Please help with this Kitulo Pipit!

Please help with this Pipit!
And RN Lark attached as an example.

Paul Oliver
Box 425
Arusha
Tanzania
+255754510741
pauloliversafarisuk@hotmail.com
www.paul-oliver.com

 

Paul,

 

Why is this NOT a Grassland Pipit ? hind claw looks good (would prefer it to be longer though) and those pale, close to white, tips to the secondary (greater) wing coverts suggest a juv / immature bird. Bill looks OK. There is tremendous variation in this bird, even within local populations. The classic STANDARD Anthus cinnamomeus hardly exists and it's VERY difficult for field guides to even begin to depict the variations.

 

If it's at all possible pipits can be more dificult than cisticolas so anyones comments on this individual would be most welcome.

 

I find the Faansie Peacock (2006) Pipits of Southern Africa to be really useful.

 

and yes, this high altitude race of Rufous-naped Lark has very dark, almost black upperparts.

 

as ever, great pics. 

 

Neil

Info for the book on carbofuran poisoning

Hello,

I am several days away from completion/submission the book on carbofuran poisoning. I am going through the chapter on Kenya and trying to tidy up some loose ends. I have anecdotal evidence that Furadan is still accessible in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. I have a personal communication on this from Uganda, but not for Tanzania or Rwanda. Can you or any of your colleagues substantiate this for me (ie, serve as a personal communication)?

Best wishes,

Ngaio
Ngaio.Richards@anglia.ac.uk

Ngaio Richards, PhD
Department of Forensic Science
Anglia Ruskin University
East Road
Cambridge CB1 1PT

Cape Parrot publications

a number of publications about the South African population are now on our web site
 

enjoy

 

Neil
Neil and Liz Baker

Subject: RE: African Parrot distributions.

http://tanzaniabirdatlas.com/maps/articles-pdf

ID help needed - please comment!

G'day all

I photographed two birds today which I would like help with please. The location is Katoke about 40 km south of Bukoba. Habitat is grassy hillside with scattered shrubs (don't know the species I'm sorry).

The first I think is Singing Cisticola but I'm not happy with that conclusion - mostly because of the uniformly whitish underparts. The only call it gave was a harsh scolding possibly because we were too close to a nest or chicks. Trilling Cisticolas were calling nearby.

The second I initially called as a Plain-backed Pipit but - as normally happens - the more I look in the field guides the more confused I get with pipits. It seems quite grey on the head and back to me. It didn't seem to have much white in the tail when it flew.

I've also attached a picture of my first Weyns's Weaver from the same location today.

Hope you can help with my Cisticola and Pipit.

Cheers
Steve Clark
Bukoba

Oustalet's Sunbird in Sumbawanga

Photo: Silas Olofson silasolofson@gmail.com

Always awesome to bird in Tanzania. Yesterday I saw an adult martial eagle just outside Sumbawanga... Now I need to find the spotted creeper, cape wagtails and the locust finch!

 

Today I was a mountain outside Sumbawanga and came across a small sunbird with white belly. According to Stephenson and Fenshawe the white-bellied 'variable sunbird' only lives in Kenya. 'White-bellied sunbird' should not be this far north - I cant find any maps of this species on the atlas-homepage, but I might be blind.

 

That leaves us with oustalet's sunbird... but that cant be... or?

 

Cheers,

 Silas

 

Nice one Silas,

 

see Moyer, D.C. 1983. A record of the Angola White-bellied Sunbird Nectarinia oustaleti from Kasesya in southwestern Tanzania. Scopus 7: 52. for the 2nd record from Tanzania.

 

13 records in our database that will include these first two.

 

yep, Tanzania a magical place to bird, please stay a while longer !!

 

Neil

 

Neil and Liz Baker, Tanzania Bird Atlas, P.O. Box 1605, Iringa, Tanzania.
Mobiles: +255 776-360876 and +255 776-360864.
http://tanzaniabirdatlas.com

New maps published at Tanzaniabirdatlas.com

509 Silvery Cheeked Hornbill aug 2010	File
144 Osprey	File
193 Buttonquail 20.09.10	File
235-White-fronted Sandplover 22.09.10	File
475-Woodland Kingfisher 12 months	File
478-Pygmy Kingfisher 25.09.10	File
481-Böhm's Bee-eater 25.09.10	File
482-White-fronted Bee-eater 26.09.10	File
500-Broad-billed Roller 18.09.10	File
500-Broad-billed Roller x 12_18.09.10	File
462-Narina Trogon 04.12.10

Exotics good for birds?

Dear All,
Just to be an agent provocateur.... I am not convinced that Lantana
camara is all that bad, as compared to other exotics. Whilst it does
cover good swathes, it is providing a very secure breeding habitat for
a huge number of native birds, and migrants like it when passing
through. It may have been the saviour for our endemic Hinde's Babbler
which now has a very close association with it, having lost the native
habitat previously found in the area and this has allowed the bird to
hang on in extremely heavily gardened areas where it certainly would
have otherwise died out. At certain times of year the flowers attract
a very great assortment and huge numbers of butterflies, hawk-moths,
beetles and a host of other insects which precious few of the
indigines can compete with, the closest being the Vernonias.
Brown-backed Scrub-Robin is another bird that would have disappeared
from the degraded areas were it not for the cover of Lanana camara.
All Mexican Poppys and of course Eichhornia (Water Hyacinth) and the
likes... have to go.
best to all
Brian Finch