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Birds of Madagascar and Their Conservation

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Birds of Madagascar and Their Conservation Birds of Madagascar and Their Conservation byMichael S. Putnam Department ofZoology University of Wisconsin tl Madison, Wisconsin I 100 plus Ecstatic Testimonials Striding up a steep hillside with the Council for Bird Preservation (Collar loud whisper of a rushing stream in and Stuart, 1985), 28 species of Warm, nurturing foods. the background, I stepped into a Malagasy birds are threatened and 14 mist-net lane I had cut a week before. species are considered as near­ Cook monthly, As I entered the clearing, a medium­ threatened. These species represent freeze in packets, sized brown bird squawked and flew between one-fifth and one-third of off from eye-level. Carefully search­ the island's endemic bird species. serve in seconds. ing the nearby vegetation, I became one of a lucky handful of foreigners The primary threats to Madagas­ At fine stores, orcall... to ever find a nest of the Brown car's birds today, habitat loss and Mesite (Mesitornis unicolor), a rare overhunting, have already eliminated 1(800) BIRD YUM forest-dwelling relative of rails. The many unique Malagasy creatures. 1 (800) 247-3986 large egg, delicately colored in sal­ Since people first arrived on Mada­ mon with liver-colored spots, rested gascar 1500 to 2000 years ago, much 13330 Bessemer Street precariously in a frail, dove-like nest of the island has been deforested, Van Nuys, CA91401-3000 positioned at the end of a sloping leaving the red lateritic soil exposed (818) 997-0598 sapling. This encounter with the and eroding, with little chance for Brown Mesite is just one of many forest regeneration. Gone are many ornithological marvels I witnessed Lemurs (some the size of Great during a typical day in Madagascar, a Apes), a hippopotamus, a giant biologist's Mecca. tortoise, and the entire family of Madagascar is unique. This large Elephantbirds. The flightless Ete­ island has been adrift in the Indian phantbirds, known only from Mada­ Ocean for millions of years, cut-off gascar, ranged in size from that of from Africa. A high percentage ofthe rheas to truly enormous brutes stand­ flora and fauna of Madagascar is en­ ing several meters (yards) tall and We demic, haVing evolved in near­ estimated to weight 450 kg (1000 Buy isolation from the rest of the world. pounds) (Amadon, 1947). Remains Madagascar's ecosystems vary tre­ ofthe eggshells ofthese birds are still Birds mendously from rain forests in the common in the south. Walking along northeast receiving several meters a remote, white sand beach, I came • (yards) of rain per year, to the spiny across shell fragments of their 8 liter We bush in the southwest where only a (2 gallon) eggs. Standing in the blaz­ few centimeters (about 1 inch) of ing sun, turning bits of eggshell over Sell rain may fall annually. Living in this in my fingers, I wondered what these ~ wide array of habitats are a number birds were like. What did they eat? Birds ofunique and peculiar birds. Many of How long did they incubate their these are rare, seldom seen by orni­ eggs, the largest eggs ever known? Complete Bird Supplies thologists and never kept by avicul­ How did their chicks break free from 8990 Cerritos Ave. turists. these vast vessels? I wondered if the Anaheim, CA 92804 Despite their abilities offlight, two­ egg of the Brown Mesite, like that I (714) 527-3387 thirds of Madagascar's 200 breeding found in the rainforest, would some­ (closed for vacation, first 2 weeks of July) species are found nowhere else (Dee, day be known only from a few speci­ 1986). Five entire families of birds ­ mens in some museum? 12200 Magnolia Ave. Mesites, Ground-rollers, Cuckoo­ Riverside, CA 92503 roller, Asities, and Vangas - are con­ Malagasy Birds in Avlculture (714) 278-0878 fined to Madagascar and a few neigh­ While captive breeding sometimes (closed for vacation, first 2 weeks of August) boring islands. These families are offers hope to endangered bird spe­ OPEN 9 TO 5 DAILY poorly known by even most ornithol­ cies, few of the endemic Malagasy Closed Sun., Mon. & holidays ogists. According to the International birds have been kept in captivity. To afa WATCHI3IRD 35 A 1'ecentlyfledged Madagascar Crested Ibis (Lophotibis cristata). As an adult, the facial skin ofthisf01'est-dweller willbecon'le b1'ight l'ed anddevoid ofjeathe1's. Burning ofthe deciduousJ01'est to clear landforJa1'n'lil1g thl'eatens the island's baobab t1'ees (Adansonia spp.) as well as othefplants andanbnals ofweslern Madagascal'. A Vasa Pan'ot (Col'acopsis vasa)perchesgingel'ly on a spiky Didie1'ea tree in southwestern Madagascar. This birdand itsflock men'lbe1's wel'e eating the nlel'istenlatic tipsf1'on'l thisplant. The authol' with a 1'econst1'ucted egg ofan Elephantbi1'd. Rarely whole eggs and often shellfragnlents can still be Afen'laleRufous Vallga (Schetba l'ufa) incubates three eggs. This bifdandhef n'late found in southern Madagascar. These eggs al'e the largest produce vocally con'lplex duets in addition to nlaking clacking andpopjJing sounds knownf1'onl any anbnal. with thei,' bills. 