REPORT OF TRIP TO MALI, WEST AFRICA DECEMBER 1998-JANUARY 1999 (30 days) Bernie Cullen jbcullen@hotmail.com [A copy of this report is kept at http://www.flash.net/~bwcullen Some people have requested a concise summary with all locations given. This is at the end, under the heading SUMMARY.] My id's may be off, please let me know if you see anything fishy. At the end of the list, I have a couple birds that I saw briefly but couldn't id, but my notes on these are sketchy. Please email with any questions or corrections. My favorite birds were probably the lapwings (which looked like no plovers I had ever seen), and the bee-eaters. Also the Senegal Long- Tailed Parakeet, and the Scissor-tailed Kite and Pied Kingfisher.] The following is a description of the birds I saw while visiting my sister Anne Cullen who is a volunteer in the Peace Corps in the country of Mali in West Africa. I am a novice birdwatcher and I identified about 60 species during my month there. I am writing this report and sending it to my sister and some other volunteers I met there. I hope it will help them and their guests identify some of the most common birds. My sister and several others have binoculars: this report should point them to the right spots in the Collins field guide, which is available in many of the Peace Corps "libraries". For others who may read this I will say Mali is a country three times the size of California in the middle of the bulge of West Africa. It is landlocked, but the Niger River crosses through the middle of the country. The northern half of the country is in the Sahara Desert, and the desert meets the river at Timbutku, which is a real city. The climate in Mali is highly seasonal. When my sister began her service in February 1998, she often was very cold at night. Just a couple months later was the hot season, and in April and May it was often over 115F and still very hot at night. All this time it had been very dry and often dusty, and she wrote that she couldn't believe that anything ever grew in Mali. Then the rains started, the heat broke, and soon she was writing about how green everything was and how many beautiful colorful birds were everywhere. Anne was so enthusiastic that I decided to take a birdwatching class so I could appreciate the birds more when I went to visit her in December. I bought a $200 pair of binoculars that could fit into my pocket and paid $37 for the 1977 Collins Field Guide to the Birds of West Africa by Serle and Morel (which also fit in my pocket). I spent my first two weeks in Mali at Anne's village. I am a novice birdwatcher, but I spent these two weeks outside so I got many chances to try and figure out what something was. About half of my birdwatching was done in my sister's yard trying to id the many different weavers. The Collins guide was not very helpful sorting out female and non-breeding plumages. The rest of my birdwatching here was done while biking along dirt paths between villages or on the paved road to the nearby town, San. With my binoculars around my neck, I stopped whenever I saw something interesting, took some notes, and then biked hard to catch up to my sister ahead of me. During my final two weeks in Mali, I took the public bus to different spots within 200 miles of San. I did not see many kinds of birds in the cities but did not look very hard. The terrain to the south of San was much the same, but to the north there was a distinct shift to a more barren acacia savannah. About half of the species I saw were at major rivers--three different times I got to spend part of the day near the Niger or its large tributary, the Bani River. I will organize my observations according to location: Birds seen in my sister's yard in a small village, Tana Birds seen in Tana and in surrounding harvested fields Birds seen while biking near Tana Birds seen in other villages and towns in the "leafy savannah" Birds seen in villages and towns in the "acacia savannah" Birds seen near the Niger River or Bani River Birds I could not identify Many birds were seen in many locations, but I describe them in the place I saw them first or most often. The environment near Tana My sister's village Tana is near San, Mali at about 13 degrees North and 5 degrees West. I read a couple forestry books I found at Peace Corps offices, and it seems that what I had been calling the "savannah" is actually a series of semi-treed zones that can be readily distinguished on the basis of rainfall and vegetation. Tana, San, and most of the areas I saw had many leafy orchard trees like mango and shea, and large baobab trees, and red dirt and termite mounds in places. I was expecting a much more barren countryside. A great deal of the land is under cultivation, but farm machinery like tractors ia not used and the millet fields are not cleared of trees. The fields are dotted with trees and