980-7

Rynchops flavirostris One at G in Feb 1980.

Sterna nilotica The commonest tern in the area: always present at G and
at most other coastal sites.

Sterna caspia A few always present at G and also seen at most other
coastal sites.

Sterna hirundo Occasionally seen at G during Feb 1981.

Sterna maxima Occasionally seen at any coastal site but most often at G.

[Sterna sandvicensis Two terns, possibly this species, seen at sea off G
in Mar 1980.7

Sterna leucoptera A small flock in Apr 1980 at G.

Sterna hybrida Small flocks at G in Mar and Apr.

Sterna albifrons Occasional at G.

Streptopelia semitorquata Seen at A and in mangroves at G.

Streptopelia senegalensis Common throughout the area.

Turtur tympanistria Heard calling in the forest on Kakolima Hill.

Turtur afer Seen occasionally in scrub at G, A and on Kakolima.

+Turtur abyssinicus A small black-billed dove, possibly this species,
seen in the Airport Creek area in Apr 1980.

Poicephalus senegalus Seen occasionally at Kipe .

Tauraco persa Seen on Kakolima Hill (Hendrick Jacobs, pers. comm.).

Crinifer piscator Seen once at A on 30 Mar 1980 and once at Kipe on 2
Feb 1981.

Clamator jacobinus Occasionally recorded in bush on the outskirts of the
city and also in private gardens in the city.

Chrysococcyx caprius Calling in the Airport area throughout Nov 1980.

Centropus senegalensis Several pairs in A and the adjacent cemetery but
also occurs in city suburbs such as B and at Kakolima Hill.

100

D. K. Richards

MALIMBUS 4

Tyto alba Three roosted in a hanger at the Airport during Mar 1980.

Caprimulgus climacurus Present in scrub in the Airport Creek area during
Feb to May .

Macrodipteryx longipennis As previous species but also seen throughout
the whole area.

[Apus aequatorialis A very large brown swift seen over Kakolima in Nov was
thought to have been this species . ]

Apus apus Seen over Kakolima in Nov 1980 and Feb 1981.

Apus af finis Several small colonies in the city and one near the Airport.

Cypsiurus parvus Present in the city where there are palms.

Ceryle maxima Two records in Mangrove Creek near the Airport, on 16 Nov
1980 and 8 Apr 1980.

Ceryle rudis The commonest kingfisher, found on the coast and in creeks.

Alcedo cristata Always present at Sangaria Bay (G) , and once feeding in
spring at the Hotel Gbessia near the Airport.

Ceyx pi eta Once at the Botanical Gardens (A) , on 2 2 Feb 1980.

Halcyon senegalensis Occasionally near Airport (C) .

Halcyon malimbica Usually present in mangroves at Sangaria Bay (G) ; also
a pair resident by a small creek in the city suburb of Daboni (B) .

Halcyon leucocephala Pair resident at the Hotel Gbessia, near the Airport.

Merops superciliosus Occurs at Airport Creek and Sangaria Bay (G) , feeding
from mangroves, Feb-Apr 1980 and Feb 1981.

Merops albicollis Occurs in the same areas as the previous species but

feeds from trees. Many juveniles/immatures in Feb 1981. Adults only
Mar 1980.

i

Merops pusillus Very scarce, only two sightings: Sangaria Bay 30 Mar 1980
and Airport Creek 27 Apr 1980.

[Coracias abyssinica A roller flying over the Airport in Nov 1980 was thought
to have been this species. 7

Eurystomus glaucurus Pair seen in tall trees near Yalaya Dam (I) , 27 Apr
1980.

Eurystomus gularis One in the Botanical Gardens, 9 Mar 1980.

Tockus fasciatus Common on lower slopes of Kakoulima.

Pogoniulus chrysoconus Seen twice in scrub near the Airport (C) , 28 Mar and
8 Apr 1980.

