Ghana Picathartes & Egyptian Plover Set departure tour 9th – 22nd March, 2014

Tour leader: Charley Hesse Report by Charley Hesse

The undisputed bird of the trip, the weirdly beautiful White-necked Rockfowl or Picathartes (Ken Behrens)

Ghana is now well established on the world birding circuit. Made famous by the strange White-necked Rockfowl, or Picathartes, Ghana is still the best place in the world to see one. Other star birds include Egyptian Plover and Standard-winged Nightjar and on this tour we had killer views of all of these. Ghana is also a great place to build your world list and even if you have birded Eastern or Southern Africa, you will still end up with a long list of lifers. We did particularly well on this tour with a final count of 436 species in just 2 weeks, almost cleaning up on several particularly diverse groups like greenbuls, cisticolas and sunbirds. Birding in the humid lowland rainforest of the south wasn’t easy, and ranks with some of the most challenging in the world, but Kakum’s famous canopy walkway and some fantastic stakeouts for difficult species meant that we found most of our targets. While not luxurious, the accommodation was adequate to comfortable and everyone enjoyed the camping at Ankassa which was particularly well organized. Other than those mentioned above, our avian highlights included both dwarf-hornbills at Kakum, Hartlaub’s Duck and African Finfoot on the way to Ankassa, Blue-headed Bee-eater on our drive north, Standard-winged Nightjar, Forbes’s Plover and Abyssinian Ground Hornbill in Mole NP. On the tour we had ample opportunity for night watching and found several rarely seen mammals with wonderful names like cusimanse, anomalure and giant pouched-rats. Ghana is friendly, safe and stable with decent infrastructure but most importantly they have the best local guides in Africa. These guys really gave us an incredible trip.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 1 9th March – Sakumono Lagoon No birding was programmed until the afternoon but one of the clients and I had arrived last night so after breakfast we spent some time in the hotel garden to pick up our first common birds. Our first short walk around the garden produced Bronze Mannikin, Common Bulbul & Northern Gray-headed Sparrow. From there we walked around to the other side of the hotel where I spotted a firefinch which turned out to be Bar-breasted Firefinch. We climbed up some steps to a veranda which commanded fine views over the area. We spent quite a bit of time here and ticked off many common birds, including Eurasian Kestrel, Pied Crow, Black Kite, Laughing Dove, Little Swift, Barn Swallow, brief views of Purple Glossy- Starling and Village Weaver. The bird of the morning though was a stunning pair of Common Gonoleks, which hopped out on some wires where they sung their distinctive duet. After lunch, we drove to Sakumono Lagoon. On the way we stopped to photograph Yellow-billed Shrike and get much better views of Purple Glossy-Starling. We reached the lagoon, on the other side of the main road from the coast where we saw Royal Tern. We scanned from the side of the road over the lagoon which was at high tide so waders were not too much in evidence. We scanned with the scope to find White-faced Whistling-Duck, Long-tailed Cormorant, Gray, Purple & Squacco Herons, Great, Intermediate, Little & Cattle Egrets, Western Reef-Heron, several Eurasian Marsh-Harriers including a nice adult male, many African Jacanas, Common Sandpiper, Whimbrel and the striking Pied Kingfishers. We also saw several Western Yellow Wagtails and a Plain-backed Pipit nearby.

A day-roosting Long-tailed Nightjar was an unexpected bonus at Sakamono Lagoon (Charley Hesse)

We got back in the bus to drive around to a different part of the lagoon and on the way spotted our first Wattled Lapwings. We turned off the main road and drove through a residential area, where we saw our first Green Woodhoopoes sat on a roof. We reached a small resort where some people were playing tennis and cooling off in the pool. We could see there were large numbers of shorebirds on the edge of the lagoon but first we wanted to look for Senegal Thick-knee. We walked through some open forest and scrub where we saw African Yellow White-eye, Brown Babbler, Western Plantain-eater, Little Bee- eater, Black-billed Wood-Dove & Ethiopian Swallow. Our driver went off through the scrub and soon we called for us to follow him. As we walked up, he pointed out a thick-knee but it ran off before we could get a look. We heard some more calling and managed to track them down for much better views. From here we walked out onto the grassy area bordering the lagoon where we found at least one Black-backed Cisticola amongst the similar and more common Zitting Cisticolas. From here we stared shorebirding and found a full array, with Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged & Common Ringed Plovers, Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank, Green, Marsh, Wood & Curlew Sandpipers, Black-tailed Godwits, Ruff and Little Stint. We even saw some Collared Pratincoles, Black Tern and a Black Heron mixed in with all the stilts. The highlight of the afternoon though was flushing a Long-tailed Nightjar. It dropped back down into the grass and we walked up to get views of it on the ground. Our light arrival day birding had been productive with over 60 species seen.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 2 10th March – Shai Hills to Kakum via Winneba Plain We had a very early breakfast and left before dawn. The Shai Hills reserve was less than 30 minutes from the hotel and we were soon walking in along the main track. As the light improved we started to build our list with Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Spotted Flycatcher, Senegal Eremomela and the dapper White- shouldered Black-Tit with its striking plumage and pale eye. A Shikra shot across the road as well as an African Gray Hornbill and African Pygmy-Kingfisher. Green-backed Camaropteras were calling everywhere but it took a while for everyone to get views. There was some commotion ahead and the local guide thought it might be birds mobbing a predator. We had great views of Blackcap Babblers, Brown- throated Wattle-eye, African Thrush and Splendid Sunbird. Further on the ranger accompanying us spotted a covey of Stone Partridges under a tree and the local guides went to the back of the thicket to walk them across our field of view. We picked up a Cardinal Woodpecker, a beautiful male African Paradise-Flycatcher and Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird but a calling pair of Mocking Cliff-Chat only gave flight views. The bus caught us up and we drove through some open areas to find several herds of Kob, a kind of small antelope. We also found a Gray Kestrel, White-throated Bee-eaters, Flappet Lark, 2 stunning Blue-bellied Rollers and an African Pied Hornbill. We got out at a parking lot by the start of a trail and saw several raptors including African Cuckoo-Hawk and Lanner Falcon. We started along the forest trail but the canopy was thick and birding difficult. After a lot of work we managed to see Buff- spotted Woodpecker, Northern Puffback, Green-headed & Olive-bellied Sunbirds, and the unique Oriole Warbler which finally showed well. We went back to the bus and drove to a site for African Barred Owlet. We had one calling close several times but unfortunately we were unable to locate it.

Stone Partridge have recently joined the New World Quail family (Charley Hesse)

On the drive back we had Green Woodhoopoe, Tree Pipit, some Olive Baboons and great views of a male Greater Honeyguide. We went back to the hotel for lunch, then packed up and checked out. We were leaving Accra and heading for Kakum National Park. On the way out we had a Black-shouldered Kite on a wire, but little else of interest before arriving at Winneba Plains. Here it was hot and windy but with some hard work and determination we made some good additions to the trip list. First off we had flight views of Black-crowned Tchagra, Black-billed Wood-Dove & Ethiopian Swallow. We made our way through the cisticolas with Singing, Croaking, Red-faced & Siffling Cisticolas and also saw Whinchat, Red-winged Prinia, Plain-backed Pipit, a fine male Copper Sunbird, flight views of Moustached Grass- Warbler, a pair of Yellow-fronted Canaries and several Yellow-shouldered Widowbirds. There were plenty of raptors around too with Eurasian Marsh-Harriers, European Honey-buzzard and finally a Red- necked Buzzard. The main target at Winneba though was the Black-bellied Bustard and luck was on our side. Mike spotted one as it flushed up and we had its mate on the ground slinking away behind a bush. We went back to the bus and set off, but after a short distance found a couple of Bar-breasted Firefinches mixed in with a flock of Bronze Mannikins. All that was left now was a long drive to Kakum.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 3 11th March – Kakum Forest After an early breakfast, we drove up in the dark to the nearby Kakum National Park, site of the famous canopy walkway. Dawn was just breaking as we arrived and we walked up the stone path through the forest. After a steep walk up, we arrived at the entrance platform and made our way along the well-made but still rather hair-raising walkway out to the first platform. Even before we got there we saw an Ussher's Flycatcher perching on the top wire of the walkway. We started seeing birds straight away and had a pair of African Cuckoo-Hawks flying overhead and a flyby of the tiny Red-thighed Sparrowhawk. An African Harrier-Hawk also flew by but landed and we had great scope views. We continued picking up new birds at a steady rate with fly overs of Sabine's Spinetail & many Rosy Bee-eaters plus scope views of a distant African Green-Pigeon. In the nearby trees smaller passerines were everywhere and we added African Shrike-flycatcher, Black-winged Oriole, Slender-billed & Golden Greenbuls, Green Hylia, Wood Warbler, the upper Guinea endemic Sharpe's Apalis, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Violet- backed Hyliota, Scarlet-tufted, Little Green, Green, Collared, Tiny & Johanna's Sunbirds. We went out to the far platform which commanded magnificent views across the forest. Here we had Yellowbill, Cassin's Spinetail, Blue-throated Roller, Naked-faced Barbet, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, Maxwell's Black & the rare Preuss's Weavers, Chestnut-winged Starling, Gray Greenbul, great views of the often tricky Large-billed Puffback, a close up Hairy-breasted Barbet, Little Green Woodpecker and several fly bys of African Pied Hornbill. Coming back around the loop we stopped at the final platform and added Slender-tailed Squirrel, the seldom seen Tessmann's Flycatcher, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Chestnut-breasted Nigrita and West African Wattle-eye (recently-split from Chestnut).

