Table Of Content

recentsurveysofeasternrainforest Ground-rollerUratelomischimaera,is withintheirpreferredhabitatzone,as areas.Itisoftenseenperchedinatree, restrictedtoasmallportionofthesouth- aremanytropicalforestbirds.This butpreyisusuallypickedfromthe westernspinyforest,northofthetown makesriskassessmentverydifficult,but ground.AtMarojejyStrictNatureReserve ofToliara.Thebirdbehavesfairlylike moresurveysarebeingundertaken inAugusttoOctober1988,27sightings theAtelomisspecies,butisrathereasier annuallyandcasualobservationscan ofthisspecieswereallataltitudes toseeinitsmoreopenhabitat,raising certainlyaddtoknowledge.Here, below1,000m,despiteconsiderable andloweringitstaillikeagigantic therefore,arefivegoodreasonstovisit effortabovethislevel.Thissuggestsa prinia.Itshabitatisunprotectedand Madagascar;thevisitorwillfindmany preferenceforlowtomidaltitudes, threatenedwithdestructionanddegra- more! althoughtheupperlimitclearlyvaries dation,makingthisspeciesandthe Acknowledgments geographically.Perhapsthemostbizarre equallyextraordinarySubdesertMesite oftherainforestspeciesistheScaly Moniasbenschi(restrictedtothesame Thisarticlewasinspiredbythesuperb Ground-rollerB.squamiger.Itssuperbly area)amongthehighestprioritiesfor photographstakenbyPeteMorrisand scaledpattern,withshadesofbronze, birdconservationintheAfrotropics. PaulThompson.Thetextisbasedon gurneeexnpeacntdedrluyfowuist,hcobnrtirgahsttpsiqnukitleegsand bTheeciormbiensgtt-ekrnriobwlnydhaeugnrta,denedabryIfwaotyo,dis Lgaansgcraarn(dY’asleG,u1i9d9e0)t,oCtohlelbairr&dsSotufaMrat’dsa- (unfeathered)eyepatch,andsky-blue extraction,mainlyforcharcoalproduc- ThreatenedbirdsofAfricaandrelated tailtip.Itishighlyterrestrial,running tion.Theextentofsuchdegradation, islands(ICBP,1985),twopapersinBird andstopping,rummaginginleaflitteror anditseffectonthebirds,areTIrgent ConservationInternationalvol2,no3 pullingupearthworms,anddisappear- topicsforinvestigation. (Evansetal,MarojejyStrictNature ingwitheaseintangledrainforest Howrareandthreatenedarethese Reserve,pp201-220andThompson& undergrowth.This,too,seemstobea birds?Therainforestspeciesare Evans,AmbatovakySpecialReserve,pp lowlandspecies,bestknownfromthe increasinglywidelyrecorded,butmostly 221-237),conversationswithFrank aMsasfoaralasatPheenienxsturlea,mebustouittho-cecausrts(paantdchiinly ionccuunrdiastthuirgbheddefnosriestty.iTnhseoymceerptlaaicnelsy,but Hexapwekriinenscae.nd®NigelCollar,andpersonal MantadyNationalPark,closetoPerinet). havenotbeenfoundinothers.Thus, 16BerwynRoad,Richmond,Surrey Thefifthspecies,theLong-tailed theyseemtobepatchily-distributed TW105BS, UK. Photospot: Sharpe s Longclaw Macronyx sharpei John H. Fanshawe Beingratherlargeoffoot,Iam alongwiththeYellow-breastedPipit necklace(Grimwood’sistheonlyother especiallyfondandsympathetic Anthuschloris,hasbeenplacedin necklace-lessspecies).Confusionisonly towardslongclaws.Withtheirperilous Hemirnacronyxbysomeauthors3’4(and likely,withYellow-throatedMacronyx peregrinatingoverthetangledturf,it hasbeencalledKenyanYellow-breasted croceus,butitislargelyallopatric, seemsthatnaturehashandicappedthem Pipittoo4). occurringatloweraltitudesthan unfairly.Intruth,however,longhind