An isolated population of the olive-bellied sunbird Nectarinia chloropygia in Ethiopia

3 Pages·1994·1.4 MB·English

by  J D Atkins

54 Shortcommunications
There have been two other sightings of individual hirundines identified as cliff
swallows, probably of this species, elsewhere in Ethiopia: one near Gibe over
grasslandnotfarfromtheGiberivergorgeon 18October 1993 (JDA),theotherfrom
nearJimmaon24 March 1994 (J. Harjula,pers. comm.).
Observers visiting Ethiopia should certainly be alert for cliff swallows in any
apparently suitable habitat: gorges and cliffs with nearby water and grassland,
particularlyinthecentralandnorthernpartsoftheRiftValley andapparently usually
withotherhirundines.
References
Maclean,G.L. 1984. Roberts' birdsofSouthAfrica. 5thed. CapeTown: TrusteesoftheJohn
VoelckerBookFund.
Madge, S.C. & Redman, N.J. 1989. The existence ofa form ofcliffswallow Hirundo sp. in
Ethiopia.Scopus 13: 126-129
Turner, A. & Rose, C. 1989.A handbookto the swallowsandmartins ofthe world. London:
ChristopherHelm.
Urban, E.K. & Brown, L.H. 1971. A checklist ofthe birds ofEthiopia. Addis Ababa: Haile
SelassieIUniversityPress.
/.D.Atkins, doFCO (AddisAbaba),KingCharlesStreet,LondonSWIA2AHand
W. G.HarveydoFCO (Nairobi),King CharlesStreet,LondonSWIA2AH
5copw5 18: 52-54,November 1994 Received 17 October 1994
An isolated population ofthe Olive-bellied Sunbird
Nectarinia chloropygia in Ethiopia
The Tepi-Mizan Teferi forests of South-West Ethiopia are poorly known
omithologically.Duringavisittherefrom 12-16February 1993,1foundsunbirdswith
olive bellies in two localities near Tepi (7°12N, 35°25E). There was a male in
m
secondaryforestgrowthatc. 1200 on 14FebruarynearGezmaret(7°07N, 35°26E)
along the Tepi-Mizan road. Laterthat day there was a possible male at Tepi airstrip
(7°12N,35°25E)atc. 1250m.On 16Februarytherewasamalewithafemalecloseto
the site of the bird seen two days earlier. These birds were eventually identified
unquestionably as Olive-bellied SunbirdsNectarinia chloropygia.
In appearancethemales werereminiscentofEasternDouble-collared SunbirdsA^.
mediocris, with adistinctive olive/yellow-olive belly, but they had the straighterbill
typical ofN. chloropygia and the upper tail-coverts were green rather than metallic
blue.Thefemalehadnoticeablestreakingonthechest.Thefirstbirdwasinsecondary
growth at the forest edge, and the others in neglected cultivation with rank grasses,
immediately adjacent on one side to the airstrip and on the otherto degraded forest/
secondaryforestgrowth.Thehabitatandaltitudeatwhichthesebirdsoccurredmatch
the habitat preferences (forest edges, moist bushland, secondary growth) andknown
altitude preferences indicated in Britton et al. (1980), Lewis & Pomeroy (1988) and
Williams &Amott (1980) fovN. chloropygia.
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Shortcommunications 55
AlthoughiV. mediocris could occur in Ethiopia, it is typically a species ofhigher
elevationthanA^.chloropygia,beingfoundmainlyabove 1800minitsknownrangein
Kenya, though it does wander to lower levels. N. chloropygia typically occurs only
m
between 1000 and 1750 in Kenya. So far chloropygia is the only olive-bellied
sunbirdknowntooccurinEthiopia(Urban&Brown 1971),whencethereis onlyone
otherconfirmedrecord: amalecollected in 1901 nearTepibyNeumann (1905).
References
Britton,P.L. (ed.) 1980.BirdsofEastAfrica. Nairobi:EANHS.
Lewis,A.D. &Pomeroy,D. 1989.AbirdatlasofKenya.Rotterdam:Balkema.
Neumann,O. 1905. VogelvonSchoaundsiidAthiopien.JournalfiirOrnithologie 1905: 229-
300.
Urban, E.K. & Brown, L.H. 1971. A checklist ofthe birds ofEthiopia. Adis Ababa: Haile
SellassieIUniversityPress.
Williams,J.G. &Arlott,N. 1980.AfieldguidetothebirdsorEastAfrica.London: Collins.
/.D.Atkins, doFCO (AddisAbaba),King CharlesStreet,
London, SWIA 2AH,England
Received 17 October 1994
DrJ. S.Ash comments:
This rediscovery ofthe Olive-bellied SunbirdNectarinia chloropygia in South-West
Ethiopiaisofmuchinterest.ItisdescribedasaverypoorlyknownresidentintheWest