This beautiful Green Tree Viper was the reptile highlight of the trip (Charley Hesse)

By now it was already quite hot and most of what we could hear walking down through the parking lot were noisy cicadas. In the parking lot our local guides managed to find a Black Bee-eater whose electric blue colours were incredible. We drove back to the hotel for lunch and a well-deserved rest and in the afternoon we headed back to Kakum and spent some time on the trails. The forest was deathly quiet, but we found an amazing stream where a plethora of birds were coming down to drink and bathe. We added to our already substantial greenbul list with Swamp, Red-tailed, Plain, Yellow-whiskered, Icterine, Western Bearded- and Yellow-bearded Greenbuls, the latter of which is an incredible rare bird and was only the second time the local guide had seen it here in 7 years! We also had Blue-headed Crested-Flycatcher, African Forest-Flycatcher, Fire-crested Alethe, Forest Robin, White-tailed Ant-Thrush, Gray's Malimbe and even a brief Western Bluebill. Visability was limited and nobody got on everything but it quality of birds we had seen was incredible. We could easily have stayed here for the rest of the afternoon but we needed to get back to platform to wait for hornbills and night birds. Getting out to the far platform was a lot quicker second time and we waited there scanning. We had a distant Palm-nut Vulture and closer Red-headed Malimbe, Yellow-mantled Weaver and Gray-headed Nigrita but no hornbills. We waited until dark and were lucky enough to catch the rare Brown Nightjar flying above the canopy. We walked back along the trails in the dark and found a beautiful Green Tree Viper and the huge Giant Pouched Rat, before getting back to the bus and driving back for dinner.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 4 12th March – Kakum farmbush This morning we were heading to an area of farmbush called Antwikwa. Remnant patches of forest mixed with overgrown cultivation can be a very productive environment for birding. Our first stop was to try for White-spotted Flufftail. As we settled in a little clearing inside the forest we saw a pair of Red-cheeked Wattle-eyes. We played the flufftail call and one responded nearby. We kept on playing and got amazing views of this most secretive of birds. Next we spent a long time getting views of Puvel's Illadopsis. This mega skulker gave us such a run-around but we finally had some sort of views and also saw an Olive- green Camaroptera while we were waiting. We moved onto some open areas which had a wide variety of birds, with a flyby of a Gray Kestrel, the hulking Blue-headed Coucal, Simple Greenbul, Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Gray's Malimbe, Black-and-white Mannikin, Whistling & Red-faced Cisticolas and the dainty gem of an African Pygmy-Kingfisher. There were extensive oil palms here some of which were overgrown and mixed with native trees which held Bristle-nosed Barbet, Black-necked & Vieillot's Weavers, the sneaky Swamp Greenbul, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird and even a Melancholy Woodpecker on top of a distant snag. In some better forested habitat we saw Yellow-billed Turaco, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, White-breasted Nigrita and Collared Sunbird. We went down a side trail through some overgrown cultivation where we saw a flock of gorgeous, little Orange-cheeked Waxbills and had a Gray Longbill in an overgrown tangle. Further on we went through a shady cacao plantation with Black-winged Oriole, Black-headed Paradise-Flycatcher, Blue- spotted Wood-Dove and good views of the powerful Black Goshawk as it flew swiftly by.

Thousands of Preuss’s Swallows poured out from a culvert under the road (Charley Hesse)

We still hadn’t found our target Long-tailed Hawk but it was getting hot so we decided to turn back towards the bus. On the way back we had a consolation Cassin's Hawk-Eagle which gave great perched and flight views. We also had a Red-necked Buzzard and a Slender Mongoose shot across the path. It was nice to get back inside our air-conditioned vehicle and we started our drive to the Pra River. On the way, we stopped at a culvert under the road which had thousands of Preuss's Swallows pouring out of it at times. We arrived at the Pra river and we had to walk through a grungy timber yard to where we had a good view of the river. We saw the distinctive White-throated Blue Swallow very quickly but had to scan a little more to find the Rock Pratincoles. We also had a Little Egret nearby and a Malachite Kingfisher shot by just below us. We drove back to the lodge where we had lunch and some time to rest in our air-conditioned rooms before our afternoon birding. We drove along another road through farmbush in a place called Ebekaopa. At our first stop we picked up Northern Fiscal, African Yellow White-eye and Dideric Cuckoo. We drove pretty straight from there to the end of the road which finished in a nice patch of forest bordering the park. As we walked in we saw Naked-faced Barbet, Copper-tailed Glossy-Starling and heard Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill calling. We tried to track it down but they were sneaky birds and always managed to keep at a distance. There was some activity in the canopy and we put the scope on it to get nice views of the uncommon Ansorge's Greenbul, Scarlet-tufted & Green Sunbirds and Chestnut- breasted Nigrita.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 5 Further on we had a Gray-headed Bristlebill crossing the trail. We got to a clearing from where we hoped to spot some hornbills flying to roost. As we approached one edge, 4 Red-fronted Parrots flew out of a big tree. Around the edge of the clearing, we also saw African Harrier-Hawk flyby, African Forest- Flycatcher, Blue-throated Roller, Black Bee-eater and scope views of a male Buff-throated Sunbird, at last. We heard Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Black-casqued Hornbill and even Great Blue Turaco, but all we got were brief views of the latter disappearing through the canopy. The sun was down and the light was fading quickly as we spotted a raptor flying across the clearing which turned out to be a Bat Hawk. We walked back in the dark to try and find some nightbirds. A Brown Nightjar flew just over our heads and we saw our first Demidoff's Galago although we only heard the screeching calls of Western Tree Hyrax, the nasal honking of the elusive Nkulengu Rail and the soft hooting of a Sandy Scops-Owl. The latter a MEGA bird but they were unresponsive and we had to count ourselves lucky to even hear this rarity. We got back to the bus and had a brief stop to see Long-tailed Nightjar before getting back for dinner.