the millet planted between. There are many, many more trees than there are in central Indiana or Illinois. A given area seems to have either many close (30 ft. apart?) small leafy trees like shea, or to have fewer but larger acacias and baobabs. Each village of perhaps 500 people is surrounded by fields for a kilometer or more in each direction. Farther away there is a region of scrubby "brusse" (which I think is the French word for "bush"--I don't know the spelling). This brusse has low thorny shrubs and rockier soil. There were some small patches of brusse close to Tana. In certain places the leafy trees seem noticably taller, especially by the river and near the highway (which is called the "gidrone"). I arrived in December, and it had not rained since October. There were no streams, lakes or puddles for miles around. The only surface water I saw was the Bani River, the major tributary of the Niger in Mali, which was 15 km to the north of Tana. All the water was pulled up from 13 meter deep wells. It did not rain once during my 30 days in Mali. The harvesting had just been finished, and the villagers were threshing the millet and burning the stalks. My sister said that a month earlier, all the open fields had been filled with 10 foot high millet stalks. Now, the view from outside the bus window was a little like watching overgrown vacant lots in the midwestern U.S. at the end of a dry August--dull green and overgrown, neither "tropical" or desertlike. Birds seen in my sister's yard in a small village, Tana My sister lives in a "concession" just outside of the main part of her village. In the center of the village the concessions adjoin each other and have many large leafy shea trees. My sister is between this dense part of the village and millet fields with tall acacias and baobabs. She has a great view. She has a mud house in a walled yard of about 50 ft. by 70 ft. with 4 small ornamental acacias about 15' tall and small banana, lime and papaya trees. She watered her trees at dawn, and every morning birds played in the pools of water. Dozens of small weavers filled every branch on her little trees. I saw many different birds every morning but I became frustrated when I couldn't identify them. The Collins guide only shows one plumage for each species, does not ilustrate all species, and describes some female or nonbreeding weavers as "sparrowish". But I took notes and when I got home I found a copy of "A Field Guide to the Birds of The Gambia and Senegal", Barlow and Wacher 1997, and was able to identify some of the commonest: GREY-HEADED SPARROW, WHITE-RUMPED SEEDEATER, BUSH PETRONIA and VILLAGE WEAVER. (A major problem with this field guide is that it won't fit in your pocket). I often saw the woven grass nests of the Village Weaver hanging from branches. Smaller than these was the pretty little RED-CHEEKED CORDON-BLUE which loved to play in the water by the trees. A couple other weavers I saw only once or twice, but had very conspicuous markings. The CUT-THROAT WEAVER reminded me of a tiny owl because of its barring. I saw the SCALY-FRONTED WEAVER a few times, and the ROCK BUNTING once. The large BUFFALO WEAVER was super-abundant. The local kids would catch one, tie a sting to its leg, and give it to their 4 year old brother as a toy. They didn't last long that way. The Buffalo Weaver is about the size of a jay maybe, but their nests are big enough for a buffalo. They make a huge pile of sticks for a nest and often there will be 10 or more of these in a single large tree. (I saw these near the Bani river and also at the Niger across from Segou. From the road between San and Koutiala, in a field with smaller acacias, I saw a series of nests atop neighboring trees. The nests seemed almost bigger than the trees.) Another weaver I saw in Tana was the BROAD-TAILED PARADISE WHYDAH with its bright collar and two very long black tail feathers. I saw this twice, once in a tree in my sister's yard, and once flying over the village. Many, many birds had very long tails. While travelling to Tana I saw out the window my first small flocks of LONG-TAILED GLOSSY-STARLING with its irridescent purple-green plumage and long pointed tail. These perched next to my sister's yard every day and foraged in the fields. This is probably my most frequently encountered bird, in Tana and along the roads. It was hard to identify at first because it doesn't look a lot like the illustration in the Collins field guide. I saw some other glossy startlings in my sister's yard, but I could not identify them to species. Birds seen in fields around Tana Not far from my sister's house I saw a single PIED CROW. It was definitely a crow, and convinced me that the "mystery bird" described below was not a crow. From my notes: "Little boys saw me watching birds and excitedly looked through my guidebook and then pointed towards