DOCSLIB.ORG

Comparative Study of Terrestrial Birds in the Disturbed and Undisturbed Vegetation Types of Ikere Forest Reserve, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Comparative Study of Terrestrial Birds in the Disturbed and Undisturbed Vegetation Types of Ikere Forest Reserve, Ekiti State, Nigeria Journal of Ecology and Natural Resources ISSN: 2578-4994 MEDWIN PUBLISHERS Committed to Create Value for researchers Comparative Study of Terrestrial Birds in the Disturbed and Undisturbed Vegetation Types of Ikere Forest Reserve, Ekiti State, Nigeria Ogunyemi OO* Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife management, Ekiti State University, Nigeria Review Article Volume 4 Issue 4 March 23, 2020 *Corresponding author: Ogunyemi OO, Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Received Date: management, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, Email: olumideogunyemi80@yahoo. Published Date: May 21, 2020 com DOI: 10.23880/jenr-16000201 Abstract Birds are an important component of earth's ecosystems. The primary objective of the study was to assess the effect of Forest Reserve from January to December, 2017. Data were collected by employing transect count technique in the early disturbance on bird species diversity and abundance in the two stratified habitat types (disturbed and undisturbed) of Ikere types. During the study, a total of 551 individual birds comprising of 59 species, 18 families and 11 Orders were recorded. morning (6.00- 10.00a.m) and late afternoon (4.00- 6.00 p.m) for four consecutive days every month in the two vegetation recorded in the undisturbed vegetation. Order Passeriformes constituted the numerically dominant Order represented with Out of 59 identified species of birds, 46 (78%) of the species were recorded from disturbed vegetation, while 30 species were 16 species while Pelecaniformes, Galliformes and Colliformes were the least dominant Orders represented with one species each. At the family level, family Nectariniidae was numerically the dominant family represented with 9 species. At species level, Rufous-backed manikin Louchura nigriceps and Great-white egret Egretta alba were numerically the most dominant species. The total abundance of birds was significantly different (P> 0.05) among the two vegetation types. The total abundance of birds ranked higher with 393 birds in the disturbed vegetation. The Shannon- Wiener index of diversity (H') varied from 3.08 that the different vegetation types supported. The results indicate that disturbed vegetation supported a higher diversity and in undisturbed vegetation to 3.61 in the disturbed vegetation. There were significant differences in the bird species richness abundance of birds than the undisturbed vegetation. Keywords: Species Diversity; Vegetation; Transect; Abundance Introduction The vegetation range of Nigeria has distinctive differences because it is such a large country, stretches from the beaches Nigeria has some of the most beautiful ecosystems which and mangrove swamps of the Gulf of Guinea through the remnants of the rainforest to the Savannas and thorn Scrub species are known to be breeding residents while a further of the north. These agro-ecological diversity and niches accommodates 850 species of resident birds of these 640 which have their own peculiarity in climatic conditions birds in Nigeria is associated with unique geological history, provides habitat for fascinating variety of birds. Birds group of 40 species are rare [1]. The biological diversity of are an important component of many ecosystems; such diverse climatic and physical conditions of the country [2]. Comparative Study of Terrestrial Birds in the Disturbed and Undisturbed Vegetation Types of Ikere J Ecol & Nat Resour Forest Reserve, Ekiti State, Nigeria 2 Journal of Ecology and Natural Resources that their study can alert us to what is going wrong in the environment, as birds are excellent environmental indicator theseason long has rainy an average season of between 240 days April with meanand mid-November annual rainfall isof 1250bimodal to 1400 with mm.a peak The in pattern September of rainfall while distribution the dry season over controls[3]. Tesfahunegny population [4] size described of harmful birds insects, as agents environmental of nutrient stretches from mid-November to the end of March. The cycles, plant gene flow through pollination, seed dispersal, opined that the probable cause of the avian decline are multi- elevation of between 12 to 110m above sea level. Light facetedsanitation and through involve variousscavenging complex of carrion. combinations Rands, of et