Black Bee-eaters are inconspicuous but not uncommon rainforest birds (Charley Hesse)

13th March – Ebekaopa to Ankassa via Cape Coast This morning we went back along the Ebekaopa road to bird the farmbush and forest. We started first at a forest patch where we tried for better views of Puvel's Illadopsis. The bird was unresponsive, but we did see some other nice birds like Black Bee-eater, White-throated Greenbul, Green Hylia and even a Green Bush Squirrel. The local guide heard a Western Bluebill moving through some scrub and I was lucky enough to spot a Black-bellied Seedcracker, but they managed to frustrate the rest of the group. We went back out to the road and walked along birding the farmbush. This habitat was much easier to bird and we added several species including Piping Hornbill, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Yellow- spotted Nicator, Fanti Sawwing and Crested Malimbe with better looks at White-throated Bee-eater, Black-winged Oriole, Green-headed & Olive-bellied Sunbirds and Vieillot's Weavers. In an open area with long grass we found Pin-tailed Whydah, Red-headed Quelea, Black-winged Bishop and Woodland Kingfisher. We finally made it to the forest where our main targets were hornbills. We heard a pair of the secretive White-crested Hornbill but they would not come into view. We were searching especially for Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill which we had heard yesterday and they responded again. A hornbill flew in but it was actually an African Pied Hornbill. We kept on trying and a smaller bird flew in which we got a look at to see it was a Black Dwarf Hornbill, probably a more difficult bird than the red- billed. The Red-billed Dwarf-Hornbill was still calling and finally one flew in close and we had some views of it. Both dwarf-hornbils, What a score! We walked another trail where we had good views of Finsch's Flycatcher-Thrush and some Copper-tailed Glossy-Starlings flying overhead before walking back to the bus. Before setting off we had scope views of a Red-necked Buzzard perched nearby.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 6 Our birding here was at an end and we started our drive towards Cape Coast where we had lunch at the fort while scanning the coast to find many Black Kites, Royal Tern, Pied Kingfisher and Common Sandpiper. After this we started driving along the coast and stopped to scan a lake to find Intermediate Egret, Black-winged Stilt, African Jacana, Wood Sandpiper and Common Tern. We continued our long drive towards Ankassa along rough roads under construction and our first heavy rain of the trip. We stopped by the Ebi River where Reichenbach’s Sunbird had been seen in the past but the habitat seemed to have been disturbed by all the road construction and all we saw were Malachite Kingfisher and African Pied Wagtail. We stopped further on by some mangroves and started scanning the mixture of pools, exposed mud and mangroves. The call soon went up, “Hartlaub's Duck!” and we quickly got the scope on 11 of these rare ducks. We were delighted to have seen them and they even flew in closer. Also by the mangroves we saw Great Egret, Western Reef-Heron, Common Ringed Plover, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper and Whimbrel.

The rare Hartlaub’s Duck sporting their distinctive blue-feathers in flight (Charley Hesse)

We were also on the look out for sunbirds and took a short path down to the muddy edges of the water. From here we had even better views of the ducks and also saw Mouse-brown Sunbird, Orange Weaver across the way and a very close Green Crombec. We tried for Reichenbach's Sunbird for quite a while before a beautiful male came in giving great scope views to all. We carried on towards Ankassa and had one final stop at a lily pond. It was very pretty but no birds were immediately evident. The driver, brother to our guide and also a birder, shouted out “Finfoot!” and we all had great views of a female African Finfoot. A very difficult bird to see anywhere on the continent. Next he spotted us some African Pygmy-Geese by which time he was getting lots of praise. Next our guide came back with a Shining-blue Kingfisher. The 2 guides were jumping up and down and high-fiving and one of the clients said, tongue-in-cheek, “I wish they would show some enthusiasm”. We had scope views of Splendid Glossy-Starling and Johanna's Sunbird before we carried on the short distance to Ankassa where there was a Yellow-billed Turaco there to welcome us. What an amazing day it had been! The basic but comfortable tents and mattresses were more than we expected and our simple camp dinner was the best food of the trip so far.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 7 14th March –Ankassa We set off while it was still dark to look for owls. We tried a couple of likely spots known to our guide but there was no sign. We jumped in a landrover and drove a short while to a spot for the rare Akun Eagle- Owl. This time we had a response, but try as we might, they would not come in. There was also an unresponsive pair of African Wood-Owls calling nearby. Their voices were added to by the gruff call of the elusive Nkulengu Rail which echoed through the darkness. Driving back for breakfast at dawn, we found a young Striated Heron next to a rain water pond in the road, no doubt looking for frogs and tadpoles. I took a couple of photos and again of another individual further on. Just a few feet from it was another which turned out to be the smaller and much more elusive Dwarf Bittern, which also stayed put nicely for photos. On the drive back, we also flushed a Red-chested Goshawk from the road. After breakfast we took the landrover to where the road became so muddy it was impassable, and walked from there. We started with calling Pale-breasted & Blackcap Illadopsis but only the latter was seen, and briefly. We did soon hear a Rufous-sided Broadbill, a major target here. It responded and we got scope views of this beautiful little bird up in the sub-canopy. Next we had a White-bellied Kingfisher which shot across the road and we also added our first Blue Cuckooshrike, Western Black-headed Oriole, Blue-headed Crested- Flycatcher and a large flock of Spotted Greenbuls.

Ankassa seems to be one of the best places to see the elusive Dwarf Bittern (Charley Hesse)

Further on we encountered a large mixed flock which contained Swamp, Red-tailed, Western Bearded- & Yellow-bearded Greenbuls, plus Maxwell's Black Weaver, Gray's Malimbe and Yellowbill. We saw another Yellow-billed Turaco nearby but only heard the distinctive calls of the Red-billed Helmetshrike. We crossed huge pylons carrying electricity into nearby Cote D’Ivoire. A single White-throated Bee-eater was perched on one of the wires and our first Square-tailed Sawwing circled over the clearing. We arrived at a small pond, hoping for a better look at White-bellied Kingfisher but found it pretty dead. We walked back, spotting a Black Bee-eater on the forest edge, our first proper view of Red-vented Malimbe on an exposed limb and some circling Cassin's Spinetails. We walked up another fork in the road and reached the old camp, which was still in good condition despite having been abandoned several months earlier. There we had lunch and rest before our afternoon walk. After trying to call in a Chocolate-backed Kingfisher for a while before lunch, we were lucky enough just to spot one on a branch. We had more mixed flocks, adding Little & Icterine Greenbuls, Fire-crested Alethe, Scarlet-tufted Sunbird and while I was trying to get the clients on a Brown-eared Woodpecker, the local guide spotted a Spotted Honeyguide which trumped my bird.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 8 We heard a Red-chested Owlet but it wouldn’t come in, but from then we had a steady stream of new birds, with Fire-bellied Woodpecker (finally), Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Gray-throated Tit-Flycatcher, Western Olive Sunbird and also the MEGA Dusky Crested-Flycatcher, a lifer for one of our local guides which tells you how seldom seen this bird is. We also had mammals in the shape of Green Bush Squirrel and African Giant Squirrel which wasn’t a patch on its Asian counterparts in size. Two of our major targets for the afternoon had been Black-casqued & Yellow-casqued Hornbills. In the late afternoon they started to become more active but we were frustrated several times when we just couldn’t get on close birds due to the thick canopy. One person commented that it would be a great place for a canopy tower. Finally we found a window and scoped a pair of Yellow-casqued Hornbills and had a flying Black- casqued Hornbill a while later. It was getting dark and we were owling our way back. Just after I commented that it was a good time for an Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo to fly over, one did so. Demidoff's Galagos started calling in the bushes and we spotted a couple of these speedy critters. We tried again at the Akun Eagle-Owl stake out and heard them but still couldn’t entice them in. We did have a consolation prize of Lesser Anomalure, a rarely seen mammal which we had scope views of. It had been a long, exhausting day but we had some terrific sightings.

Chestnut-breasted Nigritas are rainforest canopy-dwelling members of the waxbill family (Charley Hese)

15th March – Ankassa to Kakum Again we were out owling in the morning, but this time we finally manage to see the Akun Eagle-Owl, albeit flight views. Driving we had better luck with mammals and saw but Giant Pouched Rat and Common Cusimanse, a rather ungainly, large mongoose. At breakfast I spotted an African Giant Squirrel before we set off for our final walk along the road. We had good views of a Yellow-billed Turaco straight away but it was slow after that with just a Western Olive Sunbird seen and a pair of White- crested Hornbills heard. We turned onto a trail where we heard many of the (by now) familiar sounds of the forest, with Western Bearded- & Little Greenbuls, Green Hylia and Pale-breasted Illadopsis which a couple of people managed a glimpse of. We did see Icterine Greenbul and our target Shining Drongo but only heard Black-casqued Hornbills. From here we headed back to a bridge where we had spent plenty of time owling but not yet birded in the day. Birding was slightly easier here and we had scope views of a pair of Cassin's Flycatchers on the river, the stunning African Emerald Cuckoo in a distant tree and a Blue-throated Roller on a snag. A pair of Chestnut-breasted Nigritas appeared to be building a nest next to the bridge and an African Harrier-Hawk was seen soaring in the distance. Our birding time was up and after an early lunch, we packed, said goodbye to the extremely hospitable staff and set off.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 9 We stopped briefly in the same mangroves as before, and saw Great Egret, Western Reef-Heron, Spur- winged Plover and Common Greenshank but nothing as exciting as on the way in. Further along the coast we turned down the Brenu Beach road to bird some open habitats. Our first bird down here was a Piapiac perched on a cow, new for the trip list. We parked and scanned from the road. We had flybys of African Gray & African Pied Hornbills, Blue-spotted Wood-Dove and one of our guides scoped a beautiful pair of Sulphur-breasted Bushshrikes calling in the top of a distant tree. We walked down a track where we had a White-throated Bee-eater, great views of Vieillot's & Village Weavers, glittering male Splendid & Copper Sunbirds, some secretive Black-rumped Waxbills, and Bar-breasted Firefinches. We walked back to the road and walked through more open areas looking for Marsh Tchagra which our local guide spotted but it eluded the rest of us. We did see Northern Fiscal, Red-winged Prinia, Black-winged Bishop, Yellow-shouldered Widowbird, African Firefinch and even a Slender Mongoose which shot across the road. We also heard Red-faced & Singing Cisticolas but had to give up on the tchagras. We set off again and saw Western Plantain-eaters and Woodland Kingfisher perched on wires before we arrived at our lodge near Kakum NP where we were back for a 1 night stop.

