Table Of Contentknowledge, representsarange-extensionforthisspecies.
TheobservationofanimmatureBlack-headedGullLams
ridibundusw^sfurtherevidencethatthisspecieshasstarted
veryrecentlytoexpanditswinterrangetotropicalAfrica.
Yellow-leggedWeaverPloceusflavipes
MarkAndrews
superciliosus Bare-cheeked Trogon Apaloderma
,
aequatoriale ten species of Kingfisher
,
including White-bellied Corythomis leucogaster, Blue-
Brown-chestedWattledLapwing
breasted Halcyon malimbica and Chocolate-backed Vanellussuperciliosus
Kingfisher//,badia,BhckMeropsgularisandBlue-headed MarkAndrews
Bee-eaterM. muelleri,sevenspeciesofHombillincluding
White-thighed Ceratogymnacylindricnsalbotibialis, Pip- Forthoseinterestedinthisoutstandingplace, ananno-
ing C. fistulator, Black Casqued Wattled C. atrata, tated checklist of the avifauna of the Okapi Wildlife
White-crestedTocknsalbocristatnsBlackDwarfT.bartlaubi Reserve is currentlybeing completed, covering all 379
,
andRed-billedDwarfHombillT.camurus Green-breasted species recorded to date. It will be available from
Pitta Pitta reichenowi and Blue-shoulde,red Robin-Chat November1996forUK£10/US$ 20(cash; inch postage
Cossyphacyanocampter.AnunusualsightingwasaEuro- and handling). It can be ordered from M. Sacchi,
peanWheatearOenantheoenantheperchedonarainforest Breitfeldstrasse 44, CH-3014 Bern, Switzerland.
tree. We also observed a pair ofGosling’s ApalisApalis Breitfeldstrasse 44, 3014 Bern, Switzerland. Tel +(0)31/
goslingiwith two recently hatched young which, to our 332 7812.
Recent observations of birds in the Comoros
Jon Hornbuckle
Introduction Comoreonthe4th;atleast4birdsaroundKanganion
The Comoros islands, situated in the Indian Ocean the 7th and one bird on the ridge above Fomboni,
between Madagascar and Tanzania, consist of the Moheli, on the 9th. These records indicate that this
Islamic Republic of the Comoros and the French numericallyscarcespeciesmaybefairlywidespread.
protectorateofMayotte,butarerarelyvisitedbybirders. Frances’ Goshawk (Sparrowhawk) Accipiter
Ispenttwoweeksthere, from3-16November 1995, francesii. Apart from a single record from Grand
with Ashley Banwell, Neil Bostock and Alan Lewis. Comore,thisspecieswasonlyseenonMayottewhere
Wemadeanumberofinterestingobservationsduring therewasaterritorialpairandatleastone otherbird
ourtravels on—Mayotte andthe three main islands of at Combani onthel4-15th.
theComoros GrandComore,AnjouanandMoheli.
Eleonora’s Falcon Falco eleonorae. Singles at
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel Oceanitesoceanicus. A sin- Moroni, Grand Comore on the 9th; Kangani, Moheli
glebirdseenonthe7th,3-4kmoffshorefromMoheli on the 7th, and Lac Dzialandze, Anjouan onthe 12-
nearMiChaco, therockyisletnestingsiteforMasked 13th.ThreebirdsatCombani,Mayotteonthe14thare
Boobies Sula dactylatra, and two noted on the likelytohavebeenonpassage, presumablytoMada-
crossingbetweenMoheli and Grand Comore on the gascar. The only previous confirmed records were
9thappeartobeonlythesecondandthirdrecordsfor twoonMoroniinNov1831andoneonMtKarthalaon
the Comoros1. 8 April 1902.
Masked Booby Sula dactylatra. c80 nesting at M’ Little Stint Calidris minuta. One at Padmanzi La-
Chaco, some5kmoffthecoastofMoheli,onthe7th. goon on the 15th appears to be the first record for
Reunion (Malagasy) Harrier Circus maillardi. A Mayotte andonlythethirdrecordforthe Comoros3.
pairabove La Convalescence on Mt Karthala, Grand CommonTernSternahirundo.TwobetweenMoheli
Short Notes BullABC Vol 4 No 1 -43
andGrand Comore onthe 9thappearstobethefirst
record forthe Comoros3
.
