Birds of Somalia: new records, range extensions and observations from Somaliland

Due to recent political instability and unrest across the Horn of Africa region, Somaliland (the northwest sector of Somalia) is ornithologically little-known. This is despite it being a peaceful and stable state, and its avifauna being summarized in the recently-published Birds of the Horn of Africa (Redman et al. 2009). We present new information on the ranges and dates of occurrence for 71 species in Somaliland, based on our visit from 17 to 31 May 2010. These include three species not recorded before from Somaliland, namely Von der Decken’s Hornbill Tockus deckeni, Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis and Pale Flycatcher Bradornis pallidus

A survey for the Critically Endangered Liben Lark Heteromirafra archeri in Somaliland, north-western Somalia

The Critically Endangered Archer's Lark (now Liben Lark) Heteromirafra archeri was formerly considered to be endemic to north-western Somalia and known only from the Tog Wajaale Plain, where 18 specimens were collected between 1918 and 1922. Fifteen visits between 1970 and 2008 failed to relocate the species there, although popula- tions are now known from adjacent Ethiopia. We conducted three days of intensive surveys on the Tog Wajaale Plain in May 2010. Despite the three other lark species present being in full display, and H. archeri being recorded to have bred in early June, no Liben Larks were found. Vegetation structure surveys indicated that the plain has a taller and denser growth of grass than either of the other known localities for Liben Lark (the Liben and Jijiga Plains) making Tog Wajaale Plain seem superficially more suitable for the species, which prefers areas of taller grass elsewhere. However, previous large-scale agricultural activities may have altered the composition of grass species and precipitated the observed invasion of exotic weeds, notably Parthenium hysterophorus. Importantly, the Tog Wajaale Plain has a greater density of bushes than either the Liben or Jijiga Plains, possibly making ground-nesting birds more susceptible to predation by perch hunters.The authors are very grateful for the support provided by a British Ornithologists’ Union research grant and for encouragement from Paul Donald and Nigel Collar. Their visit to Somaliand was additionally supported by Birding Africa (www.birdingafrica.com), and a Small Grant from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis at http://dx.doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2015.104967

Notes on Angolan birds: new country records, range extensions and taxonomic questions

Details of 12 species and 16 species from species splits that are new to the list of birds for Angola are presented. Range extensions and new distribution records for a further 50 species, including 16 species previously considered to have very restricted ranges, are listed and discussed. Mis-identified species, or species for which Angolan records are doubtful, are listed together with reasons why each of the species is unlikely to occur in the country. Several taxonomic issues around some of the Angolan near-endemic bird species are highlighted, together with some discussion on potential species splits. Ostrich 2007, 78(1): 55–6

Sex-biased incidental mortality of albatrosses and petrels in longline fisheries: differential distributions at sea or differential access to baits mediated by sexual size dimorphism?

Skewed adult sex ratio (ASR) has been proposed as a common pattern in birds, frequently biased towards males and with larger biases in globally threatened species. In albatrosses and petrels, it has been suggested that differential mortality of one gender in fisheries is caused either by sexual size dimorphism giving males a competitive advantage, which allows more access of the larger sex (i.e. males) to discards and/or baits, or to at sea segregation of sexes. Here, we tested these hypotheses by determining ASRs in albatrosses and petrels trapped at sea when attending longline fishing vessels for discards in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean, and searched in the literature for patterns in ASR in albatrosses and petrels killed by fisheries in this area and elsewhere. We show that skewed ASR is common in albatrosses and petrels in the community attending vessels for discards, confirming results found for birds in general. There was no correlation between skewed ASR and conservation status, or between ASR and sexual size dimorphism. Our review of the sex of birds incidentally killed in fisheries found skewed ASR toward males, females or parity to be equally reported. Thus, sexual dimorphism in size does not explain skewed ASR in the community we sampled or in incidental captures in fisheries in the review. Differential at-sea distribution of sexes appears to be a better explanation of the patterns found in the community sampled at sea as well as skewed ASR in seabird fatalities, particularly distant from breeding areas