obvious al. [5] Southterrain westerlyof the reserveand North is flat easterly to slightly winds undulating blow over with the ones such as habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation or area throughout the year which characterized the seasons loss, pollination and over harvesting. Tropical rainforest in the reserve into rainy and the dry season. The reserve is surrounded by villages and farm settlements inhabited by in the world. The natural resources of tropical rainforest the largely agrarian population that engages in small holder areaccommodates presently and the extensivelymost diverse being range utilized of flora for andeconomic fauna food and tree cash crop production systems with poor purpose. In Nigeria, deforestation has led to the loss of habitats of many biodiversity including forest birds which plant species. The dominant tree species include Dacroydes depend on a healthy forest ecosystem. The importance of edulisfarming, Chrysophyllum methods. The albidum study area, Afzelia has Africanaa diversified, Cola woodyedulis, forest ecosystem cannot be overemphasized as increase in Garcinia kola, Cola acuminate, Gmelina arborea, Pterocarpus osun, Gliricidia sepium, Parkia biglobosa, Mansonia altissima heterogeneity engenders increase in diversity of bird species and Baillaonella toxisperma. Also in certain area of study the complexity of vegetation structure, floristic composition and vegetation is characterized by secondary forests especially where the vegetation types is accentuated by farming The[6]. Anyalteration form of disturbance,in the habitat natural structure or artificial invariably destabilizes affect activities, where yam, cocoyam, cassava and maize are negativelyvegetation thestructure essential and requirements bird community of birds structureespecially [7].the grown as major crops. The major challenges in Ikere Forest Reserve leading to degradation of the environment are the expansion of farmland at the expense of forestland, extensive nestnest, abandonmentcover and food. at Humanthe same induced time increasedisturbance vulnerability can have toa significant predation. negative In recent effect years on the breeding interest success in conservation by causing of to ever increasing human population. Burning of vegetation birds had grown in many countries and regions emphasized coverlogging, has burning led to and frequent high growing destruction demand of thefor firefragile wood forest due the need for more studies of the ecological impact of ecosystem in the reserve. Several forest patches show sign that assessment of bird community is important and needed storey destroyed. In the some places, the vegetation have vegetation disturbance on bird species. Sethy [8] asserted beenof fire cut damage and burn with forsome farming trees badly posing scorched severe anddanger the underto the future of the unique fauna of the habitat. Logging activities onfor biodiversitymonitoring changes,and composition which will of birdlead communities’to efficient and as is also widespread in the reserve. Within this landscapes, aeffective function conservation of habitat variation of biodiversity. is crucial Having to determine knowledge the health status of the local ecosystem. In the recent times Ikere Forest Reserve vegetation community structure disruption ofstudy disturbance area was and stratified proximity into to two human main settlements. habitats named as has taken a higher trend due to high frequency of logging disturbed (D1) and undisturbed (D2) forests based on level activities as a result of high rate of human population growth. Survey of Avifauna It is therefore necessary to understand the effect of habitat disturbance on bird species community structure in order to The census method was used to survey the abundance know the effects of disturbed and undisturbed ecosystems and diversity of avifauna species of Ikere Forest Reserve, Ekiti State. The survey was conducted on monthly basis from future conservation of bird species in the reserve. January to December, 2017 in 12 plots of approximately on birds. This will definitely play a dominant role in prioritize Methodology disturbed and undisturbed habitats in Ikere Forest Reserve, 50 hectares (ha) in each of the two stratified habitat types: Description of the Study Area relative value of each habitat for attracting different bird speciesusing the was transect determined count method by establishment described by of Bibby one transect[9]. The The study was carried out in the 72.52km2 area of Ikere Forest Reserve in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The Ikere Forest were observed by walking along the established transects inof 1kilometereach of the (km)habitat length types in for each four of consecutivethe 12 plots. days The everybirds prevailing climate is tropical with an average temperature month. Data collection commenced about 30 minutes after ofReserve 250C all is locatedyear round between and high 70 321N relative and humidity. 50 211 431 The E. rainy The dawn and was carried out for five hours daily from 6:30- Ogunyemi OO. Comparative Study of Terrestrial Birds in the Disturbed and Undisturbed Copyright© Ogunyemi OO. Vegetation Types of Ikere Forest Reserve, Ekiti State, Nigeria. J Ecol & Nat Resour 2020, 4(4): 000201. 3
