African-Palearctic migration project update:ÂRequest for records on the wintering distribution of the Baillon’s Crake Porzana pusilla
Â
Dear Stein Nilsen,
Â
we want to quickly inform you about the progress of our research project “A database of Western Palearctic birds migrating within Africa to guide conservation decisions� and then ask you to help with data for a new target species.
Â
1.) Many of you have already contributed much information to this ongoing research project, and to show you that your efforts have been worthwhile, below is a list of publications that this project has so far produced (with several more in the pipeline). Your contributions have also been acknowledged in these publications, most of which are available for download at www.bruno-walther.de
Â
2.) We are now launching a new research project focusing on the ecology of the Baillon’s Crake Porzana pusilla launched by the German Ornithological Station “Hiddensee� (see Background below). The study intends to investigate the distribution of the Baillon’s Crake in the African, Middle Eastern and Maccaronesian region to get a broader picture about potential wintering and breeding sites of this species. We would like to ask you kindly to
Â
� report any record of the Baillon’s Crake you have knowledge about
â—� please use our attac hed questionnaire, but in case you prefer to just send us your records by email, please do so (nam.seifert@gmail.com; bawalther2009@gmail.com)
â—� please remember the most important data are habitat, date and locality (preferably with geographic coordinates), with additional information (e.g. number of individuals, sex, age, etc.) also welcome
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3.) In addition, we continue to collect any other information or data on Palearctic migrants in Africa, with special emphasis on threatened species (see list attached).
Â
< class="Text" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:-.35pt;margin-bottom:1.0pt; margin-left:0cm;text-align:justify;line-height:130%;mso-hyphenate:none; tab-stops:1.0cm 2.0cm 3.0cm 4.0cm 5.0cm 6.0cm 7.0cm 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt 368.5pt 396.85pt 425.2pt 453.55pt 473.6pt">Any information will be of great help!Thanks a lot in advance!
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With our best wishes,
Nina and Bruno
Â--------------------------------------------------
Nina Seifert
PhD StudentÂ
Ornithological Institute "Hiddensee"
University of Greifswald
Soldmannstrasse 23
D-17489 Greifswald
Â
Dr. Bruno Walther
Assistant Professor
Science Department
American University of Paris
31, Avenue Bosquet
75007 Paris, France
www.bruno-walther.de
-------------------------------------------------
Background InformationÂ
Request for records of the Baillon’s Crake Porzana pusilla
The Baillon’ Crake Porzana pusilla is a rare gruiform species with breeding populations widely spread both in the Palaearctic, the Palaeotropics and Australis. It is subdivided into 4-7 races with the distribution of the Western Palaearctic P. p. intermedia spanning from Spain to Hungary. Furthermore, several breeding records exist for the Northern Maghreb, Egypt and Jordan.
Birds occurring in Southern and Ethiopian Africa were formerly considered to belong to the autonomous race P. p. obscura, but are nowadays subsumed with European breeders under P. p. intermedia.
Little is known either about status or ecology of the smallest of the Porzana-species owing to the bird’s reclusive behaviour and sporadic occurrence. In fact, the Baillon’s Crake is regarded as the least known among the breeding birds in the Western Palaearctic. Likewise, very few data exist for the other regions of its distribution.
Having possibly been a rather common inhabitant of floodplains and river deltas in the 19th century, the Western Palaearctic population nowadays is estimated to comprise only a few hundred or thousand breeding pairs. As a species confined to vegetation at the edge of shallow waters, the Baillon’s Crake may have suffered a tremendous loss of breeding habitats in the last 100 years.
A comparable decline of suitable biotopes can be a ssumed for its African and Middle Eastern habitats due to intensification of agriculture and drainage of wetlands.
Accordingly, the Baillon’s Crake is listed in several national Red Lists and was included into the “IUCN Red List of Threatened Species� in the year 2004. However, due to the lack of comprehensive data its status still needs to be verified.
The European P. p. intermedia is considered a migrant leaving its breeding sites in late August/September and October, respectively. Its wintering area is assumed to be situated partly in the southern Mediterranean area. Furthermore, records in deserts of Morocco, Algeria and Lybia and in Senegambia indicated trans-Saharan migration and potential wintering sites in the Sahel.
Â
In January 2009, a large population of Baillon’s Crakes was discovered in NW-Senegal. The high fraction of juvenile birds indicated that most of the BC must have bred recently in the area.
This evokes the hypothesis that the distribution of African Baillon’s Crakes must extend as far as Western Africa, were birds occur in relatively high numbers. So far, breeding Baillon’s Crakes in sub-Saharan Africa were only recorded further East in Ethiopia, Uganda, central Kenya to Angola, South Africa and Madagascar.
The present results suggest that the species is more widespread throughout African wetlands than previously assumed.
Nevertheless, a mixing of African individuals with wintering European Baillon’s Crakes in “transition zones� south of the Sahara might be possible.
In order to make the picture of the distribution of the Baillon’s Crake more complete, we would like to ask you to report to us any record of the species you have knowledge about.Â
---------
> From: Stein Ø. Nilsen [stein@tromsofoto.net]
> Sent: 2009-10-13 11:32:18 CEST
> To: stenills@online.no
> Subject: [Fwd: Most wanted: Baillon's Crake Porzana pusilla]
>
> ---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
> Subject: Most wanted: Baillon's Crake Porzana pusilla
> From: "Nina Seifert" <nam.seifert@googlemail.com>
> Date: Thu, October 8, 2009 10:12
> To: stein@tromsofoto.net
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> > African-Palearctic migration project update:
> > Request for records on the wintering distribution of the Baillonâ??s
> > Crake Porzana pusilla
> >
> >
> > Dear Stein Nilsen,
> >
> > we want to quickly inform you about the progress of our research
> > project â??A database of Western Palearctic birds migrating within
> > Africa to guide conservation decisionsâ?? and then ask you to help
> > with data for a new target species.