the fields. They pointed at a picture of a Black-winged Stilt and called it a sakoonokoro. I followed them and saw a heard of cattle, then one black streamlined bird, long tail, pinkish bill tipped black, bill looks broken with bottom half longer than top. On ground behind cows, then flew to tree." It was a BLACK MAGPIE. I don't know why they were pointing to the stilt, there was no water for miles around. I only saw it this once. In the village near where the women grind the millet I saw SENEGAL INDIGO-FINCH, a cute tiny black bird with an white bill (the bill almost looks pink to me, but I'm a little colorblind). I saw this in other villages. Every afternoon I saw dozens of WEST AFRICAN SWIFT. They stayed over the village and not directly over Anne's concession. I saw this swift in most cities and towns too. Birds seen while biking near Tana and San I saw a lot of large, conspicuous birds while biking. If there were any small and boring birds, I did not notice them. I often saw the same birds in the same places each time I passed, and finally I started to figure out what they were. I kept my binoculars around my neck as I biked, and whenever I saw anything interesting I stopped and looked at it while my sister biked on. We often went 35 miles a day or more visiting her projects and different villages and towns. Some of the most common birds were LONG-TAILED GLOSSY STARLING (mentioned above), ABYSSINIAN ROLLER, and a "mystery bird" that drove me crazy. I usually saw it in the same places, in the tops of tall trees, in flocks of three or so, flying from tree to tree just when I almost got a good look at it. It was the size of a crow or larger, a dull dark back with lighter underparts and collar, a light colored bill that was kind of like a parrot's, large white wing patches, white speckling also on back, long tail. Finally, after ruling out crows and raptors and parrots I realized that it was a GREY PLANTAIN-EATER. I guess I should have known from the start that even in Africa, a hawk is going to look like a hawk, and I was looking at a family that was new for me. This bird was pretty common--I saw it by the Bani river, by the swimming pool in Koutiala, and often in tall trees by the gidrone on the way to San. Another really cool bird from a new family for me was the RED-BEAKED HORNBILL. Again, its coloring wasn't as pretty as some others on the same page of the guidebook, but it sure looked strange. I usually saw it on the ground, singly, and it would fly into a tree as I approached. I saw this from buses, from my bike on the way to San, and also near Sevare, on the gidrone outside of Fatoma. I saw SENEGAL LONG-TAILED PARRAKEETS all over the place usually calling and flying in groups of four or so in lines from treetop to tree top. They are mostly green with a long pointed tail. They call this one "kenke" in Tana. I saw it only once or twice in Tana, but often along the gidrone, at Alex Core's concession in Kerengana, and in the tall alley of trees outside of Goan. I saw a couple large flocks of SENEGAL PARROTS only a couple times, in bushes along the main road from Tana to the gidrone. Along the gidrone I saw LONG-TAILED SHRIKE perched on broken millet stalks. I saw several at a time. They had dark bars across their eyes--like the stripes baseball players put under their eyes, but right across, and yellowish bills. I saw CHESTNUT-BELLIED STARLING and also my favorite type of starling: YELLOW-BILLED OXPECKER, these on the the backs of cows of course. The bills look like neon candy corn. I have to take back what I said earlier about birds looking the same: in Africa, plovers don't necessarily look like plovers. They have several large, mostly gray, boldly patterned plovers. I saw the BLACK- HEADED PLOVER in old millet fields, not by water. Another big puzzle for me was the SENEGAL WOOD-HOOPOE. I saw these in flocks of three or four, kind of clustering on the bark of trees like crazy woodpeckers. About this time I realized that if a bird had "Senegal" in its name, I probably would see it in Mali. I saw this bird on the tall trees (acacias?) that border Tana on the gidrone side (and which can be seen while looking towards Anne's nyegen (outhouse) from her door), and also on leafy trees just before you get to Tiby, a neighboring village. Birds seen in other villages and towns in the "leafy savannah" I saw the SENEGAL FIRE-FINCH in many cities and villages, often in yards. There are many species of fire finch, so maybe it was another, but this seems to be the most common one. I don't remember seeing any in Tana, but then again I never saw any lizards in Tana and they were in every other town. After my stay in Tana, we went to visit some other Peace Corps Volunteers. Koutiala is a few hours to the south, and I was hoping for a complete change in vegetation and birds. Well, the countryside looked