Ghana is not only great for birds but also has over 1000 species of butterflies (Charley Hesse)

16th March – Aboabo to Picathartes site We had a very early breakfast followed by a 2 hour drive to our first birding stop. This was also an area of farmbush and forest edge called Aboabo. As soon as we stepped out of the bus we saw many birds, with Klaas's Cuckoo, a pair of Blue-headed Coucals, scope views of a distant African Hobby plus Vieillot's Weaver and Splendid Glossy-Starling. We walked along a fairly open area of farm bush with our first Senegal Coucal and Bates's Swifts, plus a flock of Red-fronted Parrots in flight, dozens of African Pied Hornbills, a pair of Fire-bellied Woodpeckers and finally decent views of Swamp Greenbul. We walked up a hill along the main track and heard the distinctive call of Bronze-naped Pigeon although it took us a while to locate it. We carried on walking along the road picking up Tambourine Dove, our first Black Spinetails, Blue-throated Roller, a Forest Woodhoopoe flying in to the top of a tall tree, Ussher's, Dusky-blue & African Forest-Flycatchers, Collared, Tiny & Blue-throated Brown Sunbirds, Red- vented, Crested & Red-headed Malimbes and Yellow-mantled & Preuss's Weavers. It was an incredibly productive stretch of road and we added quality to quantity with some rare birds like Forest Penduline-Tit and African Piculet. This stretch was disturbed forest rather than farmbush and in some of the remnant tall trees, we saw several canopy species like Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Violet-backed Hyliota, Gray-headed & White-breasted Nigritas and the rarely seen West African Batis. We also had a couple of mammals, with Fire-footed Rope Squirrel running across the road and scope views of Green Bush Squirrel feeding on some berries.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 10 Our birding time here was up and we drove on to lunch. After we ordered, we took a look outside where we saw African Jacana on a small pond and a Woodland Kingfisher nearby. In the afternoon we were to have the highlight of the trip, the White-necked Rockfowl or Picathartes as it is often called. We drove to a small village a couple of hours away but just before we got there, we found the road blocked by a fallen tree. This didn’t faze our guides and driver who started hacking at the trunk and branches with machetes. In no time the road was clear and we arrived at the village where lots of excited school kids were to welcome us. We met our local guide, and together we walked through some open areas before entering the forest. We heard numerous cuckoo species, including Red-chested, Black, Klaas's, African Emerald & Dideric Cuckoo but the most interesting we actually managed to call in. This was the Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo and it responded by flying in a few times although always just for a second. Another bird we still hadn’t seen was the Blue-headed Wood-Dove, which also flew in and we managed to get scope views of. There were a couple of mixed flocks which had Gray-headed & Green-tailed Bristlebill, White-throated Greenbul and Gray-throated Tit-Flycatcher.

African Jacanas are common birds but always a pleasure to see (Charley Hesse)

We had to be at the Picathartes stake out before the birds arrived so we had to limit out birding on the way up. The final stretch was a steep climb but we made it in good time and sat down on the specially made benches which sported a good view upslope of the nesting rock. We had to wait just over an hour before a White-necked Rockfowl showed up. The guide spotted it and looking up we had perfect views of a bird perched on top of a rock. After a few seconds it hopped to another rock, then out of view. Clouds had been gathering the whole time we sat there and now wind started to build. A storm was brewing. We waited until the wind had died a little, but half way down, the heavens opened and we were properly rained on. Even though there had been blue skies before we left, I luckily brought a dry bag for our cameras and other electronics. Our clothes were drenched but we made it down safely having seen our bird. Dry clothes felt great and we had some well-deserved rest after our eventful afternoon.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 11 17th March – Opro forest to Mole NP We had a very long drive to Mole but we started the day with some birding at the Opro forest which is a logging concession. We entered the reserve after a 2 hour drive and first stopped to look at a Broad-billed Roller which was new for the trip. A small flock of Red-billed Helmetshrikes showed themselves briefly but one participant missed them as he was watering the bushes. Next we started calling out a Blackcap Illadopsis in the forest, when the driver called us over and said he had found a Blue-headed Bee-eater. It had moved from where he had found it but we relocated a pair and had great views of this species which normally is only seen after a tough hike at Atewa. Walking along the road we had flybys of Gray Kestrel, African Pied Hornbill, Tambourine & Blue-spotted Wood-Doves and we also heard a bush-shrike and scanned the trees but could only find African Green-Pigeons & Black-headed Oriole. Other good birds along the road were Forest Woodhoopoe, Bristle-nosed Barbet, Large-billed Puffback and Yellow- spotted Nicator. We turned on to a trail trying for Forest Scrub-Robin in the undergrowth and Purple- throated Cuckooshrikes up in the canopy. We saw several birds but they were just Slender-billed Greenbuls and Western Black-winged Orioles. We heard a pair of Guinea Turacos which were calling very close by but we still couldn’t get to see this bird. We started driving back out and had a couple of stops. We found a small flock which included Velvet-mantled Drongo, Sharpe's Apalis and Green Hylia and further along had a Narina Trogon calling but it didn’t come in. From the bus, we spotted an African Forest-Flycatcher and flushed a Blue-breasted Kingfisher from the roadside.

The Upper Guinea endemic Sharpe’s Apalis (Charley Hesse)

It was time to continue with our long drive. On the way we stopped for lunch and saw some Red-chested Swallows before continuing. Early in the drive we saw a few birds on wires and roadside trees like Black- shouldered Kite, Lizard Buzzard, Dark Chanting-Goshawk and Abyssinian & Blue-bellied Rollers. We also had a brief stop to check out some small bird activity and we found Black-crowned Tchagra, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Northern Black-Flycatcher and Scarlet-chested Sunbird. At a waterhole further north we found Grasshopper & Red-necked Buzzards, Wattled Lapwing, Hamerkop and Senegal Coucal. We had a long way to go, but the road was recently improved and we made good time. We had more stops closer to Mole where we added our first Speckled Pigeons, Vinaceous Dove, Hadada Ibis and great views of the difficult Brown-rumped Bunting. After entering the park we saw Olive Baboons, Helmeted Guineafowl, African Gray Hornbill and Striped Ground Squirrel which shot across the road. We arrived at the Mole Motel and from the viewpoint saw many White-faced Whistling-Duck, Common Warthog, Kob and heard the distinctive call of the Senegal Thick-knee. It had been a long day but we decided that we still had the energy for a night drive. After checking in and freshening up, we drop out of the park to an area famed for Standard-winged Nightjar. Other birders were looking for them already so first we tried for Northern White-faced Owl which we heard but could get to come in. Along the road we found a group of Senegal Galagos and some Bushbuck before heading to the Standard-winged Nightjar site. We saw several males flying with their standards and had one in the headlights so we got out and walked closer and closer for great photo opportunities. What a day it had been!