1982

CONAKRY AND KAKULIMA, GUINEE

101

Campethera nivosa One seen at Kakoulima in Feb 1981 in secondary forest.

Mesopicos goertae In scrub near the Airport (C) 8 Apr 1980, also three

immatures in mangroves at Sangaria Bay (G) , Feb 1981.

i

Mirafra africana Resident at the Airport.

Galerida modesta Resident at the Airport but found in drier, sandier
places than the previous species .

Hirundo rustica Surprisingly, only small numbers seen.

Hirundo smithii Occasional, especially inland from Sangaria Bay.

Hirundo abyssinica Occasional anywhere in the area.

Delichon urbica Small flock flying high over the city in Jan 1980, also
at Kakoulima on 9 Feb 1981.

Psalidoprocne obscura Several pairs at Kipe.

Psalidoprocne nitens Occurs on Kakoulima.

Motacilla flava Seen from Feb onwards, mostly females and immatures; in
mid Apr 1980 hundreds flew over the Hotel Gbessia at dusk.

Motacilla aguimp Occasionally seen in the Airport area.

Motacilla alba Two seen at C, Jan 1982.

Macronyx croceus Resident at the Airport

Dryoscopus gambensis Once in mangroves at Sangaria Bay (G) , 17 Feb 1981.

Lanius collaris Surprisingly observed only once, near Kipe.

Oriolus sp. An oriole called regularly in mangroves at Sangaria Bay
during Feb 1981.

Lamprotornis chalybaeus One near Airport 16 Nov 1980.

Cinnyricinclus leucogaster A pair once seen feeding in scrub near the
Airport, 16 Mar 1980.

Corvus albus A few resident throughout the area.

[Picathartes gymnocephalus A bird possibly of this species disturbed among
rocks on Kakoulima Hill. 7

Campephaga phoenicea A female in the Botanical Gardens, 15 Feb 1980. A
completely black male on Kakoulima in Feb 1981 may have been this
species or C. quiscalina.

Pycnonotus barbatus Common everywhere.

Anropadus gracilirostris One seen in primary forest on Kakoulima, Nov
1980.

102

D. K. Richards

MALIMBUS 4

Chlorocichla simplex Occurs in thick undergrowth in the old Cemetery.

Saxicola rubetra Winter resident at the Airport, last date 18 Apr.

Oenanthe oenanthe One near Daboni , Nov 1980.

Cossypha albicapilla Pair resident in thickets in Daboni.

Cossypha niveicapilla Resident at old Cemetery, also in scrub adjacent to
Airport Creek.

Turdus pelios Seen near Kipe, also on Kakoulima.

Turdoides plebejus Occurs in the old Cemetery and in scrub at the Airport
Creek .

Acrocephalus schoenobaenus Common in mangroves at Airport Creek during
Apr.

Sylvia atricapilla One seen feeding in a City garden, Jan 1982.

Phy lloscopus trochilus Very common from early Feb to mid Apr, many in full

song by the end of Mar.

Cisticola cantans Common in scrub at Airport near water; also present
near Sangaria Bay (G) .

Cisticola galactotes Occurs in scrub at Sangaria Bay.

Cisticola juncidis Common in dry scrub around the Airport.

Prinia sub f lava Quite common in areas of neglected cultivation all over

the city.

Hypergerus atriceps One seen in coastal scrub near Sangaria Bay on 16 Mar
1980.

Camaroptera brachyura Common in the Botanical Gardens and the old
Cemetery .

Sylvietta brachyura Seen occasionally in secondary growth at the Airport
Creek .

Macrosphenus concolor One in the Botanical Gardens on 22 Feb 1980.

Artomyias ussheri Seen at Kakoulima on 9 Feb 1981.

Melaenornis edolioides Two seen in Nov near Fosside.

Platysteira cyanea Often seen in mangroves at Sangaria Bay (G) .

Terpsiphone rufiventer Male seen in primary forest below the top of
Kakoulima Hill.

