Scopus : a quarterly ornithological publication of the East Africa Natural History Society

ISSN 2313-1799

SCOPUS

Journal of East African Ornithology

A publication of the
Bird Committee of the
East Africa Natural History Society

Edited by
Darcy Ogada
Graeme Backhurst

Volume 39(2), July 2019

BirdLife

Nature/iema

INTERNATIONAL

The East Africa Natural History Society

Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology
39(2), July 2019

Ivaylo Angelov and Ibrahim Hashim. Birds of prey observed during vulture

surveys in northeast Sudan.1

James Bradley and Tyler Davis. Conservation status of the forest birds of
the Siria Plateau and western Maasai Mara, Narok County, Kenya.9

Volen Arkumarev, Dobromir Dobrev and Anton Stamenov. First record of
Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fiilvus from the Balkans migrating to
South Sudan revealed by GPS tracking.27

Short communications

Neil Edward Baker. The Mascarene Martin Phedina borbonica in Tanzania
with comments on other records from mainland Africa.36

Donald A. Turner and Adam Scott Kennedy The 'golden weaver' Ploceus
(subaureus) holoxanthus : a need for a full systematic review.40

Chris Schmeling. First record of Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella

brachydactyla for Tanzania.42

Adam Scott Kennedy. First record of Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla for
Tanzania.43

East African Rarities Report .44

Scopus 39(2): 1-8, July 2019

Birds of prey observed during vulture
surveys in northeast Sudan

Ivaylo Angelov and Ibrahim Hashim

Summary

An Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus survey was undertaken in the northeast
part of the Republic of Sudan during eight days in September and October 2010. Rap¬
tor and large bird counts were conducted along 2010 km of roads travelled. In total
2818 individual raptors of 23 species were counted. The most common were the group
of Black and Yellow-billed Kites Milvus spp. and Egyptian Vultures, forming 82.8%
and 8.0% of all raptors respectively, while Snake Eagles Circaetus spp., RiippelTs Vul¬
tures Gyps rueppellii, and Hooded Vultures Necrosyrtes monachus accounted for 2.0,2.8
and 1.3 % of the raptor assemblage, respectively.

Keywords Sudan, road count, raptors

Introduction

Large declines of vulture species have recently been reported throughout Africa
(Thiollay 2006a,b, Virani et al. 2011, Ogada et al. 2016). Populations of Egyptian Vul¬
tures breeding in the Palaearctic are also limited by mortality along the migration
flyway (Grande et al. 2008), which for some populations may be unsustainably high
(Angelov et al. 2012). The Republic of the Sudan is among the largest countries in
Africa, where many species of Palaearctic diurnal raptors occur during migration
and overwinter (Nikolaus 1987) and the country is of international importance for
wintering Egyptian and Griffon vultures G. fulvus from the Palaearctic (Mundy et al.
1992). However, despite the work undertaken to date, ornithologically Sudan remains
poorly explored (Bird & Blackburn 2011). The aim of the current survey was to con¬
duct road counts of all vulture and other raptor species observed and to collect addi¬
tional ad hoc data on limiting factors. The overall aim of the visit was to collect data
about mortality among Egyptian Vultures along a power line near Port Sudan (An¬
gelov et al. 2012), long-known to be very dangerous for the species (Nikolaus 1984).

Methods

Raptor and large bird road counts were implemented from 27 September to 4 Octo¬
ber 2010 along 2010km in Northeast Sudan (Fig. 1). The survey followed the route
from Khartoum, Wad Madani, Al Qadarif, Kassala, Port Sudan and surroundings,
and Atbara, Shendi, and Khartoum. The section of road stretching up to 138 km east
of Atbara was not surveyed. The habitat consisted of grasslands and agricultural land
with occasional scattered trees in the south, changing into dry savanna and semi-de¬
sert, and desert in the north. All raptors and large birds seen on both sides of the road
were recorded by two observers — one on each side of the vehicle. In most cases when

2

L Angelov and L Hashim

identification while driving was not possible, we stopped to properly identify the ob¬
served birds. Average speed was about 60 km/h. Small transects (1-30 km) away from
the main route were conducted opportunistically in areas where vulture presence was
recorded or suspected, e.g. cliffs with large 'whitewash' from vulture roosts and nests,
or flying, or perched vultures. Such transects were implemented in the areas of Kas-
sala. Port Sudan, and the savanna northeast of A1 Qadarif and Suwakin. Opportunis¬
tically, we conducted five interviews with local people in order to gain an impression
of potential threats for vultures, such as poisoning against wild carnivores. The main
question we asked was what they do in cases of wild predators or stray dogs attack
on livestock.

Results

Osprey Pandion haliaetus

Nikolaus (1987) mentioned that Osprey is a common resident breeder along the Red
Sea coast of Sudan. We observed one nest with an adult bird on a halophyte bush in
mangrove habitat on the Red Sea coast between Suwakin and Tokar. The base of the
nest was only about 50 cm high, built on the dead trunk of a mangrove tree with the
top of the nest about 1 m above the water surface.

Black Kite Milvus migrans and Yellow-billed Kite M. aegyptius

With a total of 2332 individuals seen at 156 locations, the Black, and Yellow-billed

Kites were the most common raptors, accounting for 82.8 % of the observed raptors.

3

Birds of prey in northeast Sudan

Kites were common in Khartoum, where they were present in the air and dispersed
over the city virtually all of the time. The numbers represent only birds seen during
the transect through the city. The biggest concentrations were seen along the main
road from A1 Qadarif to Kassala over a stretch of 50 km before Kassala. In this area
1520 individuals were seen, with the biggest concentrations in the town of Kassala (at
least 320) and at a market and village along the road, where two groups of 252 and 300
were seen. However, kites were almost constatly present in the sky along this transect,
with groups largely increasing in and around villages.

On 1 October one pair was observed in a nest built on a transmission tower at
c. 25 m high in the central part of the village of Suwakin on the Red Sea coast. A loose
colony of four nests was located in mangrove forest in the sea 29 km south of Suwakin
with ten birds perched on trees in close proximity to the nests and one bird in a nest.
On 2 October a nest built on a high voltage power pole with one pair nearby was ob¬
served in the surroundings of Port Sudan.

Nine road-killed kites were found in different places along the route. Most prob¬
ably all of them became victims of the traffic while scavenging other road-killed ani¬
mals on the asphalt road or while trying to catch live prey crossing the road. Several
times we observed that kites allowed vehicles to approach within a few metres before
taking off. In one case 14 kites were observed feeding on a cow carcass next to the
road.

Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus

Nikolaus (1987) described the Egyptian Vulture as, "still fairly common" in desert,
semi-arid grassland and villages and added that their numbers had decreased no¬
ticeably in most areas except the Red Sea region, where Palearctic migrants are ex¬
pected. Almost 20 years later Nikolaus (2006) recorded almost no vultures in areas
that previously had healthy populations and suggested there was a continuing and
very strong decline of all vulture species in Sudan. During this survey 226 Egyptian
Vultures were seen, which accounted for 8 % of all raptor observations; 91.6 % of all
Egyptian Vultures were seen in or near the immediate vicinities of villages or towns.
Larger congregations existed at Port Sudan where, on 30 September, 34 were seen
at midday perching on the ground next to a small waterhole among large livestock
farms on the northern edge of the town. The age structure of the birds was as follows:
adult 23, 4th plumage 1, 3rd plumage 1, 2nd plumage 6, juvenile 3 (Clark & Schmitt
2004). Another group of at least 40, mostly adults, together with a similar number of
stray dogs was seen at the town's slaughterhouse on 1 October around the area where
animal remains were dumped in a small valley. About 40 were observed at Haiya on
3 October, where most of the birds were taking off from a roadside restaurant where
there were remains of slaughtered animals. On the same day, 105 km west from Hiya,
54 Egyptian Vultures were roosting on high-tension power lines next to a small road¬
side settlement, comprising 24 adults, 27 immatures and 3 of unidentified age. Iden¬
tification of all birds by age class was not possible due to the distance from the road
and the decreased light in late evening.

Three quite probable local resident pairs were seen in the Red Sea Hills. A pair
was seen perched in midday on a shaded part of a niche, very suitable for breeding
and with a probable nest as the site had 'whitewash' typical for the species. Another
probable pair was seen near the dirt road from Port Sudan to Khor Arba'At, preparing
to roost together on a cliff niche with 'whitewash' typical for the species, indicating

4

L Angelov and L Hashim

traditional use as a favourite perch site. A third pair of adults was flying together in
synchronous flight near a small settlement north of Port Sudan.

Two adult Egyptian Vultures were observed feeding on the asphalt road on the
remains of a road- killed Black/Yellow-billed Kite, showing a very high tolerance to
approaching cars, taking off only in the last few metres and putting themselves at
significant risk of being hit. One road-killed adult vulture was observed on the road
between Port Sudan and Suwakin, while another adult with an injured wing was seen
at Haiya. Vulnerability of the Egyptian Vulture to road collision has already been re¬
ported for Sudan, Spain and Socotra Island (Nikolaus 1984, Hernandez & Margalida
2009, Porter & Suleiman 2012). Angelov et al. (2012) reported 17 electrocuted Egyptian
Vultures along a 31-km section of power line near Port Sudan, while the same power
line had already been described as heavily lethal to the species and other large raptors
in previous surveys (Nikolaus 1984).

Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus

The Hooded Vulture in Sudan is described as, "very common in the south, rare in
the north" (Nikolaus 1987). In total, 37 individuals were seen at three locations. The
first two were in the only densely forested area along the route, part of the Eastern
Sudanian savanna zone, where 35 Hooded Vultures were seen at two different loca¬
tions 6.5 km apart. The first group of 20 was feeding on a dead cow in the forest next
to a temporary nomads' camp. The second group, consisting of 15 Hooded Vultures
together with other scavengers, was flying and appeared to land next to a carcass.
Two Hooded Vultures were seen flying over Sinkat in the Red Sea Hills.

White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus

Only one observation was made, of six birds seen together with 15 Hooded Vultures,
4 Black Kites and one Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax in a forested landscape. The area of¬
fered suitable breeding habitat. The birds were seen flying around and landing on the
trees; probably there was a carcass nearby.

RiippelTs Vulture Gups rueppellii

Riippell's Vulture in Sudan was described as, "the most common vulture in the north"
(Nikolaus 1987). We observed it at four locations while cliffs with 'whitewash', indi¬
cating the presence of Gyps vultures, were seen at seven more sites. On 28 September
around 12:30 at least 40 vultures were seen flying and landing on a big roost next to
Kassala town, where historically, a "very large" colony existed (Nikolaus 2006). The
cliffs were covered with a large amount of 'whitewash', reaching 10-20 m on some
ledges. The number and size of the 'whitewashes' indicated the presence of hundreds
of RiippelTs Vultures, but it is not known whether such numbers still occur there,
because, depending on the climatic conditions, 'whitewash' may persist for years.
Interestingly, during a visit in autumn 2005 there were no vultures sighted at the cliffs
(Nikolaus 2006), suggesting the extinction of the colony at that time and subsequent
recolonization. A probable breeding colony was located about 80 km southeast of Wad
Madani, where 30 vultures were observed (28 of them flying), with at least 3 pairs
engaged in courtship flights, while another possible pair was perching on a suitable
nesting ledge covered with whitewash.

Snake eagles Circaetus spp.

In total, 56 individuals of three species were observed at 36 locations on 27 and 28

5

Birds of prey in northeast Sudan

September (up to 6 eagles per location). Fifty of them (89%) were recorded during
a transect about 100 km along the main road west of A1 Qadarif in grassland and
agricultural habitat. Species composition included 42 Short-toed C. gallicus, 12 Black¬
chested C. pectoralis, and 2 Brown C. cinereus. More than 90% of the observed snake
eagles were perching on medium and high voltage electricity pylons along the road.
Considering the difficulty in identifying Beaudouin's Snake Eagle C. beaudouini, espe¬
cially when perched at a distance (Clark 2000), it is possibile that some individuals of
this species were confused with Short-toed or Black-chested Snake Eagles. Geograph¬
ically, our observations were several tens of kilometres more to the northeast than the
northern-most records for the species in Sudan (Nikolaus 1987). The northern-most
observation of a snake eagle during our survey, was one Short-toed Snake Eagle about
20 km southwest of Kassala.

