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Shortcommunications 55 References Britton,p.L. (ed) 1980.BirdsofEastAfrica,theirhabitatanddistribution.Nairobi:EANHS. Clement,P., Harris,A. & Davis,J. 1993Finchesandsparrows, an identification guide. Lon- don: ChristopherHelm. Lewis,A. &Pomeroy,D. 1989.AbirdatlasofKenya.Rotterdam: Balkema. Mackworth-Praed,C.W.&Grant,C.H.B. 1960.Africanhandbookofbirds,series 1,vol.2, BirdsofeasternandnortheasternAfiica.London: Longmans. SvENSsoN,L. 1994.IdentificationGuidetoEuropeanpasserines,4thedition.Tring: BTO. Zimmerman,D.A.,Pearson,D.J.andTurner,D.A. 1996.BirdsofKenyaandnorthernTanza- nia. HalfwayHouse: RusselFriedman. OgetoMwebi,DepartmentofOsteology,NationalMuseumsofKenya, Box40658,Nairobi,Kenya Scopus20: 53-55,May 1998 Received 13November 1997 A nest ofHartlaub's BustardEupodotis hartlaubii The nest and eggs of Hartlaub's Bustard are apparently undescribed (Mackworth- Praed&Grant 1957,Zimmermanetal. 1996).Althoughrecordedasrecentlybreeding inthree locations inKenyaby Lewis & Pomeroy (1989), nodetails are given. On 7 May 1997 a sitting female Hartlaub's Bustard was disturbed offhernest on Game Ranching Limited, 01°3r36''S, 36°59'48''E. It contained two recently laid eggs. Three days laterthe nest was revisited and found to be empty. However, 30 m northeast,anincubatingfemaleHartlaub'sBustardwasfoundwithtwoeggs.Thefirst clutch may have been depredated and a second clutch laid nearby, or possibly the female moved the nest. Five days laterthe nest was revisited and the two eggs were warm. On 16May 1997,thenesthadmovedsome5mwestandonlyoneeggwaspresent. The other was found about 40 m away on a road and appeared to have been partly eaten,by acorvidratherthan ajackal ormongoose. Itcontaineda4~cm embryo. On 25 May 1997 the nest was searched for in vain. Either the clutch had been depredatedor, inview ofthe shiftingnatureofthenest,theeggmayhavebeenrolled to anothersite. All three nests were innatural clearings inthe long grass withnoobvious entry or exit routes. The eggs were laid on dried fallen grass which appeared to have been natural andnotconstructed. Thenestshadnodiscemablehollow. The stamped-down areawasconsideredtobethenestbowlandmeasuredatabout23 cm(circumference) onallnests.Thefreshgreengrassheightaveragedsome46cm,andtheseedingheads some 95 cm. The species ofgrass waspredominantly Themeda triandra. mm Both eggs were olive green-brown with clearly defined brown spots of4 to 6 diameter. Both showedagreaterconcentrationofpigmentatthepointoftheegg.The eggs were remarkably round and larger than those of the White-bellied Bustard 56 Shortcommunications Eupodotissenegalensis. Measurements ofthetwoHartlaub'sBustardeggswere51 x mm 58and52x60 (thesecondeggwasfractured,sothelengthisanestimate,accurate to within about 2 mm). Two White-bellied Bustard eggs laid in December 1996 on GameRanchingLtdwere42x53.5 and43x52.5mm.White-belliedBustardeggsare similarlycolouredbutthebrownspotsarediffuseandevenlydistributed.Theyarethe size and shapeofachicken's egg with aratherpronouncedpoint. Acknowledgements IamgratefultoColinJacksonandDrLeonBennunoftheOrnithologyDepartment,NationalMuse- umsofKenyafortheircomments.IalsowishtothankDrDavidHopcraftforgivingmepermissionto liveandworkonhisranch. References Lewis,A. &Pomeroy,D. 1989.AbirdatlasofKenya.Rotterdam: Balkema. Mackworth-Praed,C.W. &Grant,C.H.B. 1957.Africanhandbookofbirds, Series 1,vol 1. BirdsofeasternandnortheasternAfrica.London:Longman. Zimmerman,D.A.,Turner,D.A.&Pearson,D.J. 1996.BirdsofKenyaandnorthernTanzania. HalfwayHouse:RusselFriedman. SimonThomsett,OrnithologyDepartment,NationalMuseumsofKenya,Box40658,Nairobi, andThePeregrineFund,566WestFlyingHawkLane,Boise,Idaho83709, USA Scopus20:55-56,May 1998 Received 17October 1997,revised20November 1997 Sighting ofWhite-collared KingfisherHalcyon chloris in south-central Somalia Duringarecentvisittothecoastalplainsnorth-eastofMogadishuIobservedasingle specimenofWhite-collaredKingfisherHalcyon chloris. While examining shallow wells used by pastoralists at a point a few kilometres north ofWarsheikh, and only 400-600 m from the shoreline, I noticed a strikingly marked, greenish blue and whitebird on the top ofa low bush, at adistance ofabout 30m. The type ofbird andplumage details were clearon examinationthough 8x10 — binoculars itwas amedium-sizedkingfisherwith a shiny greenish-blue mantle and head(downtothroughtheeye),clearwhitebelowandaroundtheneck(thelastfeature wasquitestriking).LaterreferencetovanPerlo(1996)andFryetal. (1988)confirmed the identification. I estimate the location was 46°E, 2°30'N. This would be in Somalia atlas square 64AasdefinedbyAsh&Miskell (1983),whomentiontworecords,"oneoldandone recent", from the north ofSomalia. They make no reference to any records from the south-centralregion. Fryetal. (1988) includethe sametworecordsbutalso statethat "other records from the south are probably erroneous". This reference is to Snow (1978),whomentionstworecords,oneprobablybeingintheareaofBalad,60-70km due westofthe siteofthepresentrecord.