Table Of Content

* Oystercatcher Haematopus records from Angola RobertE. Simmons b, MichaelS. L. Millf’cand W. RichardJ. Deana Observations d’huitriers Haematopus en Angola. II y a peu d’observations d’huitriers HaematopusenAngola. Avant 1975, il n’yavait que deux mentions de l’Huitrier de Moquin H. moquini. Plus recemment, en 1999, l’espece etait toutefois assez commune le long de la cote au sud de la ville de Namibe. Des inventaires effectues en janvier 2009 le long du littoral du Parc National de Iona confirment que PHuitrier de Moquin est maintenant un visiteur non-nicheur regulier et assez commun au sud de PAngola. Ceci est peut etre du a Paugmentation recente de sapopulation. En plus, un Huitrier pie H. ostralegus auparavant connu que d’une seule observa- , tion non confirmee en 1982, a ete observe pendant ces inventaires, confirmant sa presence en Angola. T here are few documented records of oyster- 35 birds at Baia dos Tigres, Iona National Park, catchers Haematopus from Angola; neither and a single at Namibe town (Dean et al. 2002, Traylor (1963) nor Pinto (1983) included any Simmons etal. 2006). species on theAngolan list. Dean (2000) includes J. Mellenthin (pers. comm.) reported a single only African Black Oystercatcher H. moquini, birdinDecember2003atBaiadosTigres.RESvis- although he draws attention to a record by ited the coastline ofIona National Parkon 24-27 & Gunther Feiler (1986) ofa juvenile European January 2009, conducting shorebird surveys from OystercatcherH. ostralegusfrom Ilhados Passeros, Tombua (15°48’S 11°51’E) to Foz do Cunene on Mussulo Bay, Luanda, in November 1982, which the Namibian border (17°23’S 11°47’E). African was reportedly photographed. We report here Black Oystercatchers were recorded on three con- on additional records of both African Black secutive days, between Tombua and the northern Oystercatcher and Eurasian Oystercatcher from end ofIlha dos Tigres on 24January (four birds), Angola. at Baia dos Tigres on 25-26 January (35 birds) and on 24 January between these two localities African Black Oystercatcher (five birds). All birds were recorded in groups of On the north Namibian coast, African Black four or more. These records confirm that African Oystercatchersarerare (Hockey 1983), andbreed- Black Oystercatchers are now at least a regular ingoccurs onlysouth ofthe Hoanib Rivermouth, non-breeding visitor to southern Angola; these although only small numbers breed to the north birds are probably mainly immature. Given the ofLiideritz. Most records north ofLiideritz are of complete absence of earlier records, despite col- dispersingjuveniles,whichformflocksyear-round lecting trips by the Ornithology Department of and remain on the ‘nursery’ grounds for2-3 years the Instituto de Investiga^ao Cienti'fica deAngola before returning to the breeding sites (Hockey to thesouth-westcoast, numbersinAngolaappear 2005). J. C. Sinclair recorded the first African to be increasingin linewith the global population Black Oystercatchers in Angola; two at Lobito in trend (Hockey2005). May 1973 (Summers & Cooper 1977), the most northerly record accepted as valid by Hockey Eurasian Oystercatcher (1983). The second record, by K. H. Cooper, A single Eurasian Oystercatcher was seen on two was ofa single at Foz do Cunene inJanuary 1975 consecutive days (25-26 January 2009) at Baia (Dean et al. 1988). Dean (2000) lists a third dos Tigres, together with a flock ofAfrican Black recordbySimmons etal. (1993) from the Cunene Oystercatchers (Fig. 1). Excepting the report by River mouth, in March-May 1991, although Gunther & Feiler (1986), this is the first record strictlythis recordisfromNamibia. Subsequently, ofthis species for the country, which can now be thisspecieswasrecordedas reasonablycommonin added to theAngolan listwith confidence. January 1999 in southern Angola, with a total of OystercatcherrecordsfromAngola:Simmonsetal. BullABC Vol16No2(2009)-211 — I Teil I: non-passeriformes. Faunistische abhandlun- gen Staatliches Museumfur Tierkunde Dresden 13: | 189-227. Hockey, P. A. R. 1983. The distribution, population size, movements and conservation of the African Black Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini. Biol. Conserv. 25: 233-262. Hockey, P. A. R. 2005. African Black Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini. In Hockey, P. A. R., Dean, W & . R. J. Ryan, P. G. (eds.) Roberts’ Birds of SouthernAfrica. Seventhedn. CapeTown:Trustees oftheJohnVoelckerBird BookFund. Pinto, A. A. da Rosa. 1983. Ornitologia de Angola. Vol. 1. Lisbon: Instituto de Investigaqao Cientlfica Figure 1. Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopusostralegus, Tropical. ABfariiacdaonsBTliagcrkesO,ysAtnegroclaat,chJearnsuaHr.ym2o0q0u9i,niin(cRoombpSainmymoofns) SimmEoconlso,gicRa.l Es.t,udiBersabyo,f tRh.e &CunBernabey,RiSv.erJ.mo1u9t9h3:. HuitrierpieHaematopusostralegus, BaiadosTigres, avifauna, herpetofauna, water quality, flow rates, Angola, janvier2009, avec HuitriersdeMoquin H. geomorphology and implications of the Epupa moquini(Rob Simmons) Dam. Madoqua 18: 163-180. Simmons, R. E., Sakko, A., Paterson, J. & Nzuzi, A. Acknowledgements 2006. Birds and conservation significance of the RES and MSLM thank Brian Huntley, General Joao Namib Desert’s least known coastal wetlands Traguedo, Eduardo Traguedo, Avelino Pereira and Baiaand IlhadosTigres,Angola.AfricanJ. Marine Fernanda Lages for makingtheirvisitto IonaNational Sci. 28: 713-717. Park possible. Access to the parkwas further aided by Summers, R. W. & Cooper, J. 1977. The population, staff of Flamingo Lodge, including Ned Gomes and ecologyandconservationoftheBlackOystercatcher Tim Richardson. Phil Hockey commented on a draft Haematopusmoquini. Ostrich48: 28-40. ofthis note. Traylor, M. A. 1963. Check-listofAngola birds. Publ. Cult. Companhia de Diamantes de Angola 61: References 1-250. Dean,W. R.J. 2B0O00U. TheBirdsofAngola:AnAnnotated aPercyFitzPatrickInstituteofAfrican Ornithology, DST Checklist. Checklist 18. Tring: British NRF Centre ofExcellence, University of Cape Town, Ornithologists’ Union. Dean, W. R. Dowsett, R. Sakko,A. & Simmons, PrivateBagX3, Rondebosch 7701, SouthAfrica. E-mail: J., J., [email protected] R. E. 2002. New records and amendments to ofNature Conservation, Tshwane University the birds of Angola. Bull. Br. Ornithol. Cl. 122: 180-185. Technology, Pretoria 001, SouthAfrica. Dean, W., Huntley, M., Huntley, B. & Vernon, C. CA.P.LeventisOrnithologicalResearchInstitute, University 1988. Notes on some birds of Angola. Durban ofJos, POBox 13404,Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Mus. Novit. 14: 43-92. Received 3 April 2009; revision accepted 14 May Gunther, R. & Feiler, A. 1986. Zur phanologie, oko- 2009. logie und morphologie angolanischer vogel (Aves). 212-BullABCVol16No2(2009) OystercatcherrecordsfromAngola:Simmonsetal.