about the same. The trees in Koutiala were taller, but I think that's mostly because they are older. There was a hotel near a factory at the edge of town, and for a couple bucks you could swim in the small outdoor pool. I did not see many guests at this hotel, but I did see a GREY WOODPECKER or two in the trees. Also more WESTERN GREY PLANTAIN- EATERS atop a dead tree near the pool. There was a bright red and black thrush, but I didn't get a good look at it. After Koutiala, we went with Anne's friend Alex to her village of Kerengana. On the way in from the highway we walked through the fields on a road shaded by trees. Just before we got to the village, we stopped and I saw 5-10 robin sized birds working their way from tree to tree. I couldn't get a good look at them because I was distracted, but I saw they had a bold black and white pattern and had a kind of plume on their heads, the effect was like a California Quail. I was disappointed because I could not ID these birds and I never saw them again, but months later I was looking in the Gambia field guide and I realized they could only be WHITE-CRESTED HELMET SHRIKE. The trees in Alex's yard were definitely bigger than in Anne's. I climbed up a huge mango tree in pursuit of a singing bird that I saw everywhere around there. It was dark backed and light underneath, with a kind of crested head--the head had a definite shape to it, if not a crest. Again, it wasn't until I returned to the US and looked in "A Field Guide to the Birds of The Gambia and Senegal", Barlow and Wacher 1997 that I was able to id it as COMMON BULBUL. I think I saw this bird in Bamako and elsewhere earlier. From the bus window near Bla, I saw a beautiful white bird hovering and swooping. It had a long forked tail and a couple black spots near the shoulders of its wings. It was a SCISSOR-TAILED KITE. I was on my way to a Peace Corps New Year's party at Segou. On New Year's day, I was feeling a little tired, but my swimming buddies from Koutiala (Kris and Cheryl) came back from yet another hotel and said that there were tons of birds in the bushes around the pool. I went over there and swam, but of course the birds were gone. But I could lie back and look up in the sky and watch several Scissor-tailed Kites overhead. They were there for as long as I was. I had only seen a kite once before, in California, and that guy was perched. Since then I have seen that the White-Tailed Kite can be pretty graceful too, but I still am glad I saw them first in action in Mali. Birds seen near the Bani River or Niger River (If not indicated, the birds below were seen by the Bani River near Goan, Mali.) I didn't see any crocodiles, but I saw lots of cute little CROCODILE BIRDS (Egyptian Plovers). They are like small, plumper versions of the SPUR-WINGED PLOVERS. Both are strikingly patterned and mostly solid gray, with black, white, and or cream trim, not what I expected in a shorebird. I also saw more traditional looking birds: COMMON SANDPIPER (much like a spotted sandpiper), WOOD SANDPIPER, GREENSHANK, WHITE-FRONTED SAND PLOVER, and some kind of plover: either a Little Ringed Plover or a RINGED PLOVER, and BLACK-WINGED STILTS (the last by Kona on the Niger). Weirder birds: Further north near Kona, on the Niger River, I saw some SENEGAL THICK-KNEES. These last birds had huge gold eyes, and strong legs. I got a peek of one of these on the Bani, but it crept out of sight. On the Bani I got a better look at a HAMMERKOP. And in some low reeds right in the tiny "harbor" of Kona (more like a bank where a few boats were beached) I saw one of my wish birds, a LILLY-TROTTER. It was in some short weeds near clothes-washers, along with SPUR-WINGED PLOVERS, LITTLE EGRETS, and LONG-TAILED SHAGS (I also saw the shags near Segou--they were the only duck-like swimmers I saw in Mali). After we found a boat and left Kona for the Niger itself, I saw many other birds on the sandflats but my binoculars weren't strong enough to help much. Some cattle were waiting to cross the Bani River, and there I saw my first African CATTLE EGRETS, right behind them. I suppose the small white herons I saw flying over large towns and even the capital Bamako were also Cattle Egrets. I got a quick look at a LITTLE BITTERN. I saw some large grayish herons by both the Bani and Niger rivers but it was not until I came home and read the "Field Guide to the Birds of Senegal and Gambia" that I was able to go back to my notes and distinguish them--the description is much better than that in the Collins guide. The GREY HERON has the two conscpicuous white pips visible on forewing in approaching flight. I also saw several BLACK- HEADED HERON. (I saw both large gray herons at the Bani near Goan and the Niger near Kona). And, near the city of Segou I saw a GREAT WHITE EGRET, which is the same as the one found in the U.S. Farther north