Highlandsby Urban & Brown (1971), butits inclusion inthe avifaunaofthecountry
actually rests on a single confirmed male specimen collected at Datschabassa,
Binescho(Kaffa),on22April 1901 (Neumann 1905).Thisbecamethetypeforanew
subspeciesA^. c. bineschensis, whichisregardedbyWhite (1963) asbeingdoubtfully
distinctfromA^. c. orphogasterofsouthern Sudan andfurthersouth.
AccordingtoNeumann (1902),Binescholies alongthetrackfromShewaGimirra
(7°00N, 35°50E) to Shekho (= Sciaco) (7°03N, 35°29E). On my old map, at apoint
where Ijudged Binescho should lie, the name Biencio has been written in pencil
possiblybyapreviousItalianownerofthemapwhohadtravelledinthatarea.Thislies
at7°02N, 35°39E,andifitisnotNeumann'ssiteitmustbewithinafewkilometresof
itandwithintheEthiopianMappingScheme(EMS) squareSOD.Itisprobablywithin
24 and 30 km from Atkins' two sites near Gezmaret and Tepi airstrip in EMS 80C.
There aretwoothermentions ofthis species inEthiopia: Beals (1970)referstoapair
nesting in July inEuphorbia-Acacia woodland at 9 km south ofLangano (c. 7°27N,
38°43E) buthe does notprovide details ofidentification; andfurthermorethere have
beennofurtherrecords ofthe species inthis, themostbird-watchedareaofEthiopia,
sotherecordshouldperhapsonlyberegardedasuncertain.Bolton(1973)mentionsan
uncertainobservation in 1969 inEMS square 118B tothewestofLake Stephanie.
The existing certain records of this species from a restricted area add another
speciestothelistofthosehavingsimilarlylocaldistributionelsewhereinAfrica(e.g.,
Blue-breastedKingfisherHalcyon malimbica (de Castro & de Castro 1990), Yellow-
throatedLeaf-love Chlorocichlaflavicollis (Ash 1973)). The Ethiopian Olive-bellied
56 Shortcommunications
Sunbird population, according to present knowledge, is isolated from the nearest
population in Sudan (Nikolaus 1987) by 700 km, and in Kenya (Lewis & Pomeroy
1989)by650km.
References
Ash,J.S. 1973 SixspeciesofbirdsnewtoEthiopia.BulletinoftheBritishOrnithologists' Club
93: 3-6
Beals, E.W. 1970Birds oftheEuphorbia-Acacia woodland inEthiopia: habitatand seasonal
changes.JournalofAnimalEcology39: 277-297.
Bolton,M. 1973.DistributiondatafortheEthiopiaMappingScheme 1968-1973.Unpublished
MS.
DECastro,J.J. anddeCastro, M. 1990. TheBlue-breasted KingfisherHalcyon malimbica in
South-WestEthiopia.Scopus 14: 22.
Lewis,A.D. &Pomeroy,D. 1989.AbirdatlasofKenya.Rotterdam: Balkema.
Neumann,O. 1902.FromtheSomalicoastthroughsouthernEthiopiatotheSudan.Geographi-
calJournal 1902: 1-26
Neumann, O. 1905. Vogelvon SchoaundsiidAthiopien.JournalfurOrnithologie 1905: 229-
300.
Nikolaus,G. 1987.DistributionatlasofSudan'sbirdswithnotesonhabitatandstatus.Bonner
ZoologischeMonographien,Nr. 25.
Urban, E.K. & Brown, L.H. 1971. A checklist ofthe birds ofEthiopia. Addis Ababa: Haile
SellassieIUniversityPress.
White, C.M.N. 1963.A revisedchecklistofAfricanflycatchers, tits, etc. Lusaka: Government
Printer.
/. S.Ash, GodshillWood,Fordingbridge,Hants, SP62LR,England
Scopus 18: 54-56, November 1994 Received 17 October 1994
African PittaPitta angolensis at Jadini, Kenya coast
On 17 October 1993 at around 15:30, while walking down a well trodden track near
NomadsBeachBarintheJadiniForestonthesouthernKenyacoast(4°19S, 39°34E),
I came across an adult African Pitta Pitta angolensis. After watching the bird for
5 min,Ilefttofetchsomemoreobserverstosharemysighting.Onreturning,wecould
not relocate the bird but, on playing a tape recording, it appeared from the
undergrowth.Wewatchedthebirdwellforafurther20miningoodlightatarangeof
3-8 m andmadethefollowing observations. Thebird was immediately recognizable
by its striking, colourfulplumage. Theback andmantle were darkgreen, contrasting
sharplywithabuff/yellowbreastandascarletupperandlowerbelly. The sidesofthe
head, nape andcrown wereblackwith abuff/yellow supercilium. Thebillwasheavy
andthelegsweresetnoticeablywellbackonthebody. Onplayingthetaperecording
repeatedly,thebirdcameoutontotheedgeofthetrack,whereitstooderectforseveral
secondsbefore flying across, showingwhitepatches ontheprimaries.