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 12 18th March – Mole NP Today was our first full day birding Mole National Park. On the way to our first birding site we spotted a family of Stone Partridges in the road. We stopped at a point and walked to a clearing that was coming alive with birds. Here we saw Senegal Eremomela, Red-billed & Black-faced Firefinches, Lavender Waxbill, Bush Petronia, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, many Little Weavers, Pin-tailed & Long-tailed Paradise-Whydahs and Pale-winged Indigobird. We also had flyovers of Rose-ringed Parakeets, Senegal Parrots and Black-billed Wood-Dove. From here we walked through the low-stature dry forest and picked up many more birds, with Bruce's Green-Pigeon, the stunning Violet Turaco, Fine- spotted & Cardinal Woodpeckers, the large African Cuckoo, several Brown-throated Wattle-eyes and our first good views of the beautiful Violet-backed Starling. We reached a waterhole which had dried out a lot leaving a few small drinking pools. We got close to one particular spot and had great views of Swamp Flycatcher, Snowy-crowned & White-crowned Robin-Chats, many Red-throated Bee-eaters, Bronze- tailed Glossy-Starling, Common Gonolek, Oriole Warbler and Green-backed Camaroptera. After some time photographing those birds we started walking around the waterhole, flushing a covey of Double-spurred Francolin, Hamerkop, Black-crowned Night-Heron and spotting our first Long-tailed Glossy-Starling and Pearl-spotted Owlet of the trip.

A Blue-breasted Kingfisher showing off its best feature (Charley Hesse)

We came across another pool with many small birds, including Yellow-fronted Canary, Black-rumped Waxbill, Red-billed Quelea, Orange & Black-winged Bishops and Black-headed Weavers. We walked along the road for a while and had our first White-backed Vulture and Bateleurs of the trip. We got back in the bus and took a drove for a while and saw Senegal Coucal, Abyssinian Roller (which posed beautifully for photos) and a troop of Callithris Monkeys. We stopped at another spot and took a walk through the forest. He we picked up Gray-headed Kingfisher, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, a fantastic pair of Bearded Barbets, Melodious Warbler and several European Pied Flycatchers. We got at a dense thicket along a small stream where the guide flushed a Yellow-winged Bat and spotted us a skulking pair of Red-winged Pytilias. Next we found a great flowering tree with Scarlet-chested, Western Vioet- backed, Beautiful & Pygmy Sunbirds coming in to feed. We drove on to another spot with nice riparian woodland along a small stream where we saw Striated Heron, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, dozens of Orange-cheeked Waxbills & Red-cheeked Cordonbleus plus African Paradise- Flycatcher.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 13 We reached the main waterhole which our hotel looks over but from the far side. There were many White- faced Whistling-Ducks, along with the odd Spur-winged Plover, African Jacana, Hadada Ibis and Squacco Heron. There were several Nile Crocodiles in the water and a pair of Senegal Thick-knees skulking in the nearby thicket. We walked out onto the plain and found our first African Elephants of the trip drinking out at another pool. We felt quite vulnerable watching them on foot even though we were at a safe distance. There were also a few Kob drinking and several raptors flying overhead, which we identified as Red-necked Buzzard, White-headed Vulture and African Fish-Eagle. We drove back to camp and our driver spotted the stately Saddle-billed Stork in some long grass on the way. It was getting pretty hot but we had one last birding stop before lunch. I spotted a Northern Red-billed Hornbill which disappeared quickly into the bushes, then we got out to investigate a Golden-tailed Woodpecker and Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike. We also had our first Mottled Spinetails of the trip. We went back to camp for lunch and found a troop of Olive Baboons at the viewpoint.

One of the highlights of our trip was watching a male Standard-winged Nightjar raising its standards during its display flights from this perch. What an incredible bird!(Charley Hesse)

We rested after lunch until it had cooled down a little, then we drove to some other good sites. At the first, we walked around and added more great birds including Gray Woodpecker, Northern Puffback, Black Crake, Vieillot's Barbet, Yellow-breasted Apalis and Streaky-headed Seedeater. We drove on to the next site, seeing our first Waterbuck and Patas Monkey on the way. We arrived at a burnt area with lots of open ground where we saw several Sun Larks but failed to find our target Forbes Plover. We went onto another waterhole which we walked around but only found a Black-headed Heron up in a tree. We waited around until dark for owling and called in the beautiful Northern White-faced Owl. There were also several African Scops-Owls calling but they gave us the run-around and one participant unfortunately failed to get on a perched bird before it flew off. Nightjars were more cooperative and we had Standard-winged & Long-tailed Nightjars flying around us. It was time to head back, but we had a great night drive on the way with Plain Nightjar, many Senegal Galagos, 2 Common Genets (including 1 hunting a mouse), a Bush Duiker and finally a Scrub Hare before arriving back for a late dinner.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 14 19th March – Mole NP We heard we had breakfast listening to a Grayish Eagle-Owl calling nearby. We started our birding nearby looking for White-throated Francolin. We tried the call and after a short time had a response. They got closer and closer and crossed open ground in front of us giving us great views. A second bird then came in and gave us excellent close views. In the dry woodland nearby we had a White-breasted Cuckooshrike flyby and several African Golden Orioles calling although they didn’t show themselves, we did get good looks at the attractive Bruce's Green-Pigeon and also flushed a Dorst's Cisticola, which perched up long enough for us to ID it. We drove further into the park and had some good roadside birding with Whistling & Rufous Cisticola (also new for the trip), Red-winged Prinia and better views of White-breasted Cuckooshrike and African Golden Oriole. We got out and walked around a surprisingly productive area of woodland where we saw Senegal Eremomela, African Yellow White-eye, beautiful male Pygmy & Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Black Scimitar-bill, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, White-shouldered Black- Tit, Northern Crombec, Violet-backed Starling and bredding plumage male Black-headed Weaver. The latter which a couple of people initially took for a black-headed oriole which are not found here. Next we went to a large pond which had African Jacana, Malachite Kingfisher and Purple Heron on it whilst overhead flew Wahlberg's Eagle, Red-chested Swallow and Gabar Goshawk. We took a walk around it to find many Bush Petronias, the large and striking Levaillant's Cuckoo, a nicely plumaged Gray- headed Kingfisher and a pair of Red-winged Pytilias. We drove on to a bridge over a stream where we got out to look for Red-headed Lovebird but only managed to find Rufous-crowned Roller, Senegal Parrot, Copper Sunbird and plenty of Red-throated Bee-eaters.

Common Genet was one of many fascinating nocturnal animals seen on this tour (Charley Hesse)

On the drive back we saw a covey of Double-spurred Francolins, Brown Babblers, a stunning Purple Glossy-Starling and several raptors including White-backed Vulture, Bateleur, Lizard & Grasshopper Buzzards. Back at the hotel we saw more Olive Baboons and from the viewpoint a group of elephants. Our afternoon birding session was spent exploring burnt open areas looking mainly for Forbe’s Plover and on the way we had a Woolly-necked Stork fly over the road. At the first site, we had nice photo opportunities of the distinctive race of Helmeted Guineafowl along with Stone Partridge, Abyssinian Roller, Sun Lark and our first Brubru. In another open area we had many African Grey and a pair of Northern Red-billed Hornbills. On our last stop we spotted the rare Stanley Bustard which we started taking pictures of when the driver spotted an Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill, 2 great birds! One of our guides went off to search for Forbes Plover and we walked around the clearing a bit. Then we heard the guides shouting and we sprinted over as fast as we could. They had seen them but then lost them again. We called them again and a pair came flying in close and allowed us fantastic scope views before running off. It was getting dark on the drive back and I managed to spot another Common Genet up in a tree. We also saw a young White-tailed Mongoose near the camp. After dinner we went out and found the Grayish Eagle-Owl in a large tree close to our rooms. Another great day at Mole.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 15 20th March – Mole NP to Bolgatanga, via Tongo Hills Today we were leaving Mole National Park and continuing on with our journey. From our breakfast table we saw Callithris Monkeys in a tree nearby and an African Elephant down in the waterhole below. We had just enough time before we left to do a spot of birding behind the hotel looking for African Blue Flycatcher. We spotted a few nice birds, including Bruce's Green-Pigeon, Gray-headed Kingfisher, Red- throated Bee-eater, Bearded Barbet, Northern Black-Flycatcher and Lavender Waxbill. We found a grey water outlet pipe emptying down the slope and this spot seemed particularly popular with birds. Here we saw Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, African Thrush, European Pied Flycatcher, African Paradise- Flycatcher and Green-backed Camaroptera but the African Blue Flycatcher was nowhere to be seen, so we packed up the bus and left the park. We saw many raptors on the road to Tamale, including Grasshopper & Red-necked Buzzards, Dark Chanting-Goshawk and the splendid Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle which was new for the trip. On the wires we also found Little Bee-eater, Abyssinian Roller and Purple Glossy-Starling. We had a quick birding stop at a muddy pond which held African Jacana, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper and Hamerkop and also found large numbers of Spur-winged and Wattled Lapwings close to the White Volta River.