Terpsiphone viridis Pair in overgrown cultivation on Kakoulima.

1982

CONAKRY AND KAKULIMA, GUINEE

103

Anthreptes gabonicus Common in mangroves at Sangaria Bay and the Airport
Creek, but also regularly seen feeding in palms, mangroves and other
trees at Kipe.

Nectarinia venusta The commonest sunbird, found throughout; many birds
are white-bellied.

Nectarinia chloropygia Quite common in the Botanical Gardens and the
adjoining Cemetery.

Nectarinia pulchella Occasionally seen in the Airport area, in gardens
and in mangroves at Sangaria Bay.

Ploceus cucullatus Very common in the Airport area and the outskirts of
the ci ty .

Ploceus nigricollis Present in numbers in the Botanical Gardens and
Cemetery; nest-building in Mar.

Euplectes ardens Occurs in overgrown cultivation on lower slopes of
Kakoulima, Nov 1980.

Euplectes hordeaceus Several displaying males in long grass and reeds at
(I) and also at Airport Creek, Nov 1980.

Euplectes macrourus A few in overgrown cultivation on the lower slopes of
Kakoulima, Nov 1980 and at the Airport Creek during the same period.

Passer griseus Fairly common near houses throughout the city.

Vidua macroura At least four males resident at the Airport.

Estrilda melpoda Group feeding in seeding grasses, Airport Creek, Nov
1980.

Estrilda troglodydtes Large group feeding on seeding grasses, Airport
Creek, Nov 1980.

Estrilda astrild Present in overgrown cultivation on the lower slopes of
Kakoulima.

Estrilda caerulescens Several, possibly this species, disturbed in
village of Kaporo, near (G) .

Lagonosticta senegala Very common, found almost everywhere.

Ortygospiza atricollis Resident at the Airport in tall grass adjacent to
irrigation ditches.

Lonchura cucullata Present wherever seeding grass available.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to thank Dr G. Morel for his invaluable comments and correspond-
ence during the preparation of this paper. I would also like to thank Graeme

Backhurst for his advice and assistance in the preparation of this paper and

Don Turner for helpful comments on identification of species, also H. Jacobs

for assistance with field-work in Guinee.

D. K . Richards , P.O. Box 30750, Nairobi, Kenya

104

MALIMBUS 4

V-

Wheatears in Mauritania. Left column Oenanthe oenanthe seebohmi-, centre
column O. hispanica-, right column O. deserti . See p. 84. Photos P.W.P. Browne

1982

NOTES

105

POIDS DES DENDROCYGNES FAUVES DENDROCYGNA BI COLOR AU SENEGAL - En comple-
ment a une etude de regime alimentaire (en preparation) , il nous a paru
interessant de donner quelques indications supplementaires sur les
populations de Dendrocygnes fauves ( Dendrocygna bicolor) du delta du
Senegal. En effet, les renseignements sur les poids des canards sont rares
dans la litterature et quasi inexistants en ce qui concerne les Dendrocygnes
fauves. Au cours de notre etude sur les regimes alimentaires , nous avons
examine 138 Dendrocygnes fauves: 106 adultes (sans Bourse de Fabricius) et
32 immatures (avec Bourse de Fabricius) . Nous ne retiendrons ici que les
poids des canards adultes, puisque les immatures peuvent, au moment de leur
capture, n'avoir pas atteint encore leur taille adulte .

Resultats bruts: Les poids variaient, parmi les 57 <3* examines, entre 640
et 1050 g, la moyenne etant de 819.4 g et l'ecart type de 88.1 g. Pour les
49 <£, les poids etaient compris entre 580 et 1030 g, avec une moyenne de
793.3 g et un ecart type de 92.3 g.