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Theory and Practice in Language Studies Contents
    Theory and Practice in Language Studies ISSN 1799-2591 Volume 11, Number 2, February 2021 Contents REGULAR PAPERS Why Digital Games Can Be Advantageous in Vocabulary Learning 111 Amin Rasti-Behbahani Non-metaphorical Objects as Alternate Means of Literary Communication in Selected Plays of A. B. 119 Chukuezi Chioma M. Akaeze, Chinedu C. Ezebube, Ogechukwu F. U. Chukwuneke, and Chioma J. Ikechukwu– Ibe Variation in Language Use across Gender 129 Thanaa Alhabuobi The Dimensions of Language and Thought in the Vedic Literature 135 Sabindra Raj Bhandari English Teachers’ Perspectives on Using Music in English Language Teaching in Thai Secondary 145 Schools Xiaowei Xi The Impact of Culture and Gender on Impoliteness Strategies in Jordanian and American TV Sitcoms 151 Bayan B. Rababa’h and Ghaleb Rabab’ah Practices of Delivering Dispreferred Responses in English Talk Show Interaction 164 Chunxiao Wu Influence of Native Language Transfer on Senior High School English Writing 170 Yuhang Yuan The Kinds of the Linguistic Interference 176 Sayana Movsum Baghirova The Impact of the Mechanism of Projection on Methods of Education in Great Expectations 182 Le Wu On the English Translation Strategy of Science Fiction from Humboldt's Linguistic Worldview — 186 Taking the English Translation of Three-Body Problem as an Example Jiali Gao and Yan Hua A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of English Posters in Violence Awareness Campaigns against 191 Women Souad Belgrimet and Ghaleb Rabab'ah A Survey Study on the Application of Modern Educational Technology in English Major College 202 Teaching in the Age of 5G Communication Yuhang Gao Culture-loaded Words and Translation Equivalence 210 Xuanxuan Zhou and Yan Hua A Study of Requests Made by Negative Politeness in English Movies and Their Persian Subtitles 216 Sahar Yaghoubzadeh ISSN 1799-2591 Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Disaggregation of Bird Families Listed on Cms Appendix Ii
    Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 2nd Meeting of the Sessional Committee of the CMS Scientific Council (ScC-SC2) Bonn, Germany, 10 – 14 July 2017 UNEP/CMS/ScC-SC2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II (Prepared by the Appointed Councillors for Birds) Summary: The first meeting of the Sessional Committee of the Scientific Council identified the adoption of a new standard reference for avian taxonomy as an opportunity to disaggregate the higher-level taxa listed on Appendix II and to identify those that are considered to be migratory species and that have an unfavourable conservation status. The current paper presents an initial analysis of the higher-level disaggregation using the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World Volumes 1 and 2 taxonomy, and identifies the challenges in completing the analysis to identify all of the migratory species and the corresponding Range States. The document has been prepared by the COP Appointed Scientific Councilors for Birds. This is a supplementary paper to COP document UNEP/CMS/COP12/Doc.25.3 on Taxonomy and Nomenclature UNEP/CMS/ScC-Sc2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II 1. Through Resolution 11.19, the Conference of Parties adopted as the standard reference for bird taxonomy and nomenclature for Non-Passerine species the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Non-Passerines, by Josep del Hoyo and Nigel J. Collar (2014); 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Birds (Aves) of Oromia, Ethiopia – an Annotated Checklist