There’s no such thing as an ugly bee-eater but Red-throated is particularly beautiful (Charley Hesse)

Our next birding stop was a viewpoint over an open area where we had our first Woodchat Shrike plus Ethiopian & Wire-tailed Swallows and Zitting Cisticola. On the way through a dirty, litter-strewn town we saw a flock of Piapiacs which seem to prefer this type of environment. We had a lunch stop at a restaurant in a shady courtyard where we saw several Dwarf Epauletted Fruit Bats in the top of a tall tree. After lunch we made another stop at a small reed-fringed lake covered in water lilies and other aquatic vegetation. It was mid-afternoon and very hot but we put up with it as the place was heaving with birds. As we approached the viewpoint a small flock of Zebra Waxbills took off. We also had large numbers of Bronze Mannikins and African Silverbills flying around. We identified a large number of small birds in flight as Black-faced Quailfinches by their calls but it was only after I scrambled down the slope and walked around the edge of the water that I managed to photograph one of these tricky birds. Also on the lake were Long-tailed Cormorant, Intermediate Egret, Purple Heron and Eurasian Marsh-Harrier which we saw through the scope but I only had brief flight views of a Greater Painted-Snipe and only heard the rare Lesser Moorhen.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 16 Before reaching the town of Bolgatanga, where we were spending the night, we were to do some birding at the Tongo Hills, a scenic landscape strewn with large boulders. Our main target here was the Fox Kestrel and we spotted a pair circling overhead as soon as we stepped of the bus. Next we walked along the base of the rocks which were interspersed with bushes and other plants. Here there were a large number species, with Black-billed Wood-Dove, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Northern Gray-headed Sparrow, Black-winged Bishop, Black-rumped Waxbill, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu and Red-billed Firefinch. Scanning through all the birds feeding on the open ground I also spotted a pair of Rock-loving Cisticolas which were our second target and good views were had by all. We went to check out a small waterhole where there were a large number of Red-chested Swallows coming down to drink, with just a single Red- rumped Swallow, a new bird for the trip. We also had a stunning male Scarlet-chested Sunbird. One last target bird here was the Mocking Cliff-Chat which we had only glimpsed at Shai Hills at the beginning of the trip. It took a while to locate but eventually we found a nice male for scope views. Just as we were done, a sand storm started brewing and we made quickly for the bus and drove to Bolga. When we arrived at the hotel there was a Speckled Pigeon on the roof to greet us.

Could this be Ghana’s first Golden-breasted Bunting? (Mike Austin)

21st March – Upper White Volta & Tono Dam Today was our big day for the Egyptian Plover, one of the star birds of the trip. Before we got there, we spotted several White-billed Buffalo-Weavers next to their distinctive stick nests along the road. Then we found a spot with many starlings, including both Greater & Lesser Blue-eared, Purple Glossy-Starling and Long-tailed Glossy-Starlings. We also found the Chestnut-bellied Starling which was new for the trip and one of our targets here in the dry north. Before we got to the plover site, we got off the bus to bird some scrubby habitat. Here we had nice views of Vieillot's Barbet along with a good diversity of smaller birds, like Willow Warbler, Rufous Cisticola, Red-winged Prinia, Yellow-fronted Canary, Speckle- fronted Weaver and finally our main target here, the distinctive Cut-throat. We had one big surprise here too. We came across a bunting that had our guide confused. It looked very like Brown-rumped Bunting but had pale patches in the wing. Also the song wasn’t right. Our very experienced local guide was scratching his head and I realised that the bird could be a Golden-breasted Bunting, which wasn’t in the Ghana bird book. The call was a match and we photographed what was very likely be a first record for Ghana.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 17 We arrived at the plover site on the upper White Volta river and started walking along the banks. We found our first pair of Egyptian Plovers almost immediately and had good scope views. They were a little distant for photos and we hope to find some closer birds. We walked further along the river through agricultural areas dotted with trees that were surprisingly productive for birds. Here we saw Speckled Pigeon, Mourning Collared-Dove, Western Plantain-eater, Gray-headed & Pied Kingfishers, Little Bee-eater, Abyssinian & Rufous-crowned Rollers, African Gray Hornbill, Gray Kestrel, Yellow-billed Shrike, African Yellow White-eye and Scarlet-chested Sunbird. For one of the clients, near the top of his wish list was Northern Carmine Bee-eater but to begin with we only had one silhouetted in flight. We finally got much better views of both perched and flying birds much closer and in better light. We saw a sand bar further downstream with many birds on it and we walked closer to check them out. On the way we found more Egyptian Plovers on our side of the river and got great photos of these confiding birds. On the sand bank were Senegal Thick-knee, Black-winged Stilt, many Common Greenshanks and a surprise African Skimmer. Our veteran local guide had never seen it at this location before and it was only his 3rd time. For our second guide it was a life bird, his second for the day. It was getting hot by now and we walked back to our air-conditioned bus and waved at all the friendly locals who had gathered to see us off. We only went as far as a local dam which was full of birds. Here we saw Spur-winged Plover, Long- tailed Cormorant, Hamerkop, Striated Heron, Wattled Lapwing, Common, Green & Wood Sandpipers and our first Common Snipe of the trip. We also had great views Yellow-billed Oxpecker on a cow. It had been a great morning and we drove back to Bolga for lunch and a rest.

The unique Egyptian Plover has finally been put in its own family (Charley Hesse)

In the afternoon we drove to Tono Dam which was not too far from Bolga. We got out downslope from the dam and birded an area of open forest and scrub looking for Four-banded Sandgrouse. We saw several Cinnamon-breasted Buntings straight away and after that we found Northern Red-billed Hornbill, Northern Crombec, Senegal Eremomela and Lesser Honeyguide. We flushed a pair of Spotted Thick- knee which landed nearby and gave us good scope views. Nearby we found a ploughed field where many small birds were feeding. Here we had Sun Lark, Vitelline Masked-Weavers and Red-cheeked Cordonbleus. All of a sudden a pair of Four-banded Sandgrouse flushed and we had good flight views. Next we managed to track down another target, the Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark. Other species seen during the afternoon were Dark Chanting-Goshawk, around 30 Bruce's Green-Pigeons feeding in a fruiting tree, a Green Woodhoopoe flying by, several Senegal Parrots, Double-spurred Francolin and Senegal Coucal. Our last full day of birding drew to a close and we made our way back to Bolga to check on one of our group who wasn’t feeling well and had stayed behind to rest.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 18 22nd March – Bolga to Accra We had a 3 hour drive to the airport in Tamale for our flight back to Accra, so we only had a bit of time for birding on the way. We stopped again at the Nasia wetland. We scoped the lake to find many water birds, including Long-tailed Cormorant, Hamerkop, Purple Heron, Intermediate Egret, Squacco Heron, Purple Swamphen, African Jacana & Malachite Kingfisher. Our main target which we had missed last time was the rare Lesser Moorhen. Scanning the far side of the lake, I finally spotted one although it was rather distant and looking into the sun. We also had a Black-shouldered Kite on a wire and a few other bits and bobs nearby, like Vinaceous Dove, Senegal Coucal and Gray Kestrel. It was a great place for finches and waxbills and we saw Yellow-fronted Canary, Black-rumped Waxbill, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, Black-faced Quailfinch, African Silverbill and Zebra Waxbill, the latter which was the last lifer of the trip for one participant. There were many swallows flying over the water and I managed to pick out a Rufous-chested Swallow from the numerous Red-chested Swallows. We were still hoping to pick up another couple of new birds for the trip which we did with Heuglin's Masked-Weaver in a roadside acacia tree, a Greater Painted-Snipe flying under the bridge, a Great Reed-Warbler skulking in some bushes and a Winding Cisticola in the long grass at the water’s edge. We also got better views of the skulking Moustached Grass-Warbler and added to the mammal list with Greater Cane Rat. A flock of Piapiac were the last noteworthy bird before we stopped for lunch and then went on to the airport for our flight back to Accra where clients connected with their international flights. We counted up our final totals to find our trip list stood at 436 bird species (21sp seen only), with 31 mammals and 7 reptiles. A very respectable number for our recently shortened tour. More importantly we thoroughly enjoyed the very varied birding here, from very tricky rainforest birding in the south to the easier birding in the drier north. We had also got great views of our 2 most important targets, the White-necked Picathartes and Egyptian Plover.

