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Rufous Fishing Owl: how to see one - maybe! S ofewbirdershaveseentheRufousFishingOwl crested Tiger Heron Tigriomisleucolophus is seen in the wild that it is impossible to identify any regularlyenoughtorewardyourearlystart.Youwill particularlocalitywhereyou would have anymore alsobeabletoseethelastmentionedspeciesatdusk. than an outside chance of finding one. One place, Lamto(shownonMichelinmap975ofCoted’Ivoire) however, where it has been recorded recently is is some 180km north ofAbidjan, an easy, two-hour Lamtoinsouthern-centralCote d'Ivoire. The Station drivenearlyallofwhichisovertarmac.Theroadfrom Ecologique de Lamto is a 2500ha field station and Abidjan is the country’s main north-south axis so naturereservebelongingtotheUniversityofAbidjan, many buses and taxis pass the turn-offto the field situatedalongtheeasternbankoftheBandamariver. station. Trafficalong the final 15kmmurrainroadis Thisis inthetransitionzonebetweentherainforest infrequentsothosewithouttransportcanhavealong and southern Guinea savanna, and the vegetation wait - or a long walk. You can usually find good, comprisesamixtureofwoodedsavanna,inwhichthe cheap accommodation and food at the Ecological BorassusPalmBorassusaethiopiumisaconspicuous Station(nottheGeophysicalStationwhichonereaches feature, intersected by gallery forest. Beside the first). However,thisdoesnotapplyifyourvisitcoin- Bandamathereisawiderribbonofriverineforest. cides with a university field course! It is therefore Thefieldstation’sbuildingsarefiveminuteswalk sensible,aswellasbeingcommoncourtesy,toseek downaroughtrackfromtheriver’sedge.Here,there permissiontovisitLamto in advance. As a research is a small landing area for fishermens’ dugouts that station,Lamtohasdutiesotherthantoaccommodate providesapointofvantageovertheriver.Arrivalhere itinerant birders! Write to: The Director, Station beforedawncanberewarding!EvenifRufousFishing EcologiquedeLamto,B.P.28,N’Douci,Coted’Ivoire. Owl does not co-operate (the only record is of an Staffthereare,however,verywelcomingandusedto immatureinDecember1-onChristmasDay!)thereis peopleturningup periodicallyunannounced.® thepossibilityofPel’sFishing-OwlandWhite-backed 1Malimbusl991 12: 61-86 Night Heron Gorsachius leuconotus, while White- Lincoln Fishpool Finding fishing owls in southern Cameroon BothPel’sandVermiculatedFishingOwloccurin frequentlyburnalongtheopenfloodplainandocca- Cameroon but are rarely observed by birders. sionally enter the swamp forest. During the major Howeverin1989asiteinsouthernCameroonproved rainyseasontheNyongriverrisesby6-7m, inundat- reliableforPel’s,andprovidedtantalisingglimpsesof ingthefloodplainandfloodingtheadjacentforest. Vermiculated. Theowlswereeasiesttoobserveduringthedry Bothwere observedalongtheNyongriverwest season, when the river was confined to the river- ofthetownofAkonolingaandadjacenttothevillage channel. The owls could then be watched hunting ofNdibiwhichliesonapeninsulaonthesouthbank where the forest came down to the river bank and ofthe river. Akonolinga can easilybe reachedfrom treesoverhungthewater.Activitycommencedsoon Yaoundebybush-taxiinacoupleofhours, andhas afterdarkandgoodviewscouldbeobtainedbysitting plentyofbasicaccommodation.Ndibicanbereached quietly and occasionally illuminating the birds by eitherbywalkingacrosstheNyongriverroad-bridge torchlight fora fewseconds. Pel’s Fishing Owls are thenturningrightandwalkingforseveralhoursalong extremelyvocal and can be located by listeningfor dirttrackstothevillage,orbyrentingapiroguefrom the characteristic low grunting hoot, or by a high- a fisherman below the road-bridge and gently pad- pitched screaming wail which appears to be dling downstream. There is no accommodation in associated with the soliciting offood. Although no Ndibi,butcampingiseasy. actual catches were observed, birds could be seen Theareainwhichtheowlswereobservedwason ‘mantling’freshlycaughtfishonbranchesoverhang- thesouthbankofthe Nyongriverbelowthevillage ing the water. The best views, however, were andcouldbeaccessedbya foresttrack. The habitat obtained when birds were occasionally discovered consistsofa2km-widefloodplainandfloatinggrass by day, roosting in the crowns offorest trees up to community,backedbyseasonallyinundatedswamp lkmawayfromtheriver,whenthetruebeautyofthe forest. The area experiences considerable seasonal speciescouldbe appreciated. ® change. In the main dry season (January-May) fires Duncan McNiven Rufous Fishing Owl: Fishpool / Pel’s Fishing Owl: McNiven BullABC Vol 1 No2-75 RufousFishingOwlScotopeliaussheri. Liberia,1988.(KevinCarlson/Windrush Photos) Chouette-pecheuseadosrouxScotopelia ussheri.Liberia,1988.(KevinCarlson/ WindmshPhotos) Schlegel’sAsityPhilepittaschlegelimaleandfemale.Ampijoroa,Madagascar,December1993.(SimonHarrap) PhilepittedeScWege/Philepittaschlegelimaleetfemelle.Ampijoroa,Madagascar,December1993-(SimonHarrap) 76-BullABC Vol 1 No2 Schlegel’s Asity. Hawkins