    European Journal of Taxonomy 306: 1–69 ISSN 2118-9773 https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2017.306 www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu 2017 · Gedeon K. et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Monograph urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A32EAE51-9051-458A-81DD-8EA921901CDC The birds (Aves) of Oromia, Ethiopia – an annotated checklist Kai GEDEON 1,*, Chemere ZEWDIE 2 & Till TÖPFER 3 1 Saxon Ornithologists’ Society, P.O. Box 1129, 09331 Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany. 2 Oromia Forest and Wildlife Enterprise, P.O. Box 1075, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. 3 Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Centre for Taxonomy and Evolutionary Research, Adenauerallee 160, 53113 Bonn, Germany. * Corresponding author: [email protected] 2 Email: [email protected] 3 Email: [email protected] 1 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:F46B3F50-41E2-4629-9951-778F69A5BBA2 2 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:F59FEDB3-627A-4D52-A6CB-4F26846C0FC5 3 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:A87BE9B4-8FC6-4E11-8DB4-BDBB3CFBBEAA Abstract. Oromia is the largest National Regional State of Ethiopia. Here we present the first comprehensive checklist of its birds. A total of 804 bird species has been recorded, 601 of them confirmed (443) or assumed (158) to be breeding birds. At least 561 are all-year residents (and 31 more potentially so), at least 73 are Afrotropical migrants and visitors (and 44 more potentially so), and 184 are Palaearctic migrants and visitors (and eight more potentially so). Three species are endemic to Oromia, 18 to Ethiopia and 43 to the Horn of Africa. 170 Oromia bird species are biome restricted: 57 to the Afrotropical Highlands biome, 95 to the Somali-Masai biome, and 18 to the Sudan-Guinea Savanna biome.
    [Show full text]
  • Birds Along Lehi's Trail
    Journal of Book of Mormon Studies Volume 15 Number 2 Article 10 7-31-2006 Birds Along Lehi's Trail Stephen L. Carr Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Carr, Stephen L. (2006) "Birds Along Lehi's Trail," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 15 : No. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol15/iss2/10 This Feature Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Title Birds Along Lehi’s Trail Author(s) Stephen L. Carr Reference Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 15/2 (2006): 84–93, 125–26. ISSN 1065-9366 (print), 2168-3158 (online) Abstract When Carr traveled to the Middle East, he observed the local birds. In this article, he suggests the possi- bility that the Book of Mormon prophet Lehi and his family relied on birds for food and for locating water. Carr discusses the various birds that Lehi’s family may have seen on their journey and the Mosaic law per- taining to those birds. Birds - ALOnG LEHI’S TRAIL stephen l. cARR 84 VOLUME 15, NUMBER 2, 2006 PHOTOGRAPHy By RICHARD wELLINGTOn he opportunity to observe The King James translators apparently ex- birds of the Middle East came to perienced difficulty in knowing exactly which me in September 2000 as a member Middle Eastern birds were meant in certain pas- Tof a small group of Latter-day Saints1 traveling in sages of the Hebrew Bible.
    [Show full text]
  • La Mancha, Coto Donana & Extremadura 2017
    Field Guides Tour Report Spain: La Mancha, Coto Donana & Extremadura 2017 May 6, 2017 to May 18, 2017 Chris Benesh & Godfried Schreur For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE. Spectacular skies greeted us during our visit to old Trujillo in the heart of Extremadura. Photo by guide Chris Benesh. So many birds around that you don´t know which to choose and observe. Do you recognize this feeling? We experienced many of these exciting moments in Spain during the Field Guides tour in May. It started straight away, on the first day, overlooking the natural lagoons of La Mancha Húmeda, where we had the chance to observe a great variety of species of ducks, grebes, terns, and passerines. The highlights here were the White-headed Duck, Eared Grebe, Red-crested Pochard, Whiskered Tern and Penduline Tit. In the National Park of Coto Donana again we found ourselves surrounded by birds: larks, bee-eaters, flamingos, Great Reed Warblers, Glossy Ibis, Squacco and Purple herons and a surprisingly well showing Little Bittern. With a bit of searching, scanning and listening we were able to also detect Red-knobbed Coot, Marbled Teal and Isabelline (Western Olivaceous) Warbler. Later in the week, close to Trujillo (Extremadura), we all enjoyed the excursion on the open, rolling plains, with Great and Little bustards, Eurasian Roller, Hoopoe, Calandra Lark, Montagu´s Harrier and many, many White Storks. For the shy Black Storks we had to wait one day more. In Monfrague National Park we discovered 3 pairs nesting on the breathtaking cliff of Peña Falcón.