Black-faced Quail-finch is a tricky bird to catch on the ground, let alone photograph (Charley Hesse)

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 19 Bird list Taxonomy follows Clements 6.8 online checklist. Updated Aug 2013 WATERFOWL Anatidae 1 White-faced Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna viduata Seen at Sakamono & Mole. 2 Hartlaub's Duck Pteronetta hartlaubii Seen at mangroves on the way to Ankassa. 3 African Pygmy-Goose Nettapus auritus Seen on the way to Ankassa. GUINEAFOWL Numididae 4 Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris Seen at Shai Hills, Mole & Upper White Volta. NEW WORLD QUAIL Odontophoridae 5 Stone Partridge Ptilopachus petrosus Seen at Shai Hills & Mole. PHEASANTS, GROUSE, ETC. Phasianidae 6 White-throated Francolin Francolinus albogularis Seen at Mole. 7 Double-spurred Francolin Francolinus bicalcaratus Seen at Shai Hills, Mole & Tono Dam. STORKS Ciconiidae 8 Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus Seen at Mole. 9 Saddle-billed Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis Seen at Mole. CORMORANTS Phalacrocoracidae 10 Long-tailed Cormorant Phalacrocorax africanus Seen at Sakamono, Cape Coast & Nasia. HAMERKOP Scopidae Seen at Mole, Lower White Volta area, Tongo 11 Hamerkop Scopus umbretta Hills, Upper White Volta & Nasia. HERONS & EGRETS Ardeidae 12 Dwarf Bittern Ixobrychus sturmii Seen at Ankassa. 13 Gray Heron Ardea cinerea Seen at Sakamono, Mole & Upper White Volta. 14 Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala Seen at Mole. 15 Purple Heron Ardea purpurea Seen at Sakamono, Mole & Nasia. Seen at Sakamono & mangroves on the way to 16 Great Egret Ardea alba Ankassa. 17 Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia Seen at Sakamono, Cape Coast & Nasia. 18 Little Egret Egretta garzetta Seen at Sakamono & Pra River. Seen at Sakamono & mangroves on the way to 19 Western Reef-Heron Egretta gularis Ankassa. 20 Black Heron Egretta ardesiaca Seen at Sakamono. 21 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis Commonly seen throughout. 22 Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides Seen at Sakamono, Mole & Nasia. Seen at Ankassa, Mole, Upper White Volta & 23 Striated Heron Butorides striata Tono Dam. 24 Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax Seen at Mole. IBISES & SPOONBILLS Threskiornithidae 25 Hadada Ibis Bostrychia hagedash Seen at Mole & lover White Volta. HAWKS, EAGLES, & KITES Accipitridae Seen at Accra, on the drive to Mole, near Tongo 26 Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus Hills & Nasia. 27 African Harrier-Hawk Polyboroides typus Seen at Kakum, Ebekaopa & Ankassa. 28 Palm-nut Vulture Gypohierax angolensis Seen at Kakum. 29 European Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus Seen at Winneba Plains. 30 African Cuckoo-Hawk Aviceda cuculoides Seen at Shai Hills & Kakum. 31 White-headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis Vulnerable. Seen at Mole. 32 Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus Endangered. Commonly seen throughout. 33 White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus Endangered. Seen at Mole. 34 Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus Near-threatened. Seen at Mole.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 20 35 Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle Circaetus beaudouini Seen near the lower White Volta. 36 Bat Hawk Macheiramphus alcinus Seen at Ebekaopa. 37 Wahlberg's Eagle Hieraaetus wahlbergi Seen at Mole. 38 Cassin's Hawk-Eagle Aquila africana Seen at Antwikwa. 39 Lizard Buzzard Kaupifalco monogrammicus Seen on the drive to Mole & Mole. Seen on the drive to Mole, near the lower 40 Dark Chanting-Goshawk Melierax metabates White Volta & Tono Dam. 41 Gabar Goshawk Micronisus gabar Seen at Mole. 42 Grasshopper Buzzard Butastur rufipennis Seen at Mole & near the lower White Volta. 43 Eurasian Marsh-Harrier Circus aeruginosus Seen at Sakamono, Winneba Plains & Nasia. 44 Red-chested Goshawk Accipiter toussenelii Seen at Ankassa. 45 Shikra Accipiter badius Seen at Shai Hills & near the lower White Volta. 46 Red-thighed Sparrowhawk Accipiter erythropus Seen at Kakum. 47 Black Goshawk Accipiter melanoleucus Seen at Antwikwa. 48 Black Kite Milvus migrans Commonly seen throughout. 49 African Fish-Eagle Haliaeetus vocifer Seen at Mole. Seen at Winneba Plains, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, 50 Red-necked Buzzard Buteo auguralis Mole & near the lower White Volta. BUSTARDS Otididae 51 Stanley Bustard Neotis denhami Near-threatened. Seen at Mole. 52 Black-bellied Bustard Lissotis melanogaster Seen at Winneba Plains. RAILS & ALLIES Rallidae 53 Nkulengu Rail Himantornis haematopus Heard at Ebekaopa & Ankassa. 54 Black Crake Amaurornis flavirostra Seen at Mole. 55 Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio Seen at Nasia. 56 Lesser Moorhen Gallinula angulata Seen at Nasia. FLUFFTAILS Sarothruridae 57 White-spotted Flufftail Sarothrura pulchra Seen at Antwikwa. FINFOOTS Heliornithidae 58 African Finfoot Podica senegalensis Seen on the way to Ankassa. THICK-KNEES Burhinidae 59 Senegal Thick-knee Burhinus senegalensis Seen at Sakamono, Mole & Upper White Volta. 60 Spotted Thick-knee Burhinus capensis Seen at Tono Dam. EGYPTIAN PLOVER Pluvianidae 61 Egyptian Plover Pluvianus aegyptius Seen at the Upper White Volta. AVOCETS & STILTS Recurvirostridae Seen at Sakamono, Cape Coast & the Upper 62 Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus White Volta. PLOVERS Charadriidae Seen at Sakamono, on the way to Ankassa, 63 Spur-winged Plover Vanellus spinosus Mole, near the lower & upper White Volta. 64 (African) Wattled Lapwing Vanellus senegallus Seen at most sites freshwater sites. Seen at Sakamono & mangroves on the way to 65 Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula Ankassa. 66 Forbes's Plover Charadrius forbesi Seen at Mole. PAINTED-SNIPES Rostratulidae 67 Greater Painted-Snipe Rostratula benghalensis Seen at Nasia. JACANAS Jacanidae 68 African Jacana Actophilornis africanus Seen at most freshwater sites. SANDPIPERS & ALLIES Scolopacidae 69 Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Seen at most freshwater sites.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 21 70 Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Seen at Sakamono & the upper White Volta. 71 Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus Seen at Sakamono. Seen at Sakamono, mangroves on the way to 72 Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia Ankassa & the upper White Volta. Seen at Sakamono & mangroves on the way to 73 Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis Ankassa. Seen at Sakamono, Cape Coast, the lower & 74 Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola upper White Volta. Seen at Sakamono & mangroves on the way to 75 Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus Ankassa. 76 Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa Near-threatened. Seen at Sakamono. 77 Ruff Calidris pugnax Seen at Sakamono. 78 Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea Seen at Sakamono. 79 Little Stint Calidris minuta Seen at Sakamono. 80 Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago Seen at the upper White Volta. COURSERS & PRATINCOLES Glareolidae 81 Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola Seen at Sakamono. 82 Rock Pratincole Glareola nuchalis Seen at Pra River. TERNS Laridae 83 Black Tern Chlidonias niger Seen at Sakamono. 84 Common Tern Sterna hirundo Seen at Cape Coast. 85 Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus Seen at Sakamono & Cape Coast. 