Listedasacandidatespeciesinthe Sharpe’s,sothereshouldbenochance clawsareadaptationsforcopingbetter RedDataBook5'Sharpe’sLongclawis ofoverlap1-7.Yellow-throatedisalso withthetussockygrasswhichistheir consideredtobenear-threatenedinthe larger,hasablacknecklace,and preferredhabitat.Eightspeciesof mostrecentassessment,BirdstoWatch significantlymorewhiteinthetail. longclawsarerecognisedandtheyare 2(\Itisundoubtedlyabirdoflimited TwootherspeciesoccurinKenya. confinedtoAfrica,.althoughtheydo range,beingconfinedtothemontane Rosy-breastedMacronyxameliae, lookremarkablylikethemeadowlarks grasslandsfrom2,000-3,400minwest whichhasaprettypinkthroat, oftheNewWorld(Stumella,Icteridae), andcentralKenya,fromMountElgon inhabitsdampgrasslandinthesouth- afascinatingexampleofconvergent (whereithasbeenproposedasa west(includingtheMara).Pangani evolution1.Allarecharacterisedby possiblecontenderfortheUgandanside Macronyxaurantiigulaoccursinthe cryptic,well-patternedbacks,and aswell),tobothsidesoftheRiftValley south-eastandlargelyprefersdrier strikingred,yellowororangeunder- includingtheMauandKinangop country. parts. plateauxandboththeAberdaresand Theecologyandbehaviourof Longclawshavearatherperky MountKenya1,7. Sharpe’sLongclawisnotwellknown. uprightstanceandperformshortjerky Incommonwithotherlongclaws, Oftenfoundinpairsorsmallfamily flights(oftenontolowbushes)during Sharpe’scanbehardtospotwhenits groups,theyareratherretiring,although whichtheyrevealbrightwhiteoutertail backisturned,withitsupperparts easiertoapproachwhentheweatheris feathers.Onthebasisofplumage,habits blendingwiththevegetation.AsDave coldorwindy(whichitveryoftenisin andsong,mostauthoritiesconsider Cottridge’sphotosreveal,itisonlywhen theKenyahighlands!).1Thesexesare Sharpe’sLongclawtobeinthegenus thebirdturnsfront-onthatthebright similar,butthemaleisgenerallymore Macronyx12.Itisprobablytheclosestto yellowcanbeseen.Sharpe’sisthe clearlymarkedandbrighteryellow thetruepipitsofthelongclawsand, smallestlongclawandlacksablack below. Photospot BullABC Vol2No2-119 , Sharpe’sLongclawMacronyxsharpei Kenya,November1994(DavidM.Cottridge) SentinelledeSharpeMacronyxsharpei,Kenya, novembre1994(DavidM.Cottridge) Black-cheekedLovebirdAgapomisnigrigenis,feedingontheground,MachileRiver, south-westZambia,November1994(TimDodman) InseparabledjouesnoiresAgapomisnigrigenissenourritparterre,FleuvedeMachile, sud-ouestdeZambie,novembre1994(TimDodman) 120-BullABC Vo!2No2 Photospot Incommonwithotherlongclaws passingthroughavillage,andleaving butionandTaxonomyofAfrotropical (andthemeadowlarks),Sharpe'shidea theC68toMagumuonyourleft,you andMalagasyBirds.TauracoResearch well-constructednestatthefootofa comeanareaoffencedandgrazed ReportNo5: 1-389. roughgrasstussockorsmallshrub. grassland(withdeeproadsideditches). 