    [Show full text]
  • CONVENTION on MIGRATORY SPECIES Loch Lomond, Scotland, United Kingdom, 22-25 October 2007 Agenda Item 8.0
    Distr: General CONVENTION ON MIGRATORY UNEP/CMS/AERAP-IGM1/8/Add.1 6 September 2007 SPECIES Original: English MEETING TO IDENTIFY AND ELABORATE AN OPTION FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON AFRICAN-EURASIAN MIGRATORY RAPTORS UNDER THE CONVENTION ON MIGRATORY SPECIES Loch Lomond, Scotland, United Kingdom, 22-25 October 2007 Agenda Item 8.0 TAXONOMIC SCOPE: PROPOSED LIST OF SPECIES 1. Article 1a of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) defines such species as follows: “a) "Migratory species" means the entire population or any geographically separate part of the population of any species or lower taxon of wild animals, a significant proportion of whose members cyclically and predictably cross one or more national jurisdictional boundaries;” This definition has been used as the basis for the initial selection of species listed in Table 1 of UNEP/CMS/AERAP-IGM1/8 which has been drawn from UNEP/CMS/AERAP- IGM1/Inf/8: Status Report on Raptors in the African-Eurasian Region. 2. The list of proposed species has been restricted to those defined as “True Migrants” and listed in the Global Register of Migratory Species (GROMS) database1. These include partial migrants (species in which only part of the population migrates, with the rest remaining in the breeding areas) but excludes those listed as “nomadising” or “range extensions” (see Annex 2 of UNEP/CMS/AERAP-IGM1/Inf/8: Status Report on Raptors in the African-Eurasian Region). It also excludes species that technically meet the CMS migratory species definition because they regularly cross one or more national boundaries, but are short-distance migrants, travelling less than 100 km.
    [Show full text]
  • Birding in Somaliland, November 2019
    Birding in Somaliland, November 2019 By Enrico Leonardi [email protected] I visited Somaliland for work between 3rd and 15th November 2019. I spent several days in Hargeisa, shuffling between the Hotel Ambassador and the UNICEF Office located on the high plateau not far from the airport. I managed to do some birding in the garden of the hotel and spotted few additional species during the drives to/from the office. Between 6th and 11th November, I went on a field trip to Tog Wajaale, Boroma and Lughaya, stopping at several small villages and hamlets for work reasons. I managed to do some birding early in the mornings and in between meetings and project visits. Lughaya, a small town (~6-8,000 pp.) on the Aden Gulf coast, is bordered on the east and the west by two brackish water lagoons. A small military garrison is located close to the western lagoon, which makes the place far from ideal for birding, as jittery soldiers consider binoculars as suspicious equipment. However, I managed to spend about one hour birding part of the eastern lagoon and the beach separating it from the ocean, with some nice records. A large (several hundred birds) terns and gulls roost was present on the far side of the lagoon, but without a spotting scope it was impossible to investigate it thoroughly. Finally, following the advice of the always resourceful and helpful Bram Piot (merci!), I managed to organize a daily excursion to the Tuuyo plain with Abdi Jama. We left at 5:45am and with several stops along the road, we reached Tuuyo plain around 1pm; indeed a very long road.
