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knowledge, 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