36 April / May 1992 The CrestedDrongo (Dicrurus!01ficatus) is a The Pitta-like G"OU1uJ-"0Ile1" (Atelonispiltoides) is one offour ;pecies ofthe endel1lic G1'OU1uJ-1'oUerjal1l­ wide-ranging species that isfound in each of ily that inhabitMadagascar's rainforests. Afiflh species lives in the spinysubdesert ofthe southwest. Madagascar's dijJe10entforests. It has adapted Allofthese species lay thei1' eggs at the endoftunnels they excavate in banks 01" the ground. to living in S0111e disturbed areas. This male Sunbi1"d-asity (Neod10epanis C01°tlSCans) is-only-vely distantly related to the t1°ue sunbirds. Thefleshyfacial wattlesgreatly expand in the The Souinlanga Sunbird (Necta10inia A nlale Madagascar Red breeding season and nearly touch at the top ofthe head. souinlanga) occurs conlnlonly Pody (Poudfa nladagascar­ throughout Madagasca1~ranging iensis). One ofthe island's fro111 northeastern 1'ainforest to the nlore COl1lnlon birds, it southuJestern subdesert. This nectar­ ranges throughout nlost of feeding bi10dpollinates nlany species of the island i1lcluding urban plants. a1·eas. A nlale Sakalava Weavet· (Ploceus sakalava). The nlales buildtheil' nests in colonies and displayft°on1 theirnesls during C01lSt1"Uction to attract a nlate. This bird is uJidesjJread in the dty weste1"n pal°ts ofMadagasca1°. The auth01" with af01"est-duJelling Madagasca1' Pygnly Kingfishe1" (I~1)idina nladagasca1"iensis) that was caught with a nlist-net on the Masoala Peninsula. afa WATCHDIItD 37 the best of my knowledge, only the programs. The two most likely spe­ species than we saw, we relied following birds are currently being cies are the Madagascar Teal and the heavily on knowing bird vocaliza­ kept in zoos or private collections Madagascar Pochard. The latter tions dUring our censuses. More than outside the country: Meller's Duck species is dangerously close to 95 percent of the detections dUring (Anas melleri), Madagascar Partridge extinction; a single male was recently the census counts were of vocaliza­ (Magaroperdix madagascariensis), uncovered by Lucienne Wilme after tions alone. Since Madagascar is so Greater Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis years of searching by her and other poorly known, I tried to collect addi­ vasa), Lesser Vasa Parrot (Coracop­ ornithologists (Wilme, 1991). tional information on its birds when­ sis nigra), Gray-headed Lovebird The status of these birds is uncer­ ever possible. I began collecting data (Agapornis cana) and the Madagas­ tain since so little is known about on the breeding biology and foraging car Red Fody (Foudia madagascar­ many of them. This is due, in part, to behavior of some of the forest birds iensis). Readers of Roles and Cra­ the small number of ornithologists since knowing their reproductive croft's (1990) article on their efforts working in Madagascar from the rates and resource requirements is to breed the Greater Vasa Parrot will 1930s through the early 1980s. For important to future conservation be interested to know that the east­ example, the Red-tailed Newtonia planning. I observed the nest ofsome ern race (c. v. vasa) was bred in (Newtonia !anovanae), a small rare species such as the Madagascar Switzerland in 1988 by Dr. Roumuald songbird, was known from a single Crested Ibis (Lophotibis cristata), Burkard. The western race (c. v. specimen collected 60 years ago. In Pollen's Vanga (Xenopirostris pol­ drouhardi) was bred by Mr. Dieter 1989, this bird was rediscovered leni) and the Helmet Vanga (Euryc­ Meyer of Germany in 1986 and again by Steven Goodman and Thomas erosprevostii). in 1988 (Robiller and Meier, 1989). Schulenberg (1991) hundreds ofkilo­ Although the census data are still In the past, the following endemic meters from the original locality. The being analyzed, I can relate some of species were kept, and sometimes bird was found to be not uncommon the behavioral observations. I found bred outside ofMadagascar: Madagas­ and has since been found in a second that 11 ofthe 14 species of vangas, a car Teal (Anas bernieri), Madagascar rainforest area (Evans, 1991). Clearly, group of shrike-like birds, use their Pochard (Aythya innotata), Mada­ the status of many of Madagascar's feet to handle their prey. Unlike gascar Buttonquail (Turnix nigri­ birds needs to be better explored. many other songbirds which clamp collis), Madagascar Turtle Dove It is for this reason that the Ameri­ food between the perch and their (Streptopelia picurata), and the can Federation of Aviculture funded feet, the vangas grasp their prey in a Madagascar Mannikin (Lonchura my efforts to census forest birds in foot while resting the tarsus on the nana). Madagascar. My two field seasons perch while consuming their meal. Aviculture in Madagascar is almost extended from October 1989 to April They are able to slightly raise the foot non-existant.
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