African Harrier Hawk Polyboroides typus

One adult observed on 27 September was perched on a power pole next to the main
road 88 km west of Gedaref.

Harriers Circus spp.

Three species of harrier, totalling 24 individuals were seen during the survey, of which
4 were Western Marsh C. aeruginosus, 5 were Montagu's C. pygargus , and 4 were Pallid
C. macrourus , and 11 female and juvenile Pallid or Montagu's Harriers. Among these,
16 (67%) were seen along 33 km in open grasslands immediately north of Kassala,
representing two Pallid, one Western Marsh and 8 female and juvenile Pallid or Mon¬
tagu's harriers. Three other Western Marsh Harriers were seen at different sites along
the Atbara-Khartoum road. One Pallid Harrier was seen about 55 km southwest of
Atbara and one between Gedaref and Wad Medani.

Grasshopper Buzzard Butastur rufipennis

In total 8 Grasshopper Buzzards were seen at four sites. Two birds were seen at 26 km
and two more at 22 km west of A1 Fao in an agricultural landscape, the other two (of 3
and 1 birds) at 32 and 38 km north-northwest of Kassala in vast grasslands. Nikolaus
(1987) mentioned that, "very large numbers concentrate in the Khartoum-Gedaref
area in September-October". This, compared with our observations, suggests a pos¬
sible population decline or a change in the non-breeding grounds of this species.

Red-necked Buzzard Buteo auguralis

Nineteen Red-necked Buzzards were seen at 15 sites along 160 km, mostly west and
northeast of Gedaref, together with three unidentified buzzards. Most of these birds
were perching on medium voltage power lines along the road. Our observations of
this species are in accordance with the distribution map given by Nikolaus (1987).

Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina

Two juveniles were seen landing at a night roost in palm trees in a valley east of the
reservoir of Khor Arba'At northwest of Port Sudan.

Tawny Eagle Aquila rap ax

The species was seen at only two locations. One adult was seen perching on a high
voltage power line next to the road. On the next pylon there was a big eagle-type nest,
most probably belonging to this species. High voltage power lines are increasingly

6

L Angelov and L Hashim

used for nest sites across the range of this species (Jennings 2010, Tarboton & Allan
1984), but to our knowledge it has not been recorded in Sudan. One adult was seen
together with a group of 15 Hooded Vultures, 6 White-backed Vultures and 4 Black
Kites in a forested landscape, offering suitable breeding habitat, with birds flying
around and landing on trees probably next to a carcass. In the same area one dead
adult was seen next to the road, probably killed by a car.

Bonelli's Eagle Aquila fasciata

A pair of adults with an indication of probable breeding and one dead adult electro¬
cuted under a power line were observed northwest of Port Sudan (Angelov & Hash¬
im 2011).

Booted Eagle Aquila pennata

One light morph individual was seen in soaring flight over Sinkat on 29 September.
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni

One adult male was seen on 30 September in a flat desert area several kilometres
northwest of Port Sudan.

Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus

Three breeding territories were recorded. Two of them were on cliffs north of Port
Sudan with pairs observed near traditional nesting sites (one of the birds was in¬
specting an old nest built by Brown-necked Ravens Corns ruficollis). One adult was
perched on a cliff suitable for nesting that had typical large falcon 'whitewash', locat¬
ed about 30 km north from Derudeb. One adult was observed over Sinkat and one on
a high voltage power line nest Port Sudan.

Discussion

Our observations contribute to the growing body of more recent ornithological data
on the status and threats to raptors in Sudan (Angelov & Hashim 2011, Bird & Black¬
burn 2011, Angelov et al. 2012).

Our survey was conducted mainly along the most intensively used asphalt roads
in the northeast of the country in areas where high human population density was
concentrated. Urbanization and increasing human populations are reported to cause
negative effects on large raptors in Africa (Thiollay 2006, 2007). While for some spe¬
cies like Black, and Yellow-billed Kites and Egyptian Vultures, areas of human habita¬
tion in the tropics are attractants (Fergusson-Lees & Chrisite 2011). Thus, we suggest
that extrapolation of raptor counts along the main roads in northeast Sudan will most
likely give a biased picture of the raptor populations in that part of the country.

The geographic region where Egyptian Vultures were mostly seen lies 100 to 200 km
north of the wintering range of the species as identified by Buechley et al. (2018).
Earlier publications suggest that historically observed congregations of Egyptian Vul¬
tures in the Red Sea Hills area in autumn are formed by migrating and wintering
Palaearctic birds, possibly mixed with North African resident individuals (Meinert-
zhagen 1954, Nikolaus 1987, Angelov et al. 2012). However, recent data using satellite
telemetry suggest that Palaearctic migrants may not fly along the west coast of the
Red Sea in autumn but do so in spring (Buechley et al. 2018). However, given the
relatively small number of vultures tracked, it cannot be determined with certainty
that the congregations of Egyptian Vultures we observed were resident or migrants.

7

Birds of prey in northeast Sudan

Food availability seems not to be a limiting factor for vultures since more thanlOO
livestock carcasses (mainly cattle) were seen within a few tens of metres from the
main road during the survey. Few of them were fresh, but we saw no scavengers feed¬
ing or flying around them, except for Black and Yellow-billed Kites. The areas where
vultures were encountered most often were inhabited mainly by nomadic pastoral-
ists. These pastoralists increasingly use firearms to hunt wild animals, which were
said to be declining because of the increase in armed civilians. The use of poisons
against wild carnivores is forbidden and seems to be an unused practice, but more
research is needed. The few interviewed pastoralists said that if they have problems
with carnivores attacking their livestock, they usually shoot them, but they do not use
poison baits. Large congregations of stray dogs occur at the municipal slaughterhouse
in Port Sudan, where until several years ago orders for shooting them were regularly
issued by the municipality and poison baits had not been used.

Currently there is a large increase in electricity infrastructure across Africa (Small-
ie et al. 2009), which at medium voltage, is most often unsafe for large birds. In this
respect, there is an urgent need for close dialogue between government bodies in
the environment sector, electricity companies, power pole production companies, and
conservation managers. However, to date there has been very little action undertaken
in this respect across the continent, while probably hundreds of thousands of kilo¬
metres of electricity infrastructure are planned to be built in Africa in the next decades
(Smallie et al. 2009).

Acknowledgements

The work was implemented under a project led by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection
of Birds in partnership with the Sudanese Wildlife Society. Wildlife Administration in Sudan
helped with logistics and communication with authorities and local communities. Funding
was provided by the African Bird Club, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Vul¬
ture Conservation Foundation and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. We thank Iliya
Iliev for participation in the fieldwork, Vladimir Dobrev for production of the map, and Zlato-
zar Boev and Jez Simms for improving the manuscript.

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42-45.

Angelov, I., Hashim, I., & Oppel, S. 2012. Persistent electrocution mortality of Egyptian Vultures
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R. 2016. Another Continental Vulture Crisis: Africa's Vultures Collapsing toward Extinc¬
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Ivaylo Angelov

Gomo pole 6486, Madzharovo Municipality, Haskovo District, Bulgaria

Email: ivaylo.d.angelov@gmail. com

Ibrahim Hashim

Sudanese Wildlife Society, P.O. Box 6041, Takamul, Khartoum, Sudan

Scopus 39(2): 1-8, July 2019

Originally received 6 October 2013, resubmitted 8 April 2019

Scopus 39(2): 9-26, July 2019

Conservation status of the forest birds
of the Siria Plateau and western Maasai
Mara, Narok County, Kenya

James Bradley and Tyler Davis

Summary

In light of rapid deforestation across the Siria Plateau of southwest Kenya, we com¬
pile records and review the status and distribution of locally occurring forest depend¬
ent birds there. Records of forest birds in the western reaches of the Maasai Mara Na¬
tional Reserve are also included for reference, and bird richness in the area is briefly
contrasted with that of other forests of southwest Kenya. Included in this review is a
first account of the forest birds of the 1500-ha Nyakweri Forest.

Keywords Deforestation, Biodiversity, Migori River, Inventory, Forest birds

Introduction

Zimmerman et al. (1996) map species of forest birds occurring in the western Maa¬
sai Mara and across the Siria Plateau, and a classification of forest birds by Bennun
et al. (1996) provides a means of assessing the relative importance of forests for the
conservation of forest bird diversity. Records of forest species from this area in the 22
years since have remained largely unpublished, and several exploratory surveys now
permit the drafting of a species list for the previously unknown Nyakweri Forest, the
largest extant forest in southwestern Kenya. In conjunction with this growing body
of newer information, forest loss has been extensive since 2014, which has prompted
this collective review of forest birds occurring in the region. In addition to putting our
own field observations on record, we incorporate field observations and published
records from a variety of other sources so as to provide some additional detail on the
distribution and comparative abundance of forest birds across the area covered. It is
hoped that such a regional specific study of forest bird occurence as presented here,
might provide some incentive or be useful in efforts to conserve what is left.

Study area

Forest in the region discussed here is found in two main basins, with both rivers flow¬
ing in different directions into Lake Victoria along the eastern shores. First, the Migori
River and its tributaries drain westwards across the Siria Plateau, which comprises
an upland area with gentle relief situated around the town of Lolgorien (Fig 1.) and
spanning the western three quarters of the region discussed here. The plateau is cov¬
ered by an extensive area of forest-savanna mosaic at an elevation of approximately
1550-1900m, with primarily lower-montane vegetation characteristics. Second, the
well forested Mara River drains southwards across the westernmost extent of the
Maasai Mara at 1500-1600 m, which covers the eastern quarter of the study area. Div-

10

J. Bradley and T. Davis

iding these two local ecoregions, the steep and rocky Siria Escarpment (Esoit Oloololo
Escarpment) comprises the easternmost limits of the Siria Plateau and the western
extent of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, and rises to just over 2000 m. It is well wood¬
ed in a few places and drained by several small streams, including the slightly larger
Sabaringo River, which flows into the Mara River downstream of groundwater forest
at Kichwa Tembo Camp. Forest along the Sabaringo and covering parts of the divide
between the Migori and Mara River basins, though increasingly degraded, continues
to provide a biological link between the two main areas covered.

Figure 1. Map of the study area showing locations described in the text, the town of Lolgorien
and main roads, as well as larger tracts of extant forest habitat (green shade). The former extent
of Nyakweri Forest (pre-2014) is shown by the dashed line.

The most extensive and important remaining habitat for forest bird conservation
in the region, is Nyakweri Forest (1°12S, 34°56E), which is located midway between
the Siria Escarpment and the town of Lolgorien. Approximately 1500 ha of contiguous
forest remains at this site, which comprises a significant area likely to support viable
populations of many of the species detailed here. Prior to 2014, this forest covered
twice this area, and in light of the deforestation of the northern half in the years since
(over 2000 ha), there is intense pressure on the remaining forest and its forest depend¬
ent bird species. Severe threat of habitat loss is also faced by forest dependent species,
and in particular forest specialists, inhabiting the many smaller forest patches (<50ha)
peripheral to Nyakweri and along the Origitun River in the south of the region, which
are also being rapidly cleared or degraded. As of the time of writing, Nyakweri For¬
est has been subdivided with plot titles issued, and its conservation now rests in the
hands of private landowners.