on the Niger River I saw many LITTLE EGRETS which look like Snowy Egrets to me. Each time I went to the rivers I saw several PIED KINGFISHER. My first look was at the Bani, near Goan. I was fascinated by the bold black and white pattern, and how they hovered, dove, caught fish. I had never really watched a kingfisher back in the US. The YELLOW WAGTAIL confused me for about an hour. That is probably because its illustration in the Collins guide was in black and white. It was definitely wagging its tail. I also saw these on the banks of the Niger at Kona. In the trees by the banks of the Bani I saw lots of birds, including the GLOSSY-BACKED DRONGO, with a forked tail, acting like a flycatcher. Also some PURPLE GLOSSY-STARLINGS, and two SENEGAL COUCALS looking kind of boring on wet mud under trees. The people in Tana say they often see it in their fields. I was taking a short nap by the Bani and my friend Vivica pointed to some beautiful red birds by some cattle. They were hovering and swooping in the wind, and had a long tail, strong blue markings, long curved bills, incredible birds. As Vivica was watching I was reading out loud from the Collins guide "sometimes perched on the backs of cattle" and Vivica said, "look! that's what it's doing now." It's color was kind of hot pink/salmon/tomato, but I guess it is described best in the name of the bird: CARMINE BEE-EATER. In a village on the Niger across from Segou I saw a couple LITTLE BEE- EATERS, which were much smaller but a beautiful lime-green. They were in trees, swooping and returning to their low branch. The villagers called it "kojo". At this village I also saw several birds of both sexes of WARBLING SILVERBILL, also a SPECKLED PIGEON (the last I also saw near Tana). By a channel near the Niger outside of Kona I briefly saw a greenish pigeon, a YELLOW-BELLIED FRUIT PIGEON. It was in a large tree that could have been a fig tree, said by the Collins guide to be its favorite. Not far away I saw a crested lark, the CRESTED LARK. There was one large raptor that I saw constantly around Kona, both over the town and water. I often saw three or more of these at once. I also saw them at Mopti, and one at the river across from Segou. Its call was kind of like a Red-tailed Hawk, was mostly blackish but with brown and gray parts, yellow feet and bill. Its tail was not exactly forked, concave would be a better word. After looking at Barlow and Wacher, I realized it was a BLACK KITE. I had not seen a large dark kite in the US before. Birds seen in the northern "acacia savannah" Many of these birds I saw near the Niger River and are mentioned above. The most striking change was that PIED CROWS were everywhere, I must have seen hundreds on the drive from Sevare to Hombori. I only saw two of these in the "leafy savannah". In a tree in Blythe's concession in Fatoma, north of Sevare, I saw a GABAR GOSHAWK. Later I saw several big birds in a nearby tree--they were guineafowl. In the town of Kona I saw an ANT-CHAT, black with white wingpatch visible in flight. Birds I saw but could not identify (my notes are not all reliable either): On one of my first days in Tana, a solitary bird was calling for several minutes from a leafy bush in my sister's yard. It made a series of ch-ch-ch-ch-ch sounds, then a metallic squawk like a starling, then repeated the call. It was plump, larger than a sparrow and smaller than a mockingbird, with white underparts, back solid rusty, wings gray with white and black. Its head was streamlined towards its heavy black downturned bill. It looked looked most like a Red-backed Shrike or Northern Puffback, but nothing matched exactly. I looked at this bird for 10 min from 10 feet away, but I am not an expert at taking notes. I know it was boldly patterned, but I may not have described the colors exactly right. several small hawks a very large black raptor a very large black bird with white head, landing on a sandbar on the Niger at Kona. It had a very wide wingspan, and white towards it tail or feet. It sat on the sandbar for 20 minutes or more, but was far away so I couldn't get a good look. Palm Swifts? Thinner build than West African Swift, lighter gray, seen near rivers in Segou and Konna but also in San, narrow and graceful, forked tail is often held in point, I had many good views of this bird but did not see white on the rump (I should say here that I can't generally distinguish between a swift and a swallow.) a flock of large gray geese-like birds flying in a V over Tana at dusk (not very high up, perhaps 100 ft.) A bird large than a sparrow, smaller than a robin, the general shape of a sparrow or robin, on the ground in the scrubby "brusse". It walked away from me, then flew. Its head was striped with gold and brown. I also saw other doves, some with collars, but I did not take notes on these. A NOTE TO THE TRAVELLER Mali is a