Bridled Tern Sterna anaetbetus. Common (500+)
between Moheli and Grand Comore on the 9th and
several Bridled/Sooty S. fuscata Terns offshore at
Fomboni, Moheli on the 7th were presumably this
species. The onlyrecentrecord quotedbyLouette is
of 88 Bridled/Sooty Terns on the same crossing on
23 September 19833
.
BrownNoddyAnousstolidus. c20 between Moheli
and Grand Comore onthe 9th. Louette sawnoddies
but failed to identify them specifically, and so this
Wilson’sStorm-PetrelOceanitesoceanicus
appearstobethefirstdefiniterecordfortheComoros. JohnCox
MalagasyScops-Owl Otusrutilusmayottensis. Two Themalefedthefemaleatthenesttwicein40minutes
werelocatedinsecondary, disturbedwoodlandnear andshefedtheyoung.
iiCnnohdmaibbcaiattniimn,gutcMhahaytootfthtteehteaohxnaobntihtiesatn1oa4tvtahuinlwacibtolhemomoutnonmthuaecnidhslaeabfnlfdeo.rttIo,t tMMauayryobotettdtes,eeocDonrnotdhanergyo14wtoDho.dilnwaacnllddued.neiTdih.iosnEesipgoehnctieaastnaeCpsoptmeibanarsndiits,o-
appeareddistinctfromtheMadagascarmainlandform.
haveadaptedtohumanencroachmentandsoisnotin
AnjouanScops-Owl Otuscapnodes. Two, ofdiffer- the critical conditionofthe above species.
entcolourphases,wereobservedonthe12thatnight Grand Comoro (Humblot’s) Flycatcher
above Lac Dzialandze, possibly the first ever field
Humblotiaflavirostris. Five in rainforest below La
studies, while atleasttwo otherswere heardcalling,
Convalescence, Grand Comore, on the 4—5th. These
mostly inflight2
. recordssuggestthatthisspeciesisfairlynumerousin
Comoro(Karthala)Scops-OwlOtuspauliani. One its local andvulnerable habitat.
seen but only one other heard at La Convalescence, Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica. One perched on
Grand Comore on the 4th. Although there is still a electricity wires at Fomboni, Moheli, on the 8th
substantialtractofmontaneforestonMountKarthala,
appearstobeonlythesecondrecordfortheComoros,
thiscouldchangesincethereisnoevidenceofitbeing the firstbeingtwo on Grand Comore on 22 October
protected.
1831.
Broad-billedRollerEurystomusglaucurus. One at Comoro (Karthala) White-eye Zosterops mouro-
LacDzialan—dze, Anjouanonthe 12th, asrecordedby niensis. Common in the tree heather above La
R. Safford4 the eighth recordforthe Comoros.
Convalescence, Grand Comore, on the 4th, but a
(Grand) Comoro Drongo Dicrurus fuscipennis. highlyspecialisedandlocal habitat.
The onlyobservationofthis highlyendangeredspe-
Moheli (Short-tailed) Brush-Warbler Nesillas
coinees-wweaesk-oolfdayoupanigrinfetehdeinnegsttawto9,30apmpraotxKiomuartaenil,y mariae. Apairat415 m above Fomboni, Moheli, on
the 8th was the only record, suggesting that this
Grand Comore on the 11th1. Itwas not found in the species maypossiblybe ina more perilous situation
maintractofforestbelowLaConvalescence.Thenest
was ata height ofc7 min a fork ofan outerbranch. than the ‘Vulnerable’ status currently accorded to it,
especiallysince deforestationappearstobe continu-
ing apace1
.
Wesawalltheendemictaxaontheislandsexceptfor
Frances!GoshawkAccipiterfrancesiipusillus,Mada-
gascar Green-Pigeon Treron australis griveaudi,
CrestedDrongoDicrurusforficatuspotior Madagas-
,
carCuckoo-shrike Coracinacinereamobeliensisand
Blue Vanga Cyanolanius madagascarinus bensoni.
Itwouldhavebeeneasytohavemissedtheaccipiter
but the absence ofthe other four taxa suggests that
BrownNoddyAnoussmkdus theymaybeina ‘Vulnerable’ oreven‘Critical’ condi-
MarkAndrews tion.