    [Show full text]
  • Extreme Variation in the Tails of Adult Harlan’S Hawks
    EXTREME VARIATION IN THE TAILS OF ADULT HARLAN’S HAWKS William S. (Bill) Clark Some adult Harlan’s Hawks have tails somewhat similar to this one Bob Dittrick But many others have very different tails, both in color and in markings Harlan’s Hawk type specimen. Audubon collected this adult in 1830 in Louisiana (USA) and described it as Harlan’s Buzzard or Black Warrier - Buteo harlani It is a dark morph, the common morph for this taxon. British Museum of Natural History, Tring Harlan’s Hawk Range They breed in Alaska, Yukon, & ne British Columbia & winter over much of North America. It occurs in two color morphs, dark and light. The AOS considers Harlan’s Hawk a subspecies of Red- tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis harlani, but my paper in Zootaxa advocates it as a species. Clark (2018) Taxonomic status of Harlan’s Hawk Buteo jamaicensis harlani (Aves: Accipitriformes) Zootaxa concludes: “It [Harlan’s Hawk] should be considered a full species based on lack of justification for considering it a subspecies, and the many differences between it and B. jamaicensis, which are greater than differences between any two subspecies of diurnal raptor.” Harlan’s Hawk is a species: 1. Lack of taxonomic justification for inclusion with Buteo jamaicensis. 2. Differs from Buteo jamaicensis by: * Frequency of color morphs; * Adult plumages by color morph, especially in tail pattern and color; * Neotony: Harlan’s adult & juvenile body plumages are almost alike; whereas those of Red-tails differ. * Extent of bare area on the tarsus. * Some behaviors. TYPE SPECIMEN - Upper tail is medium gray, with a hint of rufous and some speckling, wavy banding on one feather, & wide irregular subterminal band.
    [Show full text]
  • Birding Tour to Ghana Specializing on Upper Guinea Forest 12–26 January 2018
    Birding Tour to Ghana Specializing on Upper Guinea Forest 12–26 January 2018 Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Ankasa Resource Reserve (Dan Casey photo) Participants: Jim Brown (Missoula, MT) Dan Casey (Billings and Somers, MT) Steve Feiner (Portland, OR) Bob & Carolyn Jones (Billings, MT) Diane Kook (Bend, OR) Judy Meredith (Bend, OR) Leaders: Paul Mensah, Jackson Owusu, & Jeff Marks Prepared by Jeff Marks Executive Director, Montana Bird Advocacy Birding Ghana, Montana Bird Advocacy, January 2018, Page 1 Tour Summary Our trip spanned latitudes from about 5° to 9.5°N and longitudes from about 3°W to the prime meridian. Weather was characterized by high cloud cover and haze, in part from Harmattan winds that blow from the northeast and carry particulates from the Sahara Desert. Temperatures were relatively pleasant as a result, and precipitation was almost nonexistent. Everyone stayed healthy, the AC on the bus functioned perfectly, the tropical fruits (i.e., bananas, mangos, papayas, and pineapples) that Paul and Jackson obtained from roadside sellers were exquisite and perfectly ripe, the meals and lodgings were passable, and the jokes from Jeff tolerable, for the most part. We detected 380 species of birds, including some that were heard but not seen. We did especially well with kingfishers, bee-eaters, greenbuls, and sunbirds. We observed 28 species of diurnal raptors, which is not a large number for this part of the world, but everyone was happy with the wonderful looks we obtained of species such as African Harrier-Hawk, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Hooded Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Bat Hawk (pair at nest!), Long-tailed Hawk, Red-chested Goshawk, Grasshopper Buzzard, African Hobby, and Lanner Falcon.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comparative Study of the Breeding Behaviour of the Augur Buzzard, Buteo Augur, in Two Different Land-Use Areas in Southern Lake Naivasha, Kenya
    Ostrich 2004, 75(1&2): 11–19 Copyright © Birdlife South Africa Printed in South Africa — All rights reserved OSTRICH ISSN 0030–6525 A comparative study of the breeding behaviour of the Augur Buzzard, Buteo augur, in two different land-use areas in southern Lake Naivasha, Kenya Munir Z Virani1,2,3* and David M Harper2 1 The Peregrine Fund, 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise Idaho 83709 United States of America 2 Department of Biology, Leicester University LE1 7RH, United Kingdom 3 Department of Ornithology, National Museums of Kenya, PO Box 40658 Nairobi, Kenya * Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected] A comparative study of the breeding behaviour of the Augur Buzzard