Discussion: La legere difference de poids entre les (? et les <£ n'est pas

statistiquement significative (analyse de variance, T = 1,488). Par contre,
les differences de poids selon les mois sont significatives (analyse de
variance, F]_q,95 = 1.99), P = 0.95. Les Dendrocygnes fauves maigrissent en
fin de saison seche (Mai) quand ils ont du mal a trouver leur nourriture et
grossissent le plus en novembre-decembre au moment de la recolte du riz
(qui represente 1/3 de leur regime alimentaire sur l'annee, cf. TRECA en
preparation) .

B. Treca

Mission ORSTOM, B.P. 126, Bamako, Rep. du Mali

RINGING IN NIGERIA IN 1981. 24th ANNUAL REPORT

Schedule 1 Numbers of Palaearctic species ringed

1980

Total to date

Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus

Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula

Black Tailed Godwit Limosa limosa

Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola

Snipe Gallinago gallinago

Jack Snipe G. minima

Little Stint Calidris minuta

Wryneck Jynx torquilla

Sand Martin Riparia riparia

Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava

Whinchat Saxicola rubetra

Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus

Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos

Blue throat L. svecica

Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe

Savi 1 s Warbler Locustella luscinioides

Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

1

1

2

1

1

1

4
3

5
3
1

19

2

1

2

3

6

26

4

572

78

31

372

86

1505

33813

503

344

499

5

35

10

125

2204

106

NOTES

MALIMBUS 4

Reed Warbler A. scirpaceus
Great Reed Warbler A. arundinaceus
Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina
Melodious Warbler H. polyglotta
Olivaceus Warbler H . pallida
Garden Warbler Sylvia borin
Whitethroat S. communis
Lesser Whitethroat S. curruca
Subalpine Warbler S. cantillans
Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus

68

9

5

2

8

1

43

3

8

3

470

149

203

157

220

2399

2133

191

246

990

Total 324 56428

Ethiopian birds 35 15768

Grand Total 359 72196

Schedule 2 Controls in Nigeria

White Stork Ciconia ciconia

See Fry, 1982, Malimbus 4: 47. Thanks are due to John Hughes for obtaining
six White Stork rings from a village near Nguru. It indicates that
stork catching is still carried out in Kano State only a few miles
from Bornu State, where the law is more rigorously enforced and
stork trappers are prosecuted.

Osprey Pandion haliaetus

M16516 Ringed 19/7/80, Rantasalmi Laani, Finland, 62' N 28°39'E
Trapped 31/1/81, Nguru

Schedule 3 Controls in Ghana

Swallow Hirundo rustica

P42649 Ringed 8/8/77, Talavera la Real, Spain, 38°53'N 6°46'W
Trapped and reringed London A027013

25/1/78, Tafo-Akim, 6°13'N 00°22'W

Black Kite Milvus mi grans

MD12641 Ringed 25/6/77, Nava del Rey, Spain, 41°19'N 5°05'W
Shot 15/1/79, Tamale, 9°26'N 00°49'W

DE08949 Ringed 14/6/72, Coto Donana, Spain, 37°02'N 03°27'W
Caught -/11/73, Kpandu, 07°00'N 00°25'E

MD14782 Ringed 22/6/77, Pescueza, Spain, 39°54'N 06°39'W
Hit car 7/12/77, Yape, 10°44'N 00°53'W

R. E. Sharland, 39 Avon Castle Drive, Ringwood, Hants., U.K.

1982

NOTES

107

ADDITIONS TO LOCAL AVIFAUNAS: KANO STATE - The following species new to Kano

State, Nigeria, are additional to those reported by Sharland & Wilkinson

( Malimbus 3, 1981: 7-30). Observers: RW R. Wilkinson, DJA D.J. Aidley,

RES R.E . Sharland, RB R. Beecroft. For details of localities see Sharland

& Wilkinson (loc. cit.) .

African Hawk-Eagle Hieraaetus spilogaster Two records from Falgore, on 10
January and 29 April 1982 (RW, DJA) .

Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis Reported from Jekara Dam by C.H.

Fry ( Malimbus 3, 1981: 54).