Data sources and presentation

Our field data from the region were collected from 2013 to early 2019 and comprise a
series of site-visit checklists; each considered an individual survey unit regardless of

Forest birds of Siria Plateau and western Maasai Mara

11

duration. Observations were made with 8x or lOx binoculars, while digital photog¬
raphy, audio recording and playback was also sometimes used to maximize the possi¬
bility of detecting all species present. Our data comprise four checklists from Nyak-
weri Forest (each visit 4+ hours), 15 checklists from smaller forest patches to the west,
north and south of Nyakweri, and 65 checklists from Angama Lodge on the Siria Es¬
carpment. To supplement our own field observations, we also include and reference
where possible, any previously published records in short notes, papers or rare bird
reviews, as well as a small number of records kindly forwarded to us for this paper
by Brian Finch and Don Turner. Lastly, and with care, we include a number of records
reported to local email listserves (Kenya Birdsnet Yahoo Group), and an open-user
database (eBird).

Each species account includes a map showing the spatial distribution of records
in the study area as shown in Figure 1, as well as a coarse indication of relative abun¬
dance by way of differing size markers: the smallest dot comprising a single survey
record, a medium dot two to four records, and a large dot five or more records. The
text also provides some information on aspects of a species ecology locally, includ¬
ing breeding information where known. It shoud be noted that including all data
sources, relative observer effort in the area of the Mara River and Siria Escarpment
area is considerably greater than elsewhere, including Nyakweri Forest. Taxonomy
and nomenclature follow the Checklist of the Birds of Kenya 4th edition (EANFFS 2009)
and references for online digital media and specimen material reviewed are given in
Appendix A.

Results and discussion

In the western Maasai Mara and Siria Plateau forests, we document the occurrence of
80 species of forest dependent birds, as defined by Bennun et al. (1996): 51 forest gen¬
eralists and 29 forest specialists, comprising approximately 35 % of the total number
of forest dependent species known to occur in Kenya. Of these, 18 can be considered
representative of the Afrotropical highlands biome, while four are representative of
the Congo-Guinea forests biome (Bennun & Njoroge 1999). Sixty species have been
recorded in Nyakweri Forest or 8 km downstream on the Migori River (formerly con¬
nected by forest), where there is currently no legal forest protection, and 59 have been
recorded in the forests of the western Maasai Mara at Kichwa Tembo and/or along
the Mara River, where habitats are afforded better protection. Comparing the forest
avifauna of these two discreet regions, 43 % (26 out of 60) of forest dependent birds
occurring in Nyakweri Forest and downstream on the Migori River are comprised of
forest specialists, compared with only 25 % (15 out of 59) at Kichwa Tembo or down¬
stream on the Mara River. It can be further pointed out that many of the forest bird
records from the western Maasai Mara involve single records, possibly of individuals
wandering from the Siria Plateau forests in many cases. These figures highlight the
importance of Nyakweri Forest in sustaining forest specialist bird populations at a
regional level, the closest forest area of similar size and richness being more than
150 km distant.

Elsewhere in southwest Kenya, the extensive Trans-Mara Forest lies c. 150 km to
the northeast of the study region and is known to support a minimum of 66 forest
dependent bird species (Bennun 1991b). One hundred kilometres to the west of the
study region, the isolated and small forests of the Gwassi Hills are known to support
54 species of forest dependent birds (Bradley et al. 2015, Bradley 2018, JB unpubl.).

12

J. Bradley and T. Davis

While there is considerable overlap in the avifauna of all these forests, several spe¬
cies typical of higher montane forest and present both at Trans-Mara and the Gwas-
si Hills have yet to be found in the study area. These include Mountain Greenbul
Andropadus nigriceps, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler Bradypterus cinnamomeus, Brown
Woodland Warbler Phylloscopus umbrovirens, White-browed Crombec Sylvietta leuco-
phrys, Northern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris reichenowi and Black-billed Weaver
Ploceus melanogaster. Conversely, the presence of Pel's Fishing Owl Scotopelia peli and
Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher Trochocercus cyanomelas in the study area is unique
in western Kenya. Further surveys should seek to establish which subspecies of the
latter is present, as these birds may comprise the only Kenya population of western
T. c. vivax, as suggested by initial observations. Otherwise, and given the still limited
amount of observational data from Nyakweri Forest, it can be expected that future
observations will reveal additional forest birds as yet unrecorded in the area.

Species accounts

Crested Guineafowl Guttera pucherani
Forest generalist. Pre-1995 records along the
Migori River and in the Sabaringo Valley, with a
more recent observation in the Origitun drainage.

Presumably only a rare resident, but has bred, with
a record of young in October (Turner 1993, Finch
1994, Zimmerman et al. 1996).

Scaly Francolin Francolinus squamatus

Forest generalist. Local resident throughout the re¬
gion and common only in moist thicket and dense
forest understory in the vicinity of the Siria Escarp¬
ment.

African Hobby Falco cuvieri

Forest generalist. Very local and rare visitor to

wooded areas of the Siria Escarpment from 1600 to

1900 m, with records in October 1989 and August

2017.

African Cuckoo Hawk Alviceda cuculoides

Forest generalist. Older records from the Mara
River in July-October, where undoubtedly only a
local and rare seasonal visitor. Juveniles observed
in July-August (Turner & Pearson 1991).

Forest birds of Siria Plateau and western Maasai Mara

13

European Honey Buzzard Pemis apivorus

Forest generalist. A scarce Palaearctic passage mi¬
grant in the region, with records in November-De-
cember and April, up to a maximum of eight birds.

Bat Hawk Macheiramphus alcinus

Forest generalist. Very local and rare resident, re¬
corded only from the vicinity of the Siria Escarp¬
ment, with records possibly representing only a
single pair of birds.

Western Banded Snake Eagle Circaetus cineras-
cens

Forest generalist. Singles and pairs are widespread
and fairly common residents, reported most often
from riverine forest below 1700 m.

African Goshawk Accipiter tachiro

Forest generalist. Focal and scarce resident of
woodlands and forest edge most often found at
1600-1900 m in the vicinity on the Siria Escarp¬
ment.

Great Sparrowhawk Accipiter melanoleucus

Forest generalist. Singles occurs widely but are
very scarce in well wooded and forest edge habi¬
tats, possibly only occuring in the region as wan¬
derers.

Mountain Buzzard Buteo oreophilus
Afrotropical highlands forest specialist. One rec¬
ord: 10 February 2015, at 1850 m on the Siria Es¬
carpment. Presumably only a rare wanderer to the
region known elsewhere in west Kenya south to
the Mau highlands.

14

J. Bradley and T. Davis

Crowned Eagle Stephanoaetus coronatus

Forest specialist. Very local and uncommon at
1700-1800 m in Nyakweri Forest and the vicinity of
the Siria Escarpment. Observed with nest material
in April (Finch 2011).

Buff-spotted Flufftail Sarothrura elegans

Forest specialist. One record: 14 December 1984 at
1600 m on the Mara River. Presumably only a rare
wanderer to the area (Stevenson & Pearson 1986).

Olive Pigeon Columba arquatrix

Forest specialist. Local but regularly occurring
visitor, primarily along the Siria Escarpment, with
all records in March-November.

Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon Columba delegorguei

Forest specialist. Very local and scarce visitor (?)
primarily to Nyakweri Forest, with records in May
and November.

Lemon Dove Aplopelia laruata

Forest specialist. A rare visitor to forest patches at
1600-1900 m in the vicinity of the Siria Escarpment,
with records in January, April and July (Turner &
Pearson 1991, B. Finch in litt.).

Tambourine Dove Turtur tympanistria

Forest generalist. Widespread and common resi¬
dent of tall thicket and forest with a dense under¬
story, occurring from 1600 to 1900 m throughout-
the region.

Forest birds of Siria Plateau and western Maasai Mara

15

African Green Pigeon Treron calvus
Forest generalist. A common resident from 1550
to 1900 m along the Mara River and across eastern
areas of the Siria Plateau The lack of records from
western areas below 1700 m may reflect heavy de¬
forestation in those areas in past decades.

Ross's Turaco Mussophaga rossae

Forest generalist. Widespread and common resi¬
dent in pairs and small groups from 1550 to 2000 m,
preferring forest strips and small patches to the
forest interior.

Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius
Forest generalist. Widespread and fairly common
seasonal visitor to forest edge habitats, with most
records in April-June and October-December.

African Emerald Cuckoo Chrysococcyx cupreus
Forest generalist. Widespread but generally un¬
common resident (?), mosty above 1700 m, and
usually detected only when singing in April-May
and October-December.

Yellowbill Ceuthmochares aereus

Forest generalist. Known in the region from one
undated record at 1550 m on the Migori River. This
species is now widely treated as two forms, with
ranges roughly divided east and west of the Kenya
Rift Valley. The race here is known as the Blue Mal-
koha in some checklists (D. Turner, pers. comm.).

Pel's Fishing Owl Scotopelia peli
Forest generalist. Very local and rare resident at
1600 m along the Mara River. Heard more often
than seen but sometimes spotted from hot air bal¬
loons. Birds were observed on an active nest in
March-April 1994 (Pearson 1978, Pearson & Turn¬
er 1998, Turner 1993).

16

J. Bradley and T. Davis

African Wood Owl Strix woodfordii

Forest generalist. Local and scarce resident from
1600 to 1900 m along the Siria Escarpment. Pos¬
sibly overlooked elsewhere.

Montane Nightjar Caprimulgus poliocephalus

Afrotropical highlands forest generalist. Local
and uncommon resident from 1600 to 1900 m
along the Siria Escarpment.

Scarce Swift Schoutedenapus myoptilus

Afrotropical higlands forest generalist. One record:
100+ birds in March 1987 at 1600 m over Kichwa
Tembo. Presumably only a rare wanderer to the
area (Turner & Pearson 1989).

Narina Trogon Apaloderma narina

Forest generalist. Widespread and fairly common
resident of forest interior from 1550 to 1900 m,
often wandering to narrow forest strips or small
forest patches.

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater Merops oreobates
Afrotropical highlands forest generalist. Wide¬
spread and locally common resident of forest edge
from 1550 to 1900 m, favouring steep valleys and
the slopes of the Siria Escarpment.

White-headed Wood-hoopoe Phoeniculus bollei
Forest specialist. A local and uncommon resident
above 1750 m in Nyakweri Forest and along the
Siria Escarpment. Today, it appears to be less num¬
erous in the Mara basin than in the past, possibly
reflecting a local contraction in range.

Forest birds of Siria Plateau and western Maasai Mara

17

Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill Bycanistes
subcylindricus

Guinea - Congo forest generalist. Widespread
and fairly common resident of riverine forest and
well wooded areas from 1550 to 1900 m. Typically
found in pairs but may gather in numbers at fruit¬
ing trees.

Grey-throated Barbet Gymnobucco bonapartei

Forest generalist. Widespread and fairly common
resident of forest interior from 1600 to 1900 m,
often favouring large and old trees where some¬
times gathers in groups of 20 or more birds.

Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird Pogoniulus bilineatus

Forest generalist. Widespread and common resi¬
dent of forest interior, edge and well wooded habi¬
tats from 1550 to 1900 m, but scarce along the Mara
River.

Yellow-billed Barbet Trachylaemus purpuratus

Guinea-Congo forest generalist. Local and uncom¬
mon resident of good forest from 1600 to 1800 m,
wandering rarely to the Mara River.

Least Honeyguide Indicator exilis
Forest specialist. Singles are very local and scarce
residents of forest interior from 1700 to 1800 m at
Nyakweri Forest, wandering occassionally to the
western Maasai Mara. Previously known in west
Kenya south to the southwest Mau Forest (Zim¬
merman et al. 1996).

Golden-tailed Woodpecker Campethera abingoni
Forest generalist. Widespread but generally un¬
common resident of forest edge and well wooded
habitats around the Siria Escarpment, occasionally
found further west towards Migori.