86 African Skimmer Rynchops flavirostris Near-threatened. Seen at upper White Volta. SANDGROUSE Pteroclidae 87 Four-banded Sandgrouse Pterocles quadricinctus Seen at Tono Dam. PIGEONS & DOVES Columbidae 88 Rock Pigeon Columba livia Seen in some towns. Seen at Mole, Tongo Hills & the upper White 89 Speckled Pigeon Columba guinea Volta. 90 Bronze-naped Pigeon Columba iriditorques Seen at Aboabo. 91 Mourning Collared-Dove Streptopelia decipiens Seen at the upper White Volta. Seen at Shai Hills, Antwikwa, Brenu, Aboabo, 92 Red-eyed Dove Streptopelia semitorquata Opro & Mole. Seen at Shai Hills, Mole, the upper White Volta 93 Vinaceous Dove Streptopelia vinacea & Nasia. 94 Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis Commonly seen throughout. 95 Black-billed Wood-Dove Turtur abyssinicus Seen at many drier sites. 96 Blue-spotted Wood-Dove Turtur afer Seen at Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, Brenu & Opro. Seen at Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, Aboabo & Opro. 97 Tambourine Dove Turtur tympanistria Heard at Kakum. 98 Blue-headed Wood-Dove Turtur brehmeri Seen at the Picathartes site & heard at Aboabo. 99 Namaqua Dove Oena capensis Seen at Nasia. 100 Bruce's Green-Pigeon Treron waalia Seen at Mole & Tono Dam. Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Opro & Mole. Heard 101 African Green-Pigeon Treron calvus at Picathartes site. TURACOS Musophagidae 102 Great Blue Turaco Corythaeola cristata Seen at Ebekaopa & heard at Ankassa. 103 Guinea Turaco Tauraco persa Heard at Shai Hills, Ebekaopa & Opro. Seen at Antwikwa, Ebekaopa & Ankassa. Heard 104 Yellow-billed Turaco Tauraco macrorhynchus at Kakum. 105 Violet Turaco Musophaga violacea Heard at Shai Hills & Mole. Seen at Shai Hills, Brenu, Mole & the upper 106 Western Plantain-eater Crinifer piscator White Volta.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 22 CUCKOOS Cuculidae 107 Levaillant's Cuckoo Clamator levaillantii Seen at Mole. 108 Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius Heard at Ebekaopa, Aboabo & Picathartes site. 109 Black Cuckoo Cuculus clamosus Heard at Ebekaopa & Picathartes site. 110 African Cuckoo Cuculus gularis Seen at Mole, Upper White Volta & Tono Dam. Seen at Ankassa & Picathartes site. Heard at 111 Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo Cercococcyx olivinus Ebekaopa. Seen at Aboabo. Heard at Kakum, Picathartes 112 Klaas's Cuckoo Chrysococcyx klaas site, Opro & Mole. Seen at Ankassa, Heard at Antwikwa, Aboabo, 113 African Emerald Cuckoo Chrysococcyx cupreus Picathartes site & Mole. Seen at Ebekaopa. Heard on the way to 114 Dideric Cuckoo Chrysococcyx caprius Ankassa, Aboabo & Picathartes site. Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa & Ankassa. Heard at 115 Yellowbill Ceuthmochares aereus Picathartes site. 116 Black-throated Coucal Centropus leucogaster Heard at Kakum & Ebekaopa. 117 Blue-headed Coucal Centropus monachus Seen at Antwikwa & Aboabo. Heard at Shai Hills, Ebekaopa, Brenu, Aboabo, 118 Senegal Coucal Centropus senegalensis Mole, Tono Dam & Nasia. OWLS Strigidae 119 African Scops-Owl Otus senegalensis Seen at Mole. 120 Sandy Scops-Owl Otus icterorhynchus Heard at Ebekaopa. 121 Northern White-faced Owl Ptilopsis leucotis Seen at Mole. 122 Grayish Eagle-Owl Bubo cinerascens Seen at Mole. 123 Akun Eagle-Owl Bubo leucostictus Seen at Ankassa. 124 Pearl-spotted Owlet Glaucidium perlatum Heard at Ankassa & Mole. 125 Red-chested Owlet Glaucidium tephronotum Seen at 126 African Barred Owlet Glaucidium capense Heard at Shai Hills, 127 African Wood-Owl Strix woodfordii Seen at Ankassa. NIGHTJARS Caprimulgidae 128 Standard-winged Nightjar Caprimulgus longipennis Seen at Mole. 129 Brown Nightjar Caprimulgus binotatus Seen at Kakum & Ebekaopa. 130 Plain Nightjar Caprimulgus inornatus Seen at Mole. 131 Long-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus climacurus Seen at Sakamono. Ebekaopa & Mole. SWIFTS Apodidae 132 Mottled Spinetail Telacanthura ussheri Seen at Mole. 133 Black Spinetail Telacanthura melanopygia Seen at Aboabo. 134 Sabine's Spinetail Rhaphidura sabini Seen at Kakum, 135 Cassin's Spinetail Neafrapus cassini Seen at Kakum & Ankassa. 136 Common Swift Apus apus Seen at Antwikwa & Aboabo. 137 Little Swift Apus affinis Seen at most sites. 138 Bates's Swift Apus batesi Seen at Aboabo. 139 Mottled Swift Tachymarptis aequatorialis Seen at Antwikwa, Seen at Winneba Plains, Pra River, Mole, Tongo 140 African Palm-Swift Cypsiurus parvus Hills & the upper White Volta. TROGONS Trogonidae 141 Narina Trogon Apaloderma narina Heard at Opro. KINGFISHERS Alcedinidae 142 Shining-blue Kingfisher Alcedo quadribrachys Seen on the way to Ankassa Seen at Pra River, mangroves on the way to 143 Malachite Kingfisher Corythornis cristatus Ankassa, Mole & Nasia. 144 White-bellied Kingfisher Corythornis leucogaster Seen at Ankassa.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 23 Seen at Shai Hills, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, Aboabo 145 African Pygmy-Kingfisher Ispidina picta & Mole. 146 Dwarf Kingfisher Ispidina lecontei Seen at Ankassa. 147 Chocolate-backed Kingfisher Halcyon badia Seen at Ankassa & heard at Ebekaopa. 148 Gray-headed Kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala Seen at Mole & the upper White Volta. Seen at Ebekaopa, on the way to Ankassa, 149 Woodland Kingfisher Halcyon senegalensis Brenu & Aboabo. 150 Blue-breasted Kingfisher Halcyon malimbica Seen at Opro & Mole. Heard at Ankassa. Seen at Sakamono. Cape Coast & the upper 151 Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis White Volta. BEE-EATERS Meropidae 152 Black Bee-eater Merops gularis Seen at Kakum, Ebekaopa & Ankassa. 153 Blue-headed Bee-eater Merops muelleri Seen at Opro. 154 Red-throated Bee-eater Merops bulocki Seen at Mole & the upper White Volta. Seen at Sakamono. Shai Hills, near the lower 155 Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus White Volta & the upper White Volta. Seen at Shai Hills, Ebekaopa, Ankassa, Brenu & 156 White-throated Bee-eater Merops albicollis Aboabo. 157 Rosy Bee-eater Merops malimbicus Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, 158 Northern Carmine Bee-eater Merops nubicus Seen at the upper White Volta. ROLLERS Coraciidae Seen at Mole, near the lower White Volta, 159 Abyssinian Roller Coracias abyssinicus Upper White Volta & Tono Dam. 160 Rufous-crowned Roller Coracias naevius Seen at Mole & the upper White Volta. 161 Blue-bellied Roller Coracias cyanogaster Seen at Shai Hills & on the drive to Mole. 162 Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus glaucurus Seen at Opro & Mole. Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, Ankassa 163 Blue-throated Roller Eurystomus gularis & Aboabo. WOODHOOPOES Phoeniculidae Seen at Sakamono. Shai Hills & Tono Dam. 164 Green Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus purpureus Heard at Mole. 165 Forest Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus castaneiceps Seen at Aboabo & Opro. 166 Black Scimitar-bill Rhinopomastus aterrimus Seen at Mole. HORNBILLS Bucerotidae 167 White-crested Hornbill Tockus albocristatus Heard at Ebekaopa & Ankassa. 168 Black Dwarf Hornbill Tockus hartlaubi Seen at Ebekaopa. 169 Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill Tockus camurus Seen at Ebekaopa. 170 Northern Red-billed Hornbill Tockus erythrorhychus Seen at Mole, Upper White Volta & Tono Dam. 171 African Pied Hornbill Tockus fasciatus Seen at most forest sites. Seen at Sakamono. Shai Hills, Brenu, Mole, the 172 African Gray Hornbill Tockus nasutus upper White Volta. 173 Piping Hornbill Ceratogymna fistulator Seen at Ebekaopa & heard at Ankassa. 174 