3. Cooper. M.R. 1985. Areviewofthe Birdsbreedduringtherains,fromMarch Althoughitcantakeawhiletospot genusMacronyxanditsrelationship toJune,andSeptembertoOctober,and them,Sharpe'sLongclawscanbefound to the Yellow-bellied Pipit. Honey- mayrelyonarain-generatedflushof inthefieldsoneithersideoftheroad. guide31:81-92. grassfornest-building.Maleswillsing Ifanyonehasunpublishedrecordsof 4. Clancey, P.A. 1990. Areviewofthe frompostsandtussocks,butalso Sharpe'sLongclaw,pleasesendthemto indigenous pipits (Genus Anthus performanaerialdisplayabovetheir LucLensattheDepartmentofOrnithol- Bechstein: Motacillidae) of the breedingground.Circlingwitha ogy,NationalMuseumsofKenya,P.O. Afrotropics. Durban Museum combinationofflapsandglides,they Box40658Nairobi,Kenya.Inanattempt Novitates15:42-72. singarathersadseriesofrisingwhis- tolearnmoreofitsecology,Lucand 5. Collar, N.J. and Stuart, S.N. 1985. tles,beforedroppingtogroundwith colleaguesarestudyingthelongclaw Threatened birds ofAfrica and re- danglinglegs.Twotothreeeggsarelaid (andanotherlittle-knownEastAfrican lated islands: the ICBP/IUCN Red andadultbirdsarereputedtolead endemic,Jackson'sWidowbirdEuplectes DataBook.Part1.Cambridge:Inter- predatorsawayfromtheirnestswith jacksoni)ontheKinangopplateau.A national Council for Bird Preserva- classicdistractiondisplays,bydragging shortpreliminarysurveylatein1994 tion. theirwingsandperformingshort discoveredreasonablenumbers,but 6. Collar, N.J, Crosby, M.J. and stumblingflights. conversionoftheirhabitattocommer- Stattersfield, A.J. 1994. Birds to BirdershopingtoseeSharpe’s ciallyvaluabletimberplantations Watch2:theworldlistofthreatened Longclawshouldlookoutforthemin remainsamajorthreattothisbirdof birds. Cambridge: BirdLife Interna- theroughgrasslandenroutetoKieni seriouslyrestrictedrange.<$ tional. forest.FromNairobi,taketheNakuru 7. Lewis,A.D.andPomeroy,D.1989.A References road(theA104).Justbeforeitdrops Bird Atlas of Kenya. Rotterdam: downtheescarpmenttoNaivasha,turn 1. Keith, S., Urban, E.K. and Fry, C.H. Balkema. righttowardsThika(infactyoutakea (eds) 1992. TheBirdsofAfrica.Vol 14BensonStreet,Cambridge sliproadtotheleftandcrossviaa IV.London:AcademicPress. CB43QJ, UK. flyoversignpostedtoLongonotand 2. Dowsett, R.J. andDowsett-Lemaire, SouthKinangopontheD396).After F. 1993.AContributiontotheDistri- Review CourserCursoriuscinctus,White-backed theregionorperhapsjustwantingto SASOLBirdsoftheKruger NightHeronGorsachiusleuconotus, rekindleoldmemoriesshouldtakea NationalPark MozambiqueNightjarCaprimulgusforsii lookforthemselves.® Guy Gibbon. £22.99 andMartialEaglePolemaetusbellicosus GuyEldridge This90minutevideoandsoundguide tonamejustafew. features250speciesregularlyfound Thebirdsthemselveshavebeen withintheKrugerNationalparkand arrangedintotherelevanthabitator appearsdesignedtocomplementthe groupsectionwhichincludes:bushveld, manyexcellentfieldguidestothebirds grassland,water,raptorsandnightbirds. ofSouthernAfricacurrentlyavailable.Its EachbirdistitledinbothAfrikaansand useisnotrestrictedtobirdersvisiting Englishalthoughforaworldwide thisrenownedparkorsouthernAfricaas audiencetheinclusionofscientific thevastmajorityofspeciesarefound nameswouldhelpclearupanyconfu- elsewherewithinthecontinent. sionarisingfromunfamiliarvernacular Thevideo'sphotographicand names. productionqualityisexcellentwith Allinall,thisisasuperbvideoand manymouthwateringclose-upshotsof anextremelyusefultoolinimproving desirablespeciessuchasPel'sFishing identificationskills.Offeringexcellent OwlScotopeliapeli,Three-banded valueformoney,anyonewishingtovisit Photospot BullABC Vol2No2- 121