beautiful, friendly country, but I doubt many people go there just for the birds. I did not see another pair of binoculars during my month there. For information on places to stay and ways to get around, the "Lonely Planet" and the "Rough Guide" seemed to be pretty accurate. I have no firsthand advice, because I had my own French and Bambara speaking tour guide in the person of my sister Anne, and I stayed in people's houses, not hotels. According to the books, Mali is actually one of the top destinations in West Africa for backpacker type tourists. My birdwatching was mostly along the Segou-Djenne-Mopti corridor that is the center of the visited area (I never made it to Timbuktu or the Dogon cliffs). I went during the height of the tourist season over Christmas. Most of the western tourists (which was maybe a dozen) I saw were pretty independent, able to take the public long-distance buses with the Malians and get around without speaking the local languages (though most spoke some French), and able to tolerate delays. Many of them looked like sober and respectable Europeans too. I did not see too many private cars on the roads with tourists in them, and only one organized tour. But again, I was out in the country most of the time. I don't think I met any Malians who spoke any English. I speak only a little bit of French, and many Malians don't speak any. I hope that this report encourges those people who are considering visiting Mali for its historic sites and friendly people (or for work or to visit Peace Corps volunteers) to take along a field guide and binoculars, even if they are novice birdwatchers like I was. And I also encourage them to walk down by the river wherever they are, and maybe rent a canoe-like boat with boatmen for a couple dollars or less for a couple hours. Mali is a country with a pretty peaceful past and I definitely always felt safe there. There was no sign of the military or a heavy police presence anywhere. There was no hassle from anyone. I took a pair of good binoculars small enough to fit in my pocket. Many times people thought they were a small video camera, and I was glad I could hide them so that the binoculars weren't the center of every conversation I had. A great way to pass the time was to bring out the Collins guide and let people leaf through it and point out birds they recognized. Some people pointed to exactly the birds on the checklist for Mali, and told me where they could be found (often just where I had already seen them) and at what time of year. We wrote down the Bambara names for the birds and they were pretty consistent in our area anyway. Some people were less knowledgable and my sister told me they were just saying "little black bird" "little yellow bird". I also encourage you to read Tom Harrison's report of his trip in April 1998. (Available at http://www.xnet.com/~ugeiser/Birds/TripReports/Mali98.html He visited many of the same places--Segou, Bla, and he even stayed at the hotel in Koutiala where I went swimming and drank Fanta (there isn't much in Koutiala). We both saw Western Gray Plantain-Eaters there. SUMMARY Resources-- 1977 Collins Field Guide to the Birds of West Africa by Serle and Morel --fine for IDing most of the large colorful birds I saw. Although it is 22 years old, there have been few species splits or lumps since then apparently. (This guide, the one below, and two checklists I found for Mali (one from Santa Barbara Software Products, another emailed me by xxxxxxxx) had almost identical listings). Although only slightly more than half of the birds "covered" in this guide are illustrated, most of the birds not shown are very local or rare migrants. For me in only one case did the guide fail to illustrate all possibilities (this was the Red-billed Firefinch group). But the Collins guide only shows a single plumage for many weavers, etc. and the text is not much help for these either. "A Field Guide to the Birds of The Gambia and Senegal", Barlow and Wacher 1997 --much better coverage of birds I found confusing, especially sparrowish birds and raptors. Although it does not officially cover Mali, all birds I identified were in this guide. Unfortunately the edition I saw (after the trip, in a bookstore) was too large to fit in my pocket. Species List-- Key to Locations: S Within the small city of Segou. s On the Niger River at Segou, or at a small village directly across from Segou. T Tana, a village of 300 in the "baobab savannah" between San and Goan (Segou Region). This includes birds seen within 100 yards of the edge of the village. t Tiby, a village 3 km from Tana. G On the Niger near Goan. K Kouitala, a small city in the Sikasso Region. k Kerengana and environs, a large village in Sikasso Region near the border with Burkina Faso (in the "moister savannah") e Severe, a small city in the Mopti Region (in the "acacia savannah") F Fatoma, a large village in the Mopti Region about 10 km north of Sevare (in the "acacia savannah") o Kona, a city of perhaps 5,000 in the Mopti Region (in the "acaica savannah") N On the Niger near Kona h Along the highway from Sevare to Hombori (in the "acacia savannah") H Hombori, a city of perhaps 10,000 in the "acacia savannah", and a village on its outskirts. Birds with a *** are extremely common, I saw them nearly every time I was in the correct habitat (see above.) .s........N.. Long-tailed Cormorant Phalacrocorax africanus ..........N.. Little Egret Egretta garzetta *** ...G......N.. Gray Heron Ardea cinerea *** ...G......N.. Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala *** .s........... Great Egret Ardea alba ...G.K....N.. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis *** ...G......... Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus ...G......... Hamerkop Scopus umbretta Ss........... Scissor-tailed Kite Chelictinia riocourii *** .......eFoN.. Black Kite Milvus migrans *** ........F.... Gabar Goshawk Melierax gabar ..........N.. Lilly-Trotter Actophilornis africanus (African Jacana) ...G......... Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia ...G......... Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola ...G......... Common Sandpiper Tringa hypoleucos ..........N.. Senegal Thick-knee Burhinus senegalensis ..........N.. Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus ...G......N.. Egyptian Plover Pluvianus aegyptius (Crocodile Bird) *** ...G......... Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula ...G......... White-fronted Plover Charadrius marginatus ...G......N.. Spur-winged Plover Vanellus spinosus *** ....B........ Black-headed Lapwing Vanellus tectus (Black-headed Plover) *** S............ Rock Dove Columba livia .sT.......... Speckled Pigeon Columba guinea S.T.BKkeFo..H Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis *** ..........N.. Bruce's Green-Pigeon Treron waalia ....B........ Namaqua Dove Oena capensis (Long-tailed Dove) ....B........ Senegal Parrot Poicephalus senegalus ..T.B.k...... Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri *** ...GBK....... Western Gray Plantain-eater Crinifer piscator *** ...G......... Senegal Coucal Centropus senegalensis ..T.B........ Little Swift Apus affinis (West African Swift) *** .s.G......N.. Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis *** .s........... Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus ...G......... Northern Carmine Bee-eater Merops nubicus ..T.B.......H Abyssinian Roller Coracias abyssinica *** ..T.B........ Green Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus purpureus *** ....B...F.... Red-billed Hornbill Tockus erythrorhynchus .....K....... Gray Woodpecker Dendropicos goertae ...G......... Fork-tailed Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis ..T.......... Piapiac Ptilostomus afer (Black Magpie) ..T......oNhH Pied Crow Corvus albus *** ....B........ Yellow-billed Shrike Corvinella corvina ......k...... White-crested Helmet Shrike ...G......... Purple Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis purpureus ..T.B.k...... Long-tailed Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis caudatus *** ...G......... Chestnut-bellied Starling Lamprotornis pulcher ....B........ Yellow-billed Oxpecker Buphagus africanus .........o... Northern Anteater-Chat Myrmecocichla aethiops (Ant-Chat) ......k...... Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus *** ..........N.. Crested Lark Galerida cristata ..T.......... Gray-headed Sparrow Passer griseus *** ..T.......... Bush Petronia Petronia dentata *** S.T.........H Red-billed Firefinch Lagonosticta senegala *** ..T.......... Red-cheeked Cordonbleu Uraeginthus bengalus *** ..T.......... African Silverbill Lonchura cantans ..T.......... Cut-throat Amadina fasciata (Cut-throat Weaver) ..T.B........ Village Indigobird Vidua chalybeata (Senegal Indigobird) *** ..T.......... Long-tailed Paradise-Whydah Vidua interjecta ...G......N.. Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava *** .sT.B........ White-billed Buffalo-Weaver Bubalornis albirostris *** ..T.......... Speckle-fronted Weaver Sporopipes frontalis *** ..T.......... Village Weaver Ploceus cucullatus ..T.......... White-rumped Seedeater Serinus leucopygius *** ..T.......... Rock Bunting Emberiza tahapisi Note that I have given the more modern forms of the common names. Some of the common names from the 1977 Serle and Morel guide are given in parantheses when different. In the chart above, I ommitted the following alternate names for space reasons: Long-tailed Cormorant (Long-tailed Shag), Rose-ringed Parakeet (Senegal Green-Parakeet), White-billed Buffalo Weaver (Buffalo Weaver), Speckle-fronted Weaver (Scaly-fronted Weaver), Rock Bunting (Cinnamon-breasted Bunting). [End of File]