Palm-nut Vulture Gypohierax angolensis One at Falgore on 5 January 1982
(RB) .

Little Crake Porzana parva Recorded from Jekara Dam (RW, RB, DJA) ;
details in Bull. Brit. Orn . Cl. (in press).

Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius One at Falgore on 9 August 1982 (RW) .

Plain Nightjar Caprimulgus inornatus A sight record by RES (Bull. Niger.
Orn. Soc . 1, 4, 1964: 77-80) now substantiated by two birds netted at
Kano in May 1981 (DJA) .

- Palm Swift Cypsiurus parvus Omitted by Sharland & Wilkinson (op. cit.) in
error. The Palm Swift is a common resident throughout Kano State.

Pallid Swift Apus pallidus A single bird flying with Little Swifts Apus
affinus and Sand Martins Riparia riparia over Jekara Dam on 18 April
1982 (RW) .

Cardinal Woodpecker Dendropicos fuscescens One at Falgore on 8 January
1982 (RW) .

European Swallow Hirundo rustica Omitted by Sharland & Wilkinson (op. cit.)
in error. A regular passage migrant through Kano in April and
September .

Black -cap Bush Shrike Tchagra minuta A pair by river at Falgore on 6
February 1982, and single birds at the same locality on 11 March and
25 July 1982 (RW) .

White-breasted Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina pectoralis Recorded only from
Falgore: a pair on 25 March and one on 9 August 1982 (RW) .

Black-cap Babbler Turdoides reinwardii First unambiguously identified at
Falgore on 6 February 1982, and encountered again in March and April.

A previous observation at Falgore in November 1981 is now believed to be
of this species (RW, DJA) .

Winding Cisticola Cisticola galactotes Mist-netted in reed-beds at Jekara
Dam in November 1981 and again in January, May, June, July and August
1982 (RW, DJA) .

Swamp Warbler Acrocephalus gracilirostris Netted at Jekara in May 1981
(DJA) and repeatedly from November 1981 until August 1982 .

African Reed Warbler Acrocephalus boeticatus Another new species from

Jekara Dam, netted every month from November 1981 to June 1982 (DJA, RW) .

Grey-headed Olive-back Nesocharis capistrata First seen at riverside

locality in Falgore on 6 February 1982 and netted there on 11 March 1982
(RW, DJA) .

Parasitic Weaver Anomalospiza imberbis A single male netted in reedbeds at
Jekara Dam on 26 May 1982 (RW, DJA) . This may be the most northerly
record for this species in Nigeria.

R. Wilkinson & D.J. Aidley
Dept. Biological Sci . , Bayero University, P.M.B. 3011, Kano, Nigeria

108

NOTICES

MALIMBUS 4

Ceyx pi eta, cont . from p. 54

The evidence available to Elgood et al. in 1973 was insufficient to
show that C. picta is migrant. With more information on seasonal occurrence
of birds at different localities it would not be surprising to find that
other species, presently considered to be sedentary, may undertake regular
seasonal movements too.

REFERENCES (See also Table 1)

BENSON, C.W. (1982) Migrants in the Afrotropical region south of the
equator. Ostrich 53: 31-49

ELGOOD, J.H. (1982) The Birds of Nigeria. B.O.U. Checklist No. 4
ELGOOD, J.H., FRY, C.H. & DOWSETT, R.J. (1973) African migrants in Nigeria.
Ibis 115: 1-45, 375-411

MOREL, G. (1968) Contribution a la synecologie des oiseaux du sahel
senegalais. Mem. O.R.S.T.O.M. 29: 179 pp.

Roger Wilkinson , Department of Biological Sciences , Bayero University ,

P.M.B. 3011, Kano, Nigeria

CORRECTION

Birds of Obudu, Malimbus 2 (1980) p 20: for Ploceus ocularis read Ploceus
nigricollis . A.E. Heaton.