44 - BullABC Vol4 No 1 Short Notes
1
References 4. Safford, R.J. andEvans, M.I. 1994. Observations on
1. C1o9l9l4ar.,BiNr.dJs.,toCWraostbcyh,2:M.tJh.ewaonrdldSltiastttoerfstfiherleda,teAn.eJ.d taShpneedcCiaoMl.mIo.RresoEevrIavsnels,a,ndMsa(.eddAaspg)paesAncdasirux.r4vLeioynnPdo.ofMn.A:mTbhMaaotdmoapvgsaaoksny-
23.. ALbTLifeoerwrurdiievsstc.u,tareneC,Ana.B,miMbr1.rBd9ie9d6lC1g.gl9ei8u:I8ubn.mB:3is:Lre1edMa3sL1rui.csfhOeeieosIfnetRateouhryxenaatlBidaoedndsaaeln.Cgloa’.mAofrrBuielqslu,.e 5. cSccaaoarfnpfsnoEeornrddvv,eiasrtRoiJ(noGnmue(r1no9ntf9ae3lyt)hR1eRe8e8sAd9eni)asjrcBocoihuvraedGnrryCo,oSuncpsot..pasxInotnO.owm3l:y57O-at7nu4d.s
Centrale (Ann. ser. in 8 Sci. Zool. no. 233). 30 Hartington Road, Sheffield S7 2LF, UK.
,
Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla and
Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia in Morocco
MarkAndrews
TheRiverSousonMorocco’sAtlanticcoastjustsouth middle toes very difficult to see except as the bird
ofAgadirisanimportantrestingplaceforlargenum- walked toward observerpausing momentarily.
bersofwaders, gullsandterns, especiallyduringthe Plumage
migration period. Whilst visiting the area on 5 May Head:crownstreakingappeareddarkeroverthebuff
1995 foundthattheincomingtidewasbringinglarge groundcolourandgaveaslight‘capped’appearance.
numbers ofwaders, particularly Calidrissandpipers Loresandearcovertsdarkerwithmorediffusesmudg-
insummerplumage,togatherandfeedinthenarrow ing. Superciliumto nape whiterwith distinctly more
channels adjacent to the King’s palace. Given the pronounced sooty streaking.
excellent light conditions and the birds’ proximity, I Upperparts: generally dull looking with the ground
positioned myself slightly upstream and sat and colour ofthe mantle slightly ‘buffy’ but lacking any
watchedasthebirdsfiltereddowntowardme.These warm rufous tones. Distinctly pale-centred coverts
were predominantlyLittle Stint Calidrisminutawith lacking rufous fringes and contrasting sharply with
smaller numbers of Dunlin C. alpina and Curlew dark centred scapulars. Ratherplain sooty-grey-cen-
Sandpiper C.ferruginea. tredtertialswithpaleoff-whitefringes.Primariesblack.
Amongst the beautifully rich and dapper Little Underparts:Whitewithdistinctlystreakedbreastand
Stints appeared a classically ‘odd’ bird, roughly the foreflanks.
samesizethoughbulkierwithashorterprimarypro- Nocallwasheardsincethebirdwasneverisolated
jectionandslightlyheavier,blunt-tippedbill.Itlacked fromthe maingroup ofwaders.
thewarm ‘foxy’ colouration and showed no trace of In attempting later to relocate the bird for col-
the mantle braces so evident in its congeners. The leagues,Inoticedasuddensplashnearbythatdiverted
combinationofstructureandplumagefeaturesmeant ourattention.Afterbathingfranticallyinasmallmuddy
thebirdhadtobeanadultSemipalmatedSandpiperin pool some 10 m away, a small dark wader emerged
breedingplumage, anagewithwhichIwasunfamil- onto dry land. It was a stunning Spotted Sandpiper
iar. My experience was based on observations of Actitismaculariainfullbreedingplumage.Themagic
first-yearbirds in the UK. Having been disturbed by ofvagrancy!
some overzealoushorse ridersthebirddisappeared
forashortwhilebeforeIfounditonceagainfeeding
amongsttheLittleStintandtookthefollowingnotes.
Structure
Slightlybulkier,morepot-belliedthanaccompanying
LittleStintswithanobviouslyshorterprimaryprojec-
tion.
Bare parts
Bill: black, heavier with a much stouter base and a
classic ‘blob’ tip. Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidrispusilla
Legs: black, distinct palmations between outer and PeteDennis
BullABC Vol 4 No 1 -45
Short Notes