> >
> > 1.) Many of you have already contributed much information to this
> > ongoing research project, and to show you that your efforts have
> > been worthwhile, below is a list of publications that this project
> > has so far produced (with several more in the pipeline). Your
> > contributions have also been acknowledged in these publications,
> > most of which are available for download at www.bruno-walther.de
> >
> > 2.) We are now launching a new research project focusing on the
> > ecology of the Baillonâ??s Crake Porzana pusilla launched by the
> > German Ornithological Station â??Hiddenseeâ?? (see Background
> > below). The study intends to investigate the distribution of the
> > Baillonâ??s Crake in the African, Middle Eastern and Maccaronesian
> > region to get a broader picture about potential wintering and
> > breeding sites of this species. We would like to ask you kindly to
> >
> > â?? report any record of the Baillonâ??s Crake you have knowledge
> > about
> > â?? please use our attached questionnaire, but in case you prefer to
> > just send us your records by email, please do so
> > (nam.seifert@gmail.com; bawalther2009@gmail.com)
> > â?? please remember the most important data are habitat, date and
> > locality (preferably with geographic coordinates), with additional
> > information (e.g. number of individuals, sex, age, etc.) also welcome
> >
> > 3.) In addition, we continue to collect any other information or
> > data on Palearctic migrants in Africa, with special emphasis on
> > threatened species (see list attached).
> >
> > Any information will be of great help!
> > Thanks a lot in advance!
> >
> > With our best wishes,
> > Nina and Bruno
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Nina Seifert
> > PhD Student
> > Ornithological Institute "Hiddensee"
> > University of Greifswald
> > Soldmannstrasse 23
> > D-17489 Greifswald
> > nam.seifert@gmail.com
> >
> > Dr. Bruno Walther
> > Assistant Professor
> > Science Department
> > American University of Paris
> > 31, Avenue Bosquet
> > 75007 Paris, France
> > bawalther2009@gmail.com
> > www.bruno-walther.de
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> > Background Information
> > Request for records of the Baillonâ??s Crake Porzana pusilla
> >
> >
> > The Baillonâ?? Crake Porzana pusilla is a rare gruiform species with
> > breeding populations widely spread both in the Palaearctic, the
> > Palaeotropics and Australis. It is subdivided into 4-7 races with
> > the distribution of the Western Palaearctic P. p. intermedia
> > spanning from Spain to Hungary. Furthermore, several breeding
> > records exist for the Northern Maghreb, Egypt and Jordan.
> > Birds occurring in Southern and Ethiopian Africa were formerly
> > considered to belong to the autonomous race P. p. obscura, but are
> > nowadays subsumed with European breeders under P. p. intermedia.
> >
> > Little is known either about status or ecology of the smallest of
> > the Porzana-species owing to the birdâ??s reclusive behaviour and
> > sporadic occurrence. In fact, the Baillonâ??s Crake is regarded as
> > the least known among the breeding birds in the Western
> > Palaearctic. Likewise, very few data exist for the other regions of
> > its distribution.
> >
> > Having possibly been a rather common inhabitant of floodplains and
> > river deltas in the 19th century, the Western Palaearctic
> > population nowadays is estimated to comprise only a few hundred or
> > thousand breeding pairs. As a species confined to vegetation at the
> > edge of shallow waters, the Baillonâ??s Crake may have suffered a
> > tremendous loss of breeding habitats in the last 100 years.
> > A comparable decline of suitable biotopes can be assumed for its
> > African and Middle Eastern habitats due to intensification of
> > agriculture and drainage of wetlands.
> > Accordingly, the Baillonâ??s Crake is listed in several national Red
> > Lists and was included into the â??IUCN Red List of Threatened
> > Speciesâ?? in the year 2004. However, due to the lack of
> > comprehensive data its status still needs to be verified.
> >
> > The European P. p. intermedia is considered a migrant leaving its
> > breeding sites in late August/September and October, respectively.
> > Its wintering area is assumed to be situated partly in the southern
> > Mediterranean area. Furthermore, records in deserts of Morocco,
> > Algeria and Lybia and in Senegambia indicated trans-Saharan
> > migration and potential wintering sites in the Sahel.
> >
> > In January 2009, a large population of Baillonâ??s Crakes was
> > discovered in NW-Senegal. The high fraction of juvenile birds
> > indicated that most of the BC must have bred recently in the area.
> > This evokes the hypothesis that the distribution of African
> > Baillonâ??s Crakes must extend as far as Western Africa, were birds
> > occur in relatively high numbers. So far, breeding Baillonâ??s
> > Crakes in sub-Saharan Africa were only recorded further East in
> > Ethiopia, Uganda, central Kenya to Angola, South Africa and
> > Madagascar.
> > The present results suggest that the species is more widespread
> > throughout African wetlands than previously assumed.
> > Nevertheless, a mixing of African individuals with wintering
> > European Baillonâ??s Crakes in â??transition zonesâ?? south of the
> > Sahara might be possible.
> >
> > In order to make the picture of the distribution of the Baillonâ??s
> > Crake more complete, we would like to ask you to report to us any
> > record of the species you have knowledge about.
> >
> >
> 
> >
> >
> > ---------
> 
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
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