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R E C OMM ANDAT [ ON 8 AUX AUTEURS

Malimbus publie des articles, de courtes notes, des analyses et des lettres
avec illustrations. Les manuscrits doivent etre dactylographies a double
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LES CONVENTIONS pour les tableaux, les dates, les nombres, les valeurs en
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1: 90 pour les textes plus longs.

REFERENCES A OMETTRE DANS LA BIBLIOGRAPHIE

BANNERMAN 1930-51 or 1953 : Bannerman, D . A . (1930-51) The Birds of West

Tropical Africa. 8 vols . Crown Agents, London; (1953) The Birds

of West and Equatorial Africa. 2 vols. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh and
London

ELG00D 1982 : Elgood, J.H. (1982) The Birds of Nigeria. B.O.U., London

ELG00D, SHARLAND & WARD 1966 : Elgood, J.H., Sharland, R.E. & Ward, P.

(1966) Palaearctic migrants in Nigeria. Ibis 108 : 84-116

ELGOOD, FRY & DOWSETT 1973 : Elgood, J.H., Fry, C.H. & Dowsett, R.J.

African migrants in Nigeria. Ibis 115 : 1-45 and 375-411

HALL & MOREAU 1970 : Hall, B.P. & Moreau, R.E. (1970) An Atlas of Speciation
in African Passerine Birds. British Museum (Nat. Hist.), London

MACKWORTH-PRAED & GRANT 1957-73 or 1970-73 : Mackworth-Praed, C.W. & Grant,
C.H.B. (1957-73) African Handbook of Birds. Series I, Birds of Eastern
and North Eastern Africa (2nd ed.) . 2 vols. Series II, Birds of the

Southern Third Africa. 2 vols. Series III, Birds of West Central and

Western Africa. 2 vols. Longmans Green & Co., London; (1970-73)

African Handbook of Birds. Series III, Birds of West Central and
Western Africa. Vol . I, 1970, Non-passerines, Vol. 2, 1973, Passerines.
Longmans , London

SERLE & MOREL 1977 ; Serle, W. & Morel, G.J. (1977) A Field Guide to the
Birds of West Africa . Collins, London

SNOW, D.W. (Ed.) 1978 : An Atlas of Speciation in African Non-Passerine
Birds. British Museum (Nat. Hist.), London

tfHITE 1960-65 : White, C.M.N. (1960) A check list of the Ethiopian

Muscicapidae (Sylviinae) Part I Occasional papers of the National
Museums of Southern Rhodesia 3 (24B) : 399-430; (1961) A revised check

list of African broadbills ... etc. Lusaka : Government Printer;

(1962a) A check list of the Ethiopian Muscicapidae (Sylviinae) Parts II
and III. occ. Pap. Nat. Mus . S. Rhod. 3 (26B) : 653-738; (1962b) A

revised check list of African shrikes ... etc. Lusaka : Gov. Printer;
(1963) A revised check list of African flycatchers ... etc. Lusaka :

Gov. Printer; and (1965) A revised check list of African Non-Passerine
birds. Lusaka : Gov. Printer.

MALIMBUS 4 (2) October 1982

CONTENTS

Seasonal Movements of the Pygmy Kingfisher Ceyx picta in West
Africa. Roger Wilkinson

More Bird Records from the Republic of Togo. Robert A. Cheke

A Preliminary Checklist of Birds in the Kilimi Area of Northwest
Sierra Leone. Diana P. Harding and Robert S. 0. Harding

Palaearctic Birds Wintering in Southwest Mauritania: Species,
Distributions and Population Estimates. P. W. P. Browne

The Birds of Conakry and Kakulima, Democratic Republic of Guinee
D. K. Richards

Poids des Dendrocygnes fauves Dendrocygna bicolor au Senegal.

B. Treca

Ringing in Nigeria in 1981. 24th Annual Report. R. E. Sharland
Additions to Local Avifaunas: Kano State. Roger Wilkinson

t

-J

.