18

J. Bradley and T. Davis

Fine-banded Woodpecker Campethera tullbergi
Afrotropical highlands forest specialist. Very local
and rare resident of forest patches above 1800 m
on the Siria Escarpment and in Nyakweri Forest.
Occurs in the region at the lowest extent of its pre¬
ferred altitudinal range.

Black-fronted Bushshrike Chlorophoneus ni-
grifrons

Afrotropical highlands forest specialist. Pre-1990
records from the Migori River, and more recently
at 1750 m in Nyakweri Forest. Presumably a very
local and rare resident (Zimmerman et al. 1996).

Black-backed Puffback Dryoscopus cubla

Forest generalist. Widespread and common resi¬
dent above 1600 m, occuring in wooded and forest
habitats. Adults observed feeding nestlings in Au¬
gust (Bennun 1991).

Liihder's Bushshrike Laniarius luehderi
Forest generalist. Pairs are widespread but scarce
residents from 1550 to 1850 m, favouring well
stratified forest interior and leafy edges. It is only a
rare wanderer to the Mara drainage.

Grey Cuckooshrike Coracina caesia
Afrotropical highlands forest specialist. Singles
and pairs are widespread but generally uncom¬
mon residents from 1600 to 1900 m, occuring in
small forest patches and strips, as well as the forest
interior. Today, it appears to be less numerous in
the Mara basin than in the past, possibly reflecting
a local contraction in range.

Purple-throated Cuckooshrike Campephaga quis-
calina

Forest specialist. Very local and generally scarce
resident of both well wooded and forested habi¬
tats at 1600-1900 m, wandering sporadically to the
Mara River.

Forest birds of Siria Plateau and western Maasai Mara

19

Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher Trochocercus
cyanomelas

Forest specialist. Singles and pairs are very local
and scarce residents of forest interior from 1700
to 1900 m, favouring a lower midstory and under¬
story with very dense vines. This is a recently
discovered population, and a song recorded by J.
Bradley in November 2017 is distinct from that of
birds in eastern Kenya (Davis et al. 2016).

Chubb's Cisticola Cisticola chubbi
Afrotropical highlands forest generalist. Pre-1993
records from along the Migori River only, where
presumably a very local and rare resident (Zim¬
merman et al. 1996).

White-chinned Prinia Schistolais leucopogon

Forest generalist. Observed in October 1991 along
the Migori River and known from the Mara basin
by a single individual that remained at Kichwa
Tembo for at least 5 years in the early 2000s. It may
only be a wanderer to the region from forest areas
to the north (Turner 1993, B. Finch in litt.).

Buff-throated Apalis Apalis rufogularis

Guinea-Congo forest specialist. Widespread
resident from 1550 to 1900 m, common in Nyak-
weri Forest but less so elsewhere. Not previously
known in Kenya south of the Kavirondo Rift, and
first reported in July 2004 before confirmed with
a photograph by S. Fiatfield in 2016, and an audio
recording by J. Bradley in 2017. (C. Kariuki in litt.,
Zimmerman et al. 1996).

Grey Apalis Apalis cinerea

Forest specialist. Widespread resident, mostly
above 1700 m but only locally common. Generally
outnumbered by the previous species.

Black-collared Apalis Apalis pulchra

Afrotropical highlands forest generalist. One rec¬
ord: 7 October 1991 at 1550 m on the Migori River.
It is possibly only a wanderer to the region from
forest areas to the north (Turner 1993).

20

J. Bradley and T. Davis

Black-throated Apalis Apalis jacksoni

Forest specialist. Very local and rare resident from
1550 to 1850 m, typically favouring the most humid
areas within a broader forest habitat.

Little Greenbul Andropadus virens

Forest generalist. Widepread resident of for¬
est edge but abundant only below 1800 m in the
Migori basin. On occasion, five or more birds can
be heard simultaneously, and it may wander to the
Mara basin on rare occasions.

Plain Greenbul Andropadus curvirostris

Guinea-Congo forest specialist. Locally rare to un¬
common resident from 1550 to 1800 m, favouring
the lower-midstory of tall forest. Birds are docu¬
mented in the region by way of a photograph by S.
Carter and an audio recording by J. Williams.

Yellow-whiskered Greenbul Andropadus latiros-
tris

Forest generalist. Widespread and fairly common
resident from 1550 to 1900 m, being most abundant
in more humid forest types.

Slender-billed Greenbul Andropadus gracilirostris

Forest specialist. Widespread and fairly com¬
mon from 1550 to 1900 m but easily overlooked.
Favours the canopy and outer foliage of fruiting
forest trees. Nest building observed in May and
November.

Joyful Greenbul Chlorocichla laetissima

Afrotropical highlands forest generalist. Wide¬
spread and fairy common resident of good forest
from 1550 to 1900 m, with rare wanderers to the
Mara basin at Kichwa Tembo. Occurs in groups of
2-6 birds.

Forest birds of Siria Plateau and western Maasai Mara

21

Cabanis's Greenbul Phyllastrephus cabanisi
Forest specialist. Pairs and small groups are
widepsread and common residents of forest and
tall thicket from 1550 to 1900 m but are absent from
riparian forests of the Mara River.

Yellow-bellied Hyliota Hyliotaflavigaster
Forest generalist. Local and generally uncommon
resident of well wooded habitats, and closely tied
to the Siria Escarpment. It is also occasionally
found further west towards Migori and an active
nest has been observed in July. (B. Finch in lift.).

Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix

Forest generalist. Single birds on 1-2 January
1989 at c. 1700 m on the Siria Escarpment and on
7 December 1986 at Kichwa Tembo comprise the
only records. Undoubtedly only a rare Palaearctic
visitor (Turner & Pearson 1988,1991).

Green-capped Eremomela Eremomela scotops
Forest generalist. Very local and uncommon resi¬
dent of forest edge and well wooded habitats from
1600 to 1900 m along the Siria Escarpment, and
occasionally along the Mara River. The subspecies
present in the area is E. s. citriniceps.

Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla

Forest generalist. Singles are local and uncommon
seasonal visitors from the Palaearctic, inhabiting
thicket and forest edge mostly in the vicinity of the
Siria Escarpment. Records span primarily Novem¬
ber to February.

Mountain Illadopsis Illadopsis pyrrhoptera

Afrotropical highlands forest specialist. One rec¬
ord: August 2004, at 1560 m along the Migori River.
Presumably a very local and rare resident, known
elsewhere in southwest Kenya south to the Kil-
goris area, where collected by A. D. Forbes-Watson
(B. Finch in litt).

22

J. Bradley and T. Davis

African Hill Babbler Pseudoalcippe abyssinica

Afrotropical highlands forest specialist. Older re¬
cords from 1550 to 1850 m along Migori River and
in the northeast of the region. Presumably a very
local and rare resident (Turner 1993, Finch 1994).

Waller's Starling Onychognathus walleri

Afrotropical highlands forest specialist. Pairs are
very local and scarce residents of forest interior
from 1550 to 1800 m. Known elsewhere in west
Kenya south to the Trans Mara and Nguruman
forests (Zimmerman et al. 1996).

Sharpe's Starling Pholia sharpii
Afrotropical highlands forest specialist. Very local
and scarce resident above 1550 m along the Migori
River, reaching the west Maasai Mara only rarely
in August-September. Active nest observed from
mid June to late July (Bennun 1991, Turner & Pear¬
son 1988,1991).

Olive Thrush Turdus olivaceous

Forest generalist. Very local and scarce resident of
bushy and leafy woodlands above 1800 m to the
east of Lolgorien only, wandering to 1550 m along
the Mara River.

Equatorial Akalat Sheppardia aequatorialis

Afrotropical highlands forest specialist. Singles are
local and scarce resident of dark understory in ma¬
ture forest at 1550-1850m, being absent from the
Mara basin. Not previously known in southwest
Kenya south of the Mau forests, but photographed
in the region by J. Fidorra in 2018 (Zimmerman et
al 1996).

Grey-winged Robin Sheppardia polioptera

Forest specialist. Singles and pairs are widespread
but generally uncommon residents of forest
understory from 1550 to 1850 m, commonly occur-
ing along streams and rivers. Observations on the
Siria Escarpment in 2018 may have involved birds
displaced by deforestation elsewhere nearby.

Forest birds of Siria Plateau and western Maasai Mara

23

Red-capped Robin Chat Cossypha natalensis
Forest generalist. Widespread and fairly com¬
mon resident of dense thicket and forest interior
throughout. Dependent fledglings observed in
February and July (Bennun 1991).

Snowy-crowned Robin Chat Cossypha niveicapilla
Forest generalist. A very local and scarce resident
of good forest, mostly in northern areas of the re¬
gion covered, and with no records since the late
1990s (Finch 1994).

White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher Melaenomis fischeri
Afrotropical highlands forest generalist. Wide¬
spread and common resident of thick woodlands
and forest edge from the vicinity of the Siria Es¬
carpment westwards, rarely occurring below
1600 m.

Ashy Flycatcher Muscicapa caerulescens

Forest generalist. Pairs are quite local and gener¬
ally uncommon residents of shady woodlands
and riparian forest in the vicinity of the Siria Es¬
carpment and Mara River. Active nest observed in
November (B. Finch in litt).

African Dusky Flycatcher Muscicapa adusta
Forest generalist. Pairs are widespread and fairly
common residents of forest edge habitats, primar¬
ily above 1600 m.

Collared Sunbird Hedydipna collaris

Forest generalist. Pairs are widespread and com¬
mon residents of tall thickets, forest interior and
edge habitats throughout the region.

24

J. Bradley and T. Davis

Green-headed Sunbird Cyanomitra verticalis

Forest generalist. Widespread but only locally fair¬
ly common, favouring moist streamside thickets,
humid forest and flower plantings.

Olive Sunbird Cyanomitra olivacea

Forest specialist. Pre-1995 records from the Migori
River, and more recently at 1750 m in Nyakweri
Forest. It is probably a rather scarce bird in the re¬
gion (Zimmerman et al. 1996).

Olive-bellied Sunbird Cinnyris chloropygius

Forest generalist. Single birds are local and scarce
residents in the west of the region, with a July re¬
cord from the western Maasai Mara. Periodic re¬
ports of Northern Double-collared Sunbird Cinny¬
ris reichenowi probably refer to this species.

Brown-capped Weaver Ploceus insignis
Afrotropical highlands forest specialist. Pre-
1995 records only, from the Migori River and the
Sabaringo Valley, where presumably a very local
and rare resident (Finch 1994).

Grey-headed Negrofinch Nigrita canicapilllus
Forest generalist. One record: late January-early
February 1992 at 1550 m along the Migori River. It
is probably a very local and rare resident (Lohding
1992).

Green-backed Twinspot Mandingoa nitidula
Forest specialist. Pre-1995 records from the Migori
River, and more recently in groundwater forest
at Kichwa Tembo and along the Mara River. It is
undoubtedly very local and scarce in the region
(Finch 1994, Zimmerman et al. 1996).

Forest birds of Siria Plateau and western Maasai Mara

25

Red-headed Bluebill Spermophaga ruficapilla

Forest generalist. Old records from forest along
the Migori and Mara Rivers, and was formerly re¬
ported as resident at Lolgorien. It is now unreport¬
ed for at least 25 years and possibly locally extir¬
pated (D. Turner pers. comm., Zimmerman et al.
1996).

Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea

Forest generalist. One record: 30 October 2018 at
1550 m at Kichwa Tembo. It is presumably only a
sporadic Palaearctic passage migrant in the region.

Mountain Wagtail Motacilla clara
Forest generalist. Very local resident in small num¬
bers from 1600 to 1900 m, favouring several small
streams flowing off the Siria Escarpment.

Thick-billed Seedeater Crithagra burtoni
Afrotropical highlands forest specialist. Pairs are
widespread but generally uncommon residents
of humid forest and secondary growth, often seen
near water. Active nests observed in May and
November (Bennun 1991, Lohding 1992).