Buteo augur was made in two contrasting areas on the southern side of Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Hell’s Gate National Park represented a natural site, and the lake environs an agri- cultural site. Locations of adult birds and their activity time budget during the breeding cycle were studied from April to October 1995. Factors influencing prey delivery and nestling feeding rates, and intra/inter-specific interactions were given special attention. Augur Buzzard pairs in the lake environs spent more time caring for chicks than their counterparts in Hell’s Gate. This was apparent in the increased maternal care and paternal foraging which resulted in larger broods and more prey deliv- eries to nests respectively. Prey and biomass delivery rates to nests showed an increasing trend as the nestling period pro- gressed. This was significant in the lake environs where brood sizes were larger than in Hell’s Gate.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gambia: a Taste of Africa, November 2017
    Tropical Birding - Trip Report The Gambia: A Taste of Africa, November 2017 A Tropical Birding “Chilled” SET DEPARTURE tour The Gambia A Taste of Africa Just Six Hours Away From The UK November 2017 TOUR LEADERS: Alan Davies and Iain Campbell Report by Alan Davies Photos by Iain Campbell Egyptian Plover. The main target for most people on the tour www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.1 Tropical Birding - Trip Report The Gambia: A Taste of Africa, November 2017 Red-throated Bee-eaters We arrived in the capital of The Gambia, Banjul, early evening just as the light was fading. Our flight in from the UK was delayed so no time for any real birding on this first day of our “Chilled Birding Tour”. Our local guide Tijan and our ground crew met us at the airport. We piled into Tijan’s well used minibus as Little Swifts and Yellow-billed Kites flew above us. A short drive took us to our lovely small boutique hotel complete with pool and lovely private gardens, we were going to enjoy staying here. Having settled in we all met up for a pre-dinner drink in the warmth of an African evening. The food was delicious, and we chatted excitedly about the birds that lay ahead on this nine- day trip to The Gambia, the first time in West Africa for all our guests. At first light we were exploring the gardens of the hotel and enjoying the warmth after leaving the chilly UK behind. Both Red-eyed and Laughing Doves were easy to see and a flash of colour announced the arrival of our first Beautiful Sunbird, this tiny gem certainly lived up to its name! A bird flew in landing in a fig tree and again our jaws dropped, a Yellow-crowned Gonolek what a beauty! Shocking red below, black above with a daffodil yellow crown, we were loving Gambian birds already.
    [Show full text]
  • Estimations Relative to Birds of Prey in Captivity in the United States of America
    ESTIMATIONS RELATIVE TO BIRDS OF PREY IN CAPTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA by Roger Thacker Department of Animal Laboratories The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210 Introduction. Counts relating to birds of prey in captivity have been accomplished in some European countries; how- ever, to the knowledge of this author no such information is available in the United States of America. The following paper consistsof data related to this subject collected during 1969-1970 from surveys carried out in many different direc- tions within this country. Methods. In an attempt to obtain as clear a picture as pos- sible, counts were divided into specific areas: Research, Zoo- logical, Falconry, and Pet Holders. It became obvious as the project advanced that in some casesthere was overlap from one area to another; an example of this being a falconer working with a bird both for falconry and research purposes. In some instances such as this, the author has used his own judgment in placing birds in specific categories; in other in- stances received information has been used for this purpose. It has also become clear during this project that a count of "pets" is very difficult to obtain. Lack of interest, non-coop- eration, or no available information from animal sales firms makes the task very difficult, as unfortunately, to obtain a clear dispersal picture it is from such sourcesthat informa- tion must be gleaned. However, data related to the importa- tion of birds' of prey as recorded by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife is included, and it is felt some observa- tions can be made from these figures.
    [Show full text]