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Brian Finch, David Fisher, Chege Kariuki and Adam Scott Kennedy
for sharing their observations from the Maasai Mara area on local email lists, as well as the
following observers for submitting observations to the online databases eBird and Kenya Bird-
finder (records now deposited at eBird): James Beatty, Frank Brown, Simon Carter, Ed Harper,
Stratton Hatfield, Peter Headland, Marshall Iliff, Alistair Kilpin, William Marengo, Samantha
Musgrave, Jane Tatchell, Julia Williams, the National Museums of Kenya Ornithology Depart¬
ment, and Nature Kenya. We also thank Don Turner and Brian Finch for forwarding to us
some additional records from the region, as well as Darcy Ogada and two referees for advice
on improving the paper. Lastly, we thank Angama Lodge for providing logistical support on
a number of occasions.

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Bennun, L.A., Dranzoa, C. & Pomeroy, D. 1996. The forest birds of Kenya and Uganda. Journal
of East African Natural History 85: 23-48.

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Lohding, A. 1992. Transmara revisited after two years. Kenya Birds 1 (1): 11-12.

Pearson, D.J. 1978. East African Bird Report 1977. Scopus 1(5): 116-131.

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Stevenson, T. & Pearson, D.J. 1986. East African Bird Report 1984. Scopus 8(5): 104-123.

Turner, D.A. 1993. East African Bird Report 1991. Scopus 15(3): 143-163.

Turner, D.A. & Pearson, D.J. 1988. East African Bird Report 1986. Scopus 10(5): 118-132.

Turner, D.A. & Pearson, D.J. 1989. East African Bird Report 1987. Scopus 11(5): 102-119.

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way House, South Africa: Russel Friedman Books.

Appendix A. Specimen material and online digital media referenced in Spe¬
cies Accounts.

Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher: XC #395871 (Xeno-canto)

Buff-throated Apalis: XC #363896, ML#163607701 (Macaulay Library)

Plain Greenbul: ML#103563261, ML#102316181

Mountain Illadopsis: YPM #069509 (Yale Peabody Museum)

Equatorial Akalat: ML#139054551

James Bradley

7961 East Saanich Rd., Sannichton, BC, V8M 1T4, Canada. Email: james_bradley@ymail.com

Tyler Davis

P.O. Box 2049, Karen, Nairobi 05002, Kenya. Email: fishingowl.gmail.com

Scopus 39(2): 9-26, July 2019
Received 1 March 2019

Scopus 39(2): 27-35, July 2019

First record of Eurasian Griffon Vulture
Gypsfulvus from the Balkans migrating to
South Sudan revealed by GPS tracking

Volen Arkumarev, Dobromir Dobrev, and Anton Stamenov

Summary

Adult Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus are mostly resident but the juveniles and immatures
are mostly nomadic and migratory. Significant numbers of young vultures from Eur¬
asia migrate every autumn to the Middle East and Africa but little is known about
their migration routes and wintering grounds. We tracked one juvenile Griffon Vul¬
ture on its south migration from Bulgaria to South Sudan. This is the first confirmed
occurrence of the species in South Sudan. The overall travelled distance on migration
was 5727 km with a migration speed of 136 km/ d. In the wintering grounds in Sudan
and South Sudan this bird inhabited mostly arid savannah and desert habitats up to
600 m altitude. The overall wintering home range (MCP) was 47781 km 2 .

Keywords: dispersal, satellite telemetry, wintering, home range

Introduction

The Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus is an obligate scavenger with a large range
(Ferguson-Lees & Christie 2001). Its breeding distribution extends from Kazakhstan
and Nepal in the east, throughout the Caucasus, southern Europe and the Iberian
Peninsula to the west. The species is now considered extinct as a breeding species
from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in North Africa but still occurs in good numbers
in the Middle East, south to Saudi Arabia and Yemen (BirdLife International 2019).
Spain holds more than 95 % of the European population (Del Moral 2009). On the Bal¬
kan Peninsula the species breeds in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, and Croatia
(Susie 2004, Xirouchakis & Tsiakiris 2009, Grubac 2013, Susie & Radek 2013, Velev-
ski et al. 2013, Demerdzhiev et al. 2014). The Griffon Vulture population in Bulgaria hs
steadily increased in the past 20 years as result of intensive conservation actions and
reintroduction programmes (Demerdzhiev et al. 2014, Stoynov et al. 2018).

Adult Griffon vultures are mostly resident, while the juveniles are primarily no¬
madic, with some are migratory, overwintering in Africa and the Middle East (del
Hoyo et al. 2004, McGrady & Gavashelishvili 2006). There is an increasing number of
records, mostly in the spring and summer, of nomadic Griffon Vultures wandering in
Central and Northern Europe, e.g. Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland for
example (Botha et al. 2017). Zuberogoitia et al. (2013) found that after being ringed as
nestlings, the Griffon Vultures were re-sighted in the natal area only three or more
years later suggesting that young vultures wandered around vast areas in the first
years of their life. Donazar (1993) concluded that about 30% of the juveniles in Spain
migrate. Some birds from France join the autumn migration of the Spanish vultures

28

V. Arkumarev, D. Dobrev and A. Stamenov

and overwinter in Spain or Western Africa (Terrasse 2006). Susie (2000) reported that
in autumn 100 % of the Croatian juvenile, immature and subadult Griffon Vultures
migrate south reaching Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Israel and Chad. However, the win¬
tering grounds of the Eurasian populations of the species are not well studied and
only sporadic records could be found in the literature (Hogg et al. 1984, Mundy 1992,
Jennings 1995, Strandberg et al. 2007, Henriques et al. 2017, Di Vittorio & Petrozzi
2018).

Here we present results of tracking a juvenile Griffon Vulture from Bulgaria to its
wintering grounds in Sudan and South Sudan. We estimated the migration speed and
distance travelled during its first fall migration and the size of its wintering home
range.

Materials and Methods

We tracked a juvenile Griffon Vulture tagged in its nest in the Eastern Rhodopes, Bul¬
garia at approximately 100 days of age. The vulture was tagged in its nest located near
the town of Madzharovo (41.65 N, 25.86 E). Based on a blood DNA sample, the vulture
was sexed as female (BSPB unpubl. data). The following measurements were made:
weight 7.1 kg, cranium length 139.2 cm, tarsometatarsus length 126.3 cm. The bird was
marked with a colour wingtag, a standard metal ring, and colour plastic ring, to ease
its identification after fledging. It was fitted with 70-g solar-powered GPS satellite
transmitter (Microwave Telemetry www.microwavetelemetry.com T The unit was
attached as a backpack with a 10-mm Teflon ribbon harness. The entire transmitter
equipment, rings and wingtag did not exceed 3 % of the bird's body mass and it was
unlikely to have had adverse effects on the individual's survival probability, or move¬
ment ecology (Kenward 2001). The transmitter was set to record the location of the
bird every 2h during the day and night. All data were automatically downloaded and
incorporated into the Movebank database ( www.movebank.org l. Prior to analyses,
the telemetry data were inspected and visualized in Movebank to check for outliers.
Using the Movebank data filters, we removed erroneous GPS fixes (Walter et al. 2011).

We calculated the start and end dates of migration, the distance travelled and the
migration speed based on GPS location fixes. The start of autumn migration was de¬
fined as the first day on which the bird moved over 100 km from its natal area, and the
end of autumn migration was defined as the first day south of 30° N latitude when
the bird started moving less than 50 km per day and remained in a confined area.
Migration distance was calculated by summing the Eucledian distance between all
subsequent locations during the migration period, and migration speed was the mi¬
gration distance divided by the number of days spent migrating (Alerstam 2003).
Stopover sites were considered to be those areas where the vulture stopped for more
than 3 days during the migration.

We estimated the Griffon vulture's wintering home-range using kernel utilization
distribution method with 95 % and 50 % kernel density contours (Worton 1989). We
also calculated the overall foraging range as the Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP)
encompassing all GPS locations (Worton 1989). For these calculations we used all the
GPS fixes collected from the end of the migration until the transmitter became sta¬
tionary, suggesting the death of the vulture or the removal of the unit. Home-range
analyses were performed using Geospatial Modelling Environment software oper¬
ating with R (Beyer 2012, R Core Team 2018). We used information on land cover
types (from GlobCover 2009, http://due.esrin.esa.int/page_globcover.php) to char-

29

First record of Eurasian Griffon Vulture migrating to South Sudan

acterize the habitats within the home range of the Griffon Vulture. We combined land
cover types into six discrete landscape types: cropland (composed of the GlobCover
classes: 11,14, and 20), savannah (GlobCover classes 30,110,130 and 180), grassland
(GlobCover classes 120 and 140), sparse vegetation and desert (GlobCover classes
150 and 200), forest (GlobCover classes 40, 50, 60, 70, 90,100,160 and 170) and other
landscapes, including all remaining GlobCover classes (190, 210, 220) (Buechley et al.
2018). Data were mapped and processed using QGIS software ( www.qgis.org b

Results

The juvenile Griffon Vulture was tracked for 170 days in 2016 (17 July-1 December). It
started the autumn migration on 19 September and arrived in the wintering grounds
in Africa on 30 October. The overall distance travelled was 5727 km over 42 days,
equaling 136 km per day. The longest distance travelled in a single day was 346 km
on 28 October over the Sahara Desert in Sudan. The Griffon Vulture passed over four
migratory bottlenecks for soaring birds: Burgas, Bulgaria (21 September), Bosphorus,
Turkey (22 September), Iskenderun, Turkey (15 October) and Suez, Egypt (22 Octo¬
ber). It stopped at two stopover sites, both in north Turkey, spending six days at each.
The first stopover was in the area of Beypazari and the second was 60 km northwest
of Cankiri.

The overall wintering home range, calculated as MCP was 47781km 2 extending
from North and South Darfur states in Sudan to the Western and Eastern Bahr el
Ghazal states in South Sudan, as far south as 8°80N. The 95 % kernel home range was
14 300 km 2 and the core area of the wintering home range (50 % kernel) was 2350 km 2
(Fig. 1). The Griffon Vulture primarily inhabited medium elevations between 450 and
600 m above sea level. Savannah landscape covered 52.5% of the home range core
area and 44.86 % was covered by sparse vegetation and desert. The other habitat types
covered less than 3 % of the inhabited area.

Figure 1. Map of the migration route and wintering home range of a juvenile Griffon Vulture

30

V. Arkumarev, D. Dobrev and A. Stamenov

Discussion

This study provides the first documented record of Eurasian Griffon Vulture migrat¬
ing from the Balkans to South Sudan, and it is also the first record of the species in
South Sudan. There are no previous studies on the Griffon Vulture's wintering home
range in Africa and our results can serve as baseline information for future studies it
this field. However, it should be noted that the reported wintering home range size
was estimated using data from only 32 days, and does not encompass the whole win¬
tering season, so the estimate should be interpreted with caution. The transmitter be¬
came stationary from 1 December, but it continued sending GPS fixes, so we suspect
that the bird had died or the unit had been removed.

On its southward migration, the tracked Griffon Vulture first moved north towards
the Balkan Mountain in Bulgaria, then later passed over the soaring birds' migra¬
tion bottleneck at Burgas, and a day later it had crossed the Bosphorus. We suppose
that the majority of the migrating Griffon Vultures from the Balkans cross the Sea of
Marmara either through the Bosphorus or through the Dardanelles like other raptors
(Fulop et al. 2014, Panuccio et al. 2017). However, the species was not recorded during
raptor migration counts at the Dardanelles in 1956 and 2010 (Nisbet & Smout 1957,
Panuccio et al. 2017). In contrast, significant numbers were recorded at the Bosphorus
during autumn migration counts—165 individuals in 1956 and 55 individuals in 2010
(Nisbet & Smout 1957, Fulop et al. 2014). Based on these records and our unpublished
tracking data of migrating individuals (n=5), we suggest that Griffon Vultures from
the Balkans migrate mostly through the Bosphorus where the sea crossing is shortest.
Observations made at Gibraltar confirm that the sea crossing takes much longer for
Griffon Vultures in comparison to other soaring birds, and some vultures even fall
exhausted into the sea (Mundy 1992). However, more in-depth studies need to be
carried out to confirm this pattern.

Migrant Griffon Vultures, like other soaring birds, only use a few main migration
bottlenecks to cross to Africa: the Strait of Gibraltar (between Spain and Morocco),
the Strait of Bab-el Mandeb (between Yemen and Djibouti) and Suez (Mundy 1992).
Our tracked Griffon Vulture crossed into Africa through Suez in the second half of
October. The first record of migrating Griffon Vultures through Suez was in 1947
when over 3800 individuals were counted for one week in October (Goodwin 1949).
In 1981, during a two-month survey, 1284 vultures were recorded and 97 % of them
were classified as juveniles or immatures (Bijlsma 1983, Goodman & Meininger 1989).
The number of migrating vultures through Gibraltar has been constantly increasing
over the last 40 years reflecting the increase of the Iberian population (Ramirez 2017).
In 1970 only 600 Griffon Vultures were recorded during the autumn migration count
at Gibraltar but in 2015, on a single day, 2362 vultures were observed, and it is esti¬
mated that over 8000 migrate through the strait every autumn (Pineau & Giraud-Au-
dine 1974, Ramirez 2017). Migration raptor counts at Bab el Mandeb suggest that the
number of Griffon Vultures crossing the strait towards Africa is very low. No Griffon
Vultures were recorded during migration counts in 1985, and only three individuals
were observed in 1987, which was the first published record of the species in Djibouti
(Welch & Welch 1988). In contrast, twelve Griffon Vultures were observed for one
week of observations in northern Yemen in 1985. The same number was recorded for
nine days of observations in 1987 (Porter & Christensen 1987). These records are evi¬
dence that some migrating Griffon Vultures reach Yemen but very few cross to Africa,
so probably they remain in the southern parts of Yemen for the winter.

31

First record of Eurasian Griffon Vulture migrating to South Sudan

The migration speed of our tracked Griffon Vulture was significantly lower that
the speed of an adult Griffon Vulture tracked from Spain to Senegal; this bird trav¬
elled 2682km with a migration speed of 206km/d (Munoz et al. 2016). Both vultures
travelled their longest daily distances when crossing the Sahara. The core area of the
wintering home range (50 % kernel) of our tracked vulture was five times larger than
the home range of adult and subadult non-breeding Griffon Vultures in Spain (Gar-
cia-Ripolles et al. 2011). These differences in the home range size could be explained
by the availability of food and suitable foraging habitat, and the age of the tracked
birds. However, there are no previous studies on the wintering home range size of
the species and our results can be used as baseline information for future studies and
comparisons. The Griffon Vulture inhabited primarily arid areas covered by savan¬
nah and desert vegetation. These areas likely hold high numbers of livestock whose
carcasses provide valuable and predictable food resource (Kendal et al. 2014). Egyp¬
tian Vultures Neophron percnopterus from the Balkans which overwinter in Sahel in¬
habit similar habitats and take advantage of these food resources as well (Meyburg et
al 2004, Oppel et al. 2015).

The wintering grounds of the Eurasian populations of the Griffon Vulture have not
been thoroughly studied. Griffon Vultures, presumably originating from the Iberian
population, were recorded as winter visitors in a number of West African countries —
more frequently in Mauritania and Senegal but also in Mali, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria
and Niger (Mundy 1992, Barlow et al. 1997, Strandberg et al. 2007, Caucanas et al.
2018). An immature Griffon Vulture was observed in a rice field in Guinea-Bissau in
2011, only the second record of the species in the country (Borrow & Demey 2004,
Henriques et al. 2017). The first record of a Griffon Vulture from the Balkans wintering
in Africa was a juvenile ringed in Croatia and re-sighted a few months later in Chad
(Susie 2000). There are few other records of the species from Central and East Africa.
Two specimens were obtained in the 1920s in the Lake Chad basin (Mundy 1992).
In Sudan the species was reported as "uncommon" along the Red Sea and "rare" as
far south as 13° N during the Palaearctic winter, but there were no previous records
in South Sudan (Hogg et al. 1984, Nikolaus 1989, Mundy 1992, de Bont 2009, Malla-
lieu 2013). Our results indicate that some Griffon Vultures may overwinter in South
Sudan but due to the lack of observers these individuals have remained unreported.
In Ethiopia the Griffon Vulture was considered an uncommon visitor between the
Eritrean border and the West Highlands near Addis Ababa at 9° N, and it was never
sighted further south in Somalia (Mundy 1992). The southernmost records of the spe¬
cies in Africa are from lake Langano in Ethiopia where two individuals identified as
adults were observed in 1974 (Vittery 1983) and southern Kenya where one individ¬
ual was observed feeding on an elephant carcass (Clark 2001). However, it should be
noted that misidentifications with the rufous morph of immature RiippelTs Vultures
Gyps rueppelli are possible (D. Forsman in litt.) and D. A. Turner (in litt.) in addition,
mentioned the possibility of the occurrence of hybrids. Our record is one of the few
proved records of the species further south than 9° N.

Three other Griffon Vultures tagged in Bulgaria were tracked to their wintering
grounds in Israel and Saudi Arabia (BSPB unpubl. data) and one juvenile from Greece
was tracked to Yemen (Tsiakiris et al. 2018). Furthermore, a subadult Griffon Vulture
from the Caucasus, tracked with satellite transmitter overwintered in Saudi Arabia
(McGrady & Gavashelishvili 2006). Presumably wintering Griffon Vultures were pre¬
viously recorded in the northern parts of Saudi Arabia but the origin of these birds

32

V. Arkumarev, D. Dobrev and A. Stamenov

remained unknown (Jennings 1995). The species is also considered a rare visitor on
migration and in winter in Oman (Gallagher 1989). These records affirm that an un¬
known but possibly considerable number of the young Griffon Vultures from south¬
east Europe overwinter in vast areas in the Middle East but our results and records
from raptor migration counts at migration bottlenecks suggest that some individuals
continue further south to Africa.

A significant number of Griffon Vultures enter Africa every autumn through the
main raptor migration bottlenecks, but little is known of their wintering areas and
sojourns. Here we present tracking data from one juvenile Griffon Vulture migrating
from Bulgaria to South Sudan. More studies on the Griffon Vulture's migration pat¬
terns, wintering distribution, home ranges and habitat selection in Africa are encour¬
aged to understand their movements and and the threats they face better.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the support of Nikolay Terziev, Atanas Delchev, Vera Alekseeva and Connor
Panter who helped to access the nest and tag the young Griffon Vulture. This work was initi¬
ated and financially supported by the LIFE project "Conservation of Black and Griffon vultures
in the cross-border Rhodope mountains" (LIFE14 NAT/NL/ 000901) funded by the European
Union. We are very grateful to Ralph Buij for reviewing the manuscript and providing con¬
structive and helpful comments that improved it significantly.

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Volen Arkumarev

Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds/BirdEife Bulgaria, 41 Bulgaria blvd, Haskovo 6300, P.O.Box

130, Bulgaria. Email: volen.arkumarev@bspb.org

35

First record of Eurasian Griffon Vulture migrating to South Sudan

Dobromir Dobrev

Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds/BirdLife Bulgaria, Leonardo da Vinci 5, Plovdiv 4000, Bul¬
garia. Email: dobromir.dobrev@bspb.org

Anton Stamenov

Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds/BirdLife Bulgaria, 41 Bulgaria blvd, Haskovo 6300, P.O.Box
130, Bulgaria. Email: anton.stamenov@bspb.org

Scopus 39(2): 27-35, July 2019
Received 5 January 2019

36

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The Mascarene Martin Phedina borbonica in Tanzania with
comments on other records from mainland Africa

Britton (1980) summarized the occurrence of this species in East Africa as, "The Mada¬
gascar race madagascariensis has been recorded as a non-breeding visitor to Pemba in
small numbers between September and March, but not during the past 50 years. A
flock of 16 at Lake Jipe, southeastern Kenya, on 24 June 1978 is the only other record."

This record from Pemba is that of Vaughan (1930) who wrote, "I have seen it most¬
ly between November and March, but only in very small numbers, never more than
three at a time. In 1928 there were two hawking insects over Kichanje pond in August
and September. I know of no other records of its occurrence outside Madagascar, and
its appearance in Pemba is therefore of some interest. Of the two specimens obtained
the female was shot on 1 November, 1925, and the immature bird, which was in moult,
on 10 February. A note of this occurrence has already been made by Mr Bannerman
(Bull B.O.C. xlvi. July , 1926 , p. 127)." These records of Vaughan's are the only ones
mentioned in Packenham (1979) in his summary of the birds of Zanzibar and Pemba.

The first documented record from Kenya was from Zimmerman (1978) when he
observed a flock of 16 at Lake Jipe on 24 June 1978. There have been two additional
records in Kenya. Turner (1980) reported a single bird with a flock of Lesser Striped
Swallows Hirundo abyssinica at Watamu on 23 June 1980. On 18 June 1993 Mel Ogola,
observing from the Kenya shore, noticed a number of Mascarene Martins roosting
with Plain Martins Riparia paludicola at Lake Jipe. Approximately 200 birds in total
were going to roost at the time (Pearson & Turner 1998) but it is not clear how many
Mascarene Martins were included in the 200 total.

Despite regular visits by birders to Pemba in recent decades, there have been no
further reports of these martins until Geene (2001), who wrote, "One record on Pemba
of 15 individuals together in Micheweni peninsular on 27 January 1998. Largest group
ever recorded in Zanzibar archipelago."

The Atlas database holds a record from Theophil Gaus, a visiting academic and
noted birder from Switzerland who found 5 to 10 birds from the bridge while crossing
the Rufiji River on 2 August 2009. There are no doubts attached to this record despite
it not being supported by photographs or having been submitted to the East African
Rarities Committee.

On the 24 March 2013 I with (RM, JS and JJ) was scanning the tidal flats from the
sea wall of the Livingstone Hotel north of Bagamoyo town when I found a "brown
martin" flying south. It had already passed us and continued south partially hidden
by a fine drizzle. Knowing what it might have been only added to our acute dis¬
appointment at the time. After the rain cleared, we visited our usual weekend birding
site at the Stanley Salt Works 1 km north of the hotel but were forced to retreat ear¬
ly as the rain returned and RM located a single Mascarene Martin with Wire-tailed
Swallows Hirundo smithii on the power cables close to where we had parked. On the
3 September 2013 we again found a single martin in the same locality, perched on the
very same cables. Figure 1 relates to this observation.

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37

Figure 1. Mascarene Martin on power line and in flight at Bagamoyo town, 22 September
2013.

Table 1 gives all ten records for Tanzania, with day dates where known. Localities
are given to five decimal places where possible and to three decimal places when not
precisely known. Note that the Lake Jipe record from the eastern shoreline was ap¬
proximately 1 km from the centre of the lake so was not actually observed in Tanzania.

Table 1. Mascarene Martin records in Tanzania

Locality

Day

Month

Year

Counts

Observer

Latitude

Longitude

Pemba Kichanje ponds

1

11

1925

Vaughan

-5.184

39.847

Pemba Kichanje ponds

10

2

1925

Vaughan

Pemba Kichanje ponds

0

8

1928

Vaughan

Pemba Kichanje ponds

0

9

1928

Vaughan

Lake Jipe

24

6

1978

16

Zimmerman

-3.614

37.776

Micheweni Pemba

27

1

1998

15

Geene et al.

-4.981

39.855

Rufiji

2

8

2009

T. Gaus

-8.015

38.971

Livingstone Hotel

24

3

2013

1

This note

6.42691

38.90256

Bagamoyo Salt Pans

24

3

2013

1

This note

6.42243

38.89508

Bagamoyo Salt Pans

23

9

2013

1

This note

Clearly, records for March, August and September south of 6 degrees South are of
birds on passage. Records from Pemba in November, January and February are surely
of birds on their non-breeding grounds on the north-east coast of Pemba. There are no
records in Tanzania for April, May, July or December.

These few observations suggest that only a small proportion of the breeding popu¬
lation migrate to East Africa. Although where the large number of birds seen at Lake
Jipe in June 1993 (see above) might have spent their non-breeding season remains a
mystery. Ash & Miskell (2013) do not record this species for Somalia.

Dowsett-Lemaire & Dowsett (2008) record small numbers in Malawi at four sites
on 12 July 1987, 20 July 1985, 25 March 1989 and 6 April 1959. They also quote Ben¬
son (1944) detailing hundreds present at Lake Chilwa 28 June to at least 30 July 1944.
Dowsett et al. (2006) do not record this species for Zambia. Clancey et al. 1969 report
on large numbers seen and nine collected in southern Mozambique in June and July
1968. This is still the only record for Southern Africa (Harrison et al. 1997) although
there is a claim from Imagine Dam in Phinda Private Game Reserve 10 August 2016
that has yet to be verified (D. Dell e-bird). Safford & Hawkins (2013) state that this

38

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species is found in all months in Madagascar and give August to November for the
breeding season.

This suggests that birds seen in Bagamoyo in September and Rufiji in August were
on their return migration and those in March were moving north to winter quarters
despite the fact that the bird observed at the Livingstone Hotel was flying south. Birds
observed in Pemba in November, January and February could be said to be on their
wintering grounds. The flocks at Lake Jipe in June could be said to be on their way
south to breed and had wandered (been blown perhaps) off course. Birds on Pemba in
August and September would also be ready to return to Madagascar to breed.

Anyone visiting Pemba Island from November through February is encouraged
to visit the northeastern coastal zone and look for this species feeding over the num¬
erous small ponds.

Acknowledgements

Jude Jarvis, Riaan Marais and Jez Simms are thanked for assistance in the field. Theophil Gaus
is thanked for submitting his observation to the Tanzania Bird Atlas and for discussing his
record. Don Turner is thanked for alerting me to the more recent records in Kenya. Trevor Har-
daker is thanked for discussing the August 2016 claim for South Africa.

References

Ash, J.S. & Miskell, J.E. 2013. Birds of Somalia. London: Christopher Helm.

Bannerman, D.A. 1926. Description of a New Glossy Starling from Pemba Island ( Lamprocolius
corruscus vaughani). Record of the occurrence in Pemba Island of the Madagascar Striped
Swallow ( Phedina borbonica madagascariensis). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 46:
126-128.

Benson, C.W. 1944. The Madagascar Martin from Nyasaland. Bulletin of the British Ornitholo¬
gists' Club 65: 4-5.

Britton, P.L. (ed.). 1980. Birds of East Africa. Nairobi: East Africa Natural History Society.
Clancey, P.A., Lawson, W.J. & Irwin, M.P.S. 1969. The Mascarene Martin Phedina borbonica
(Gmelin) in Mozambique: a new species to the South Africa list. Ostrich 40: 5-8.

Dowsett, RJ/ Aspinwall, D.R. & Dowsett-Lemaire, F. 2008. The Birds of Zambia. Liege: Tauraco
Press and Aves a.s.b.l.

Dowsett-Lemaire, F. & Dowsett, R.J. 2006. The Birds of Malawi: An atlas and handbook. Liege:
Tauraco Press and Aves a.s.b.l.

Geene, R. (ed.). 2001. Waterbird count of Zanzibar and Pemba islands, Tanzania, January 1998.
Foundation Working Group International Waterbird and Wetland Research (WIWO). WlWO-re-
port 73.

Harrison, J.A., Allan, D.G., Underhill, L.G., Herremans, M., Tree, A.J., Parker, V. & Brown,
C.J. 1997. The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Vol. 2: Passerines. Johannesburg: Birdlife South
Africa.

Packenham, R.H.W. 1979. The birds of Zanzibar and Pemba. Check-list No. 2. London: British Orni¬
thologists' Union.

Pearson, D.J. & Turner, D.A. 1998. Review of Kenya bird records 1992-1996. Scopus 20: 79.

Safford, R.J. & Hawkins, A.F.A. (eds) 2013: The Birds of Africa. Volume VIII: The Malagasy Region.

London: Christopher Helm.

Turner, D.A. East African Bird Report 1980. Scopus 4(5): 110.

Vaughan, J.H. 1930. The Birds of Zanzibar and Pemba. Part II. Ibis 12(6): 1-48.

Zimmerman, D.A. 1978. Mascarene Martins in Kenya. Scopus 2(3): 74-75.

Short communications

39

Neil Edward Baker

P.O. Box 396, Iringa, Tanzania. Email: tzbirdatlas@yahoo.co.uk

Scopus 39(2): 36-39, July 2019
Received 19 March 2019

40

Short communications

The 'golden weaver' Ploceus (subaureus) holoxanthus: a need
for a full systematic review

The name" holoxanthus ", when applied to the ploceine weavers of Africa, has long dis¬
appeared from the ornithological literature. It was the name originally given by Hart-
laub (1891) to a type of "golden weaver" collected in early 1890 by Friedrich Bohndorff
along the Ruvu River near Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The type specimen (an adult male)
is currently housed in the American Museum of Natural History in New York along
with one female specimen (LeCroy 2014); earlier, Shelley (1905) had described two
males and females then held in the British Museum collection, although Hartlaub (op.
cit.) only mentioned the holotype.

While clearly a bird of considerable interest, it has sadly long been relegated to the
realm of simply being considered a synonym of Ploceus subaureus aureoflavus Smith
1839. Other than in Moreau & Greenway (1962), it has not been deemed worthy of a
mention in any of the recent regional or world checklists (Dickinson 2003, Craig 2004,
2010, Dickinson & Christidis 2014, and del Hoyo & Collar 2016).

The critical reference to it was that of Hartert (1907) who closely examined Hart-
laub's bird during his tenure at Lord Rothschild's Museum at Tring, where he referred
to holoxanthus as being, ""not at all the same as aureoflavus. Its wing is considerably
shorter, measuring only 65-69 mm (compared to 75-76 mm in aureoflavus), the tail is
canary-yellow and shorter, measuring only 4.5 mm instead of 5 mm (in aureoflavus)."
Hartert (op. cit.) further commented that the back was almost pure yellow, the remiges
quite canary-yellow, and that only the secondaries were washed with olive on the
outer webs. Later, Hartert (1919) reluctantly referred to comments by Zedlitz (1916)
who, having examined further specimens, commented that in his view the '"so-called
holoxanthus were only extreme yellow males."

Meanwhile, recent visitors to the Bagamoyo area and the Selous Game Reserve
have been puzzled by the presence of a "golden weaver' type bird that simply does
not fit the descriptions given in current field guides. Figure 1, a photo taken by ASK
in the Selous Game Reserve in October 2008, amply highlights the confusion that
currently exists, and which would appear to agree entirely with the comments by
Hartert (1907).

Figure 1. The un-named

golden weaver, Ploceus
species discussed here,
(photo: Adam Scott
Kennedy).

Short communications

41

Clearly, this form of 'golden weaver' warrants further field and molecular study
so that its true systematic position vis-a-vis the Golden Palm Weaver Ploceus bojeri can
finally be determined.

References

Craig, A.J.F.K. 2004. Ploceus subaureus in Fry, C.H. & Keith, S. (Eds.) 2004. Family Ploceidae in
The Birds of Africa Vol. 7. London: Christopher Helm.

Craig, A.J.F.K. 2010. Family Ploceidae in Handbook of Birds of the World. Vol 15. Barcelona: Lynx
Edicions.

del Hoyo, J. & Collar, N.J. 2016. Handbook of the Birds of the World and Birdlife International. Illus¬
trated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: Passerines. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.

Dickinson, E.C. (Ed.) 2003. The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd

Edition. London: Christopher Helm.

Dickinson, E.C. & Christidis, L. (Eds.) 2014. The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of
the World. 4th Edition, Vol. 2. Eastbourne: Aves Press.

Hartert, E. 1907. On Ploceus aureoflavus, bojeri and holoxanthus pp 499-500 in Notes on African
Birds. 1. Novitates Zoologicae 14: 484-503.

Hartert, E. 1919. Types of birds in the Tring Museum. B. Types in the general collection. I. Cor¬
vidae to Meliphagidae. Novitates Zoologicae 26:123-178.

LeCroy, M. 2014. Type Specimens of Birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Part 12.
Passeriformes: Family Ploceidae. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. Num¬
ber 393. Page 21.

Moreau, R.E. & Greenway, J.C. 1962. Family Ploceidae in Mayr, E. & Greenway, J.C. Jr. (Eds).
Checklist of birds of the World. Vol 15: 3-75. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Com¬
parative Zoology.

Shelley, G.E. 1905. The birds of Africa. Vol. 4 (2). London: R.H. Porter.

Zedlitz, 0.1916. Das Siid-Somaliland also zoogeographisches Gebiet. (Part 3). Journal fur Omi-
thologie. 64:1-119.

Donald A. Turner

P.O. Box 1651, Naivasha 20117, Kenya. Email: don@originsafaris.info

Adam Scott Kennedy

Email: adamscottkennedy@gmail.com

Scopus 39(2): 40-41, July 2019
Received 6 April 2019

42

Short communications

First record of Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella
brachydactyla for Tanzania

On 13 February 2016, during the annual water bird count for Tanzania, Nani Dowling
and I were walking along the northeastern shore of Lake Eyasi. While our focus was
on the lake shore, we still kept an eye out for other birds. This is how we suddenly
saw a lark fly up and land not far from us. Since the only regular larks around our
place are Red-capped Lark Calandrella cincerea, and Fischer's Sparrowlark Eremopterix
leucopareiia, we immediately knew that this bird was new to us.

We proceeded to take some photos of the rather confiding bird which seemed to
seek the company of some Red-capped Larks in its vicinity (Fig. 1). We noticed that it
was slightly smaller than them. At the time it did not occur to us that we were seeing
something special, just an odd lark that would be identified when back at home.

Figure 1. Greater Short-toed Lark (photo: C. Schmeling).

When consulting our books (especially Zimmerman et al. 1996) the only lark that
resembled it was the Somali Short-toed Lark Calandrella somalica ; this, however, has a
streaked breast, which our bird did not have. It also appears to be darker overall than
'our' lark.

We did what we always do when in doubt, send some photos of the bird to Neil
and Liz Baker. Not long after we were made aware that this was thought to be the first
record of Greater Short-toed Lark for Tanzania. The record and photos were submit¬
ted to the EARC and on 25 June 2016 we were rather proud to receive confirmation
from Nigel Hunter of the EARC that the record had been accepted as the first for
Tanzania (Fisher & Hunter 2017).

References

Fisher, D. & Hunter, N. 2017. East African Rarities Committee Report. Scopus 37(2): 46-48.

Zimmerman, D. A., Turner, D. A. & Pearson, D. J. 1996. Birds of Kenya and northern Tanzania.

Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.

Chris Schmeling

P.O. Box 100, Karatu, Tanzania. Email: kisima@habari.co.tz

Scopus 39(2): 42, July 2019
Received 24 March 2019

Short communications

43

First record of Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla for Tanzania

On 11 January 2010, Vicki Kennedy and I visited Arusha National Park with local driv¬
er/ guide Basil Kessey. We entered the park mid-morning and, after driving around
the main crater, took lunch by the Momella Lakes. Around 15:00, we followed the
tracks by the southwest corner of the lakes where I spotted a small, grey-brown, war-
bler-like bird take off from the ground and land in a small tree beside the track. The
bird immediately reminded me of Eurasian Wryneck, so I was keen to get some im¬
ages of the bird. I had seen numerous Wrynecks in Europe so was in no doubt about

the identification of the bird but was keen to confirm it
was not a Red-throated Wryneck Jynx ruficollis, which
was a more likely proposition in this part of the world.
The pale buff throat showing subtle barring was enough
for me to confirm it was indeed a Eurasian Wryneck. I
grabbed the camera and took a few record shots of the
bird (regrettably out of focus as on wrong settings), just
before it took off and flew across the track and into some
taller trees some 30 m away, which was a considerable
distance from the designated track. We agreed not to stay
to search for the bird any longer.

Description

The size of a large Sylvia warbler, the greyish-brown bird showed a wide tail as it flew
from the ground. When perched, the bird showed a dark streak through the eye, pale
throat with fine barring. The back was mostly grey with two bold dark streaks, the
belly and vent were pale and the brown flight feathers showed obvious barring. The
bird was silent.

Once the bird had flown, I checked Stevenson & Fanshawe (2002) who write of the
species "very scarce Palearctic visitor". The corresponding distribution map shows
no coverage or vagrant records for Tanzania. As soon as I had phone reception, I
called Neil Baker in Iringa to report my observation whereby he confirmed my sus¬
picion that it was indeed the first record for the species in Tanzania (Fisher & Hunter
2014). My observation was made at 3°14'S, 37°00'E.

References

Fisher, D. & Hunter, N. 2014. East African Rarities Committee Report 2010-2013. Scopus 33:
87-91.

Stevenson, T. & Fanshawe, J. 2002. Birds of East Africa. London: T. & A.D. Poyser Ltd.

Adam Scott Kennedy

Email: adamscottkennedy@gmail.com

Editors' note: A second photographic record for Tanzania was obtained at Kitumbeine (2°44' S,
36°16'E), northwest of Arusha on 20 February 2019 by Kevin Mlay (D.A. Turner, in litt). The
most southerly African record we can trace is of one photographed at Nguuni, near Mombasa,
Kenya (4°00'S, 39°42'E) on 20 April 2012 by Doris Schaule (Pearson, D. & Jackson, C. (2016)
Scopus 36(1): 31. In addition, two have been ringed by the Ngulia Ringing Group at Ngulia
Lodge, Tsavo West National Park (3 o 00'S, 38°13'E) on 5 January 2000 and 1 December 2003
(G.C. Backhurst, in litt.).

Scopus 39(2): 43, July 2019
Received 20 March 2019

44

East African Rarities Committee Report

East African Rarities Committee Report for 2018

David Fisher (Chairman) and Nigel Hunter (Secretary) on behalf of the EARC

The East African Rarities Committee assesses records of new and very rare birds oc¬
curring in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. This includes up to the
fifth record of any species from each of the five countries. Sightings of species for
which there are fewer than five records for a country should be submitted to the
EARC Secretary, Nigel Hunter, P.O. Box 24803, Karen 00502, Nairobi, Kenya; Email:ni-
gelhunter@timbale.org. Please contact the Secretary to obtain clarification of whether
a record requires a submission and for guidance on what details to include in the
submission. Past records of rare species are also sought in order to bring the EARC
database up to date. Nomenclature follows the forthcoming Checklist of the Birds of
Kenya 5th edition (Bird Committee EANHS, in prep.) unless stated otherwise.

Since the Committee’s last report published in 2018 {Scopus 38(2): 25-29) the fol¬
lowing records have been accepted:

Archer's Francolin Scleroptila gutturalis

Fourth record for Uganda. One bird well seen and two more heard in Kidepo Valley
National Park on 12 July 2016. Sound recording obtained and submitted as part of
the record (Michael Mills and Julian Francis). Placement of five species in Scleroptila
(formerly in Francolinus) follows the recommendations of Bloomer & Crowe (1998)
and Crowe et al. (1992,2006b), and later followed by Dickinson & Remsen (2013), and
del Hoyo & Collar (2014).

Archer's Francolin was formally known as Francolinus levalliantoides archcri, but
with gutturalis taking precedence over levalliantoides, treatment of East African birds
as Archer's Francolin Scleroptila gutturalis follows Turner & Pearson (2015).

Crested Francolin Dendroperdix sephaena

First, second and third records for Rwanda. The first one was seen and photographed
in Akagera National Park adjacent to Lake Gishanju on 18 July 2017 (Gael Vande
weghe). The second and third records were seen and photographed some 2 kms apart
in Akagera National Park north of Kirara Plain on 28 October 2017 (Jes Gruner).

Striped Crake Amauromis marginalis

Fifth record for Uganda. Two birds were well seen and photographed at Lake Mburu
National Park on 26 June 2018 (Brian Finch, Paul Tamwenya, Cecilia Verkley, Kathy
Brown, Alan and Sandra Woodward, Bob and Katy Zappala).

White-crowned Plover (Lapwing) Vanellus alhiceps

Third and fourth records for Uganda. A single bird was seen along the northern bank
of the River Nile in Murchison Falls National Park on 1 August 2017 with a detailed
description provided (Tertius Gous, Peter and Kate Edmonds, Nigel and Di Hard-
castle, and Ben Yokel). The second observation was again of a single bird, seen and
photographed along the bank of the River Nile in Murchison Falls National Park on
12 July 2018 (Michael Mills, Nick Fordyce, Ken Petersen, John Lobel, Les Holliwell,
and Janet Donnan).

45

,. ;i v _East African Rarities Committee Report

Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa
Second record for Rwanda. Approximately 100 birds were seen and photographed in
Bugesera District, Gashora Sector, near the bridge separating Bugesera and Ngoma
Districts, at about 20 km from the tarmac road (Claudien Nsabagasani, Daniel and
Joan Pennington). The only previous record for Rwanda dates back to 1988.

Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos

Second record for Tanzania. A single bird seen and photographed at 'Hippo Pool' in
Lake Manyara National Park on 20 November 2017 (Zul Bhatia).

Figure 1. Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos Figure 2. Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus

(photo: Zul Bhatia). (photo: Marie-Paule Schaijes).

Black Stork Ciconia nigra

Third record for Rwanda. A single bird was seen at Kayonza in Akagera National Park
on 22 March 2015; a detailed description was provided (James Hogg and Jes Gruner).

Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus

Third record for Tanzania. Two birds were seen and photographed at Gol Kopjes, Ser-
engeti National Park on 2 February 2018 (Marie-Paule Schaijes, Donna Duggan and
Moody-Tanzanian guide).

Hemprich's Hornbill Lophoceros hemprichii

Second and third records for Uganda. The first sighting was of two birds observed
and the bird's voice recorded near Kidepo National Park on 13 July 2016 (Michael
Mills and Julian Francis). The second sighting was again of two birds observed and
photographed a few kilometres south of Karenga, Kotido District on 28 January 2018
(Szabolcs Kokay, Norbert Ferenczi, Peter Jakab, and Gergely Szabo).

46

East African Rarities Committee Report

Figure 3. Hemprich's Hornbill Lophoceros Figure 4. Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator
hemprichii (photo: Szabolcs Kokay et al). (photo: Pascal Deo Munezero).

Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator

New for Rwanda. A single bird was seen and photographed by the roadside very near
Lake Ruhondo, Northern Province on 20 April 2017 (Pascal Deo Munezero).

Grey-chinned Sunbird Anthreptes rectirostris

New for Tanzania. A pair was located along a track in Minziro Forest Nature Reserve
and photographed on 19 July 2016 (Florence and Per Holman). Other records do exist
for this species from Minziro, but they have not been submitted to the EARC. It prob¬
ably exists at quite low densities throughout the Minziro area, especially at the forest
edge. Further details of this species in Tanzania are provided in Baker & Baker (2019).

Figure 5. Grey-chinned Sunbird Anthreptes Figure 6. Little Green Sunbird Anthreptes
rectirostris (photo: Florence Holman). setmundi (photo: Neil Baker).

Little Green Sunbird Anthreptes seimundi

New for Tanzania. At least three birds were seen and photographed along an aban¬
doned track in the western edge of Minziro Forest Nature Reserve on 27 January
2018 (Neil Baker). A bird thought to be this species was netted in July 1987, but no
photographs were taken. However, this species is known to occur in Malibigambo
Forest (Uganda), which is contiguous with Minziro. Therefore, this species is prob¬
ably a low-density resident of Minziro. Further details of this species in Tanzania are
provided in Baker (2019).

47

East African Rarities Committee Report

Steel-blue Whydah Vidua hypocherina
Fourth record for Uganda. One adult male in full breeding plumage was seen in
Kidepo Valley National Park on 12 July 2016 with a description provided (Michael
Mills and Julian Francis).

Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica rufula

Third record for Kenya of the subspecies C. d. rufula. A single bird was seen and well
photographed at Valley Dam on Loldaiga Hills Ranch (southern Laikipia County) on
6 November 2018 with a detailed description provided (Brian Finch, Per Aronsson,
Paul Benson, Tom Butynski, Yvonne de Jong, Nigel and Julia Hunter).

Figure 7. Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis dau- Figure 8. South African. Cliff Swallow Petro-
rica rufila (photo: Per Aronsson). chelidon spilodera (photo: Tyler Davis).

South African Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon spilodera

Second record for Kenya. A single bird was seen and photographed in the Mara Tri¬
angle, Maasai Mara National Reserve on 21 June 2018 (Tyler Davis).

Ansorge's Greenbul Emilias ansorgei

Second to at least the fifth records for Uganda. Many birds were seen and voice re¬
corded between August 2005 and July 2018 on at least ten occasions at The Neck and
Buhoma in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Michael Mills). Clearly this species
is common at Bwindi Impenetrable NP and should no longer be considered a rarity.

Southern Black Flycatcher Melaenornis pammelaina

Second record for Uganda. A single bird seen and photographed in Lake Mburu
National Park on 25 June 2018 (Brian Finch, Paul Tamwenya, Cecilia Verkley, Kathy
Brown, Alan and Sandra Woodward, Bob and Katy Zappala).

Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti

Fourth record for Kenya. A single bird was seen and photographed at Lake Turkana
Wind Power site, Marsabit County on 8 February 2018 (Sidney Shema and Peter
Njoroge). Further details of this record are provided in Shema & Njoroge (2018).

48

East African Rarities Committee Report

The following records were rejected because the details provided were insufficient to
establish the identification with certainty:

Black-winged Pratincole Glareola nordmanni at Lake Gaharawa, Bugersera District,
Rwanda on 14 October 2014.

Dusky Indigobird Vidua funerea at Pian Upe Game Reserve, Karamoja, Uganda on 7
August 2018. Establishing the occurrence in Uganda of Dusky Indigobird and Camer¬
oon Indigobird Vidua camerunensis is proving to be difficult. Purple Indigobird Vidua
purpurascens also remains a possibility.

White-throated Swallow Hirundo albigularis at Lake Masek, northwestern Ngoron-
goro Conservation Area, Tanzania on 27 February 2018.

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to all the members of the EARC who commented on the above records;
Neil Baker, Nik Borrow, Brian Finch, Colin Jackson, David Moyer, Nigel Redman, Itai Shanni,
Roger Skeen, Terry Stevenson, Don Turner, and Washington Wachira. We are also very grate¬
ful to Bob Dowsett, Frangoise Dowsett-Lemaire, and Bob Payne for sharing with us their expert
knowledge and advice.

References

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Baker, N.E., & Baker, E.M 2019. The Grey-chinned Sunbird Anthreptes rectirostris in Tanzania.
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25-29.

Shema, S. & Njoroge, P. 2018. Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti at Lake Turkana — the fourth
record of the species for Kenya. Scopus 38(2): 18.

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David Fisher

56 Western Way, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1DU, United Kingdom. Email: david@sunbirdtours.co.uk

Nigel Hunter

P. O. Box 24803, Karen 00502, Nairobi, Kenya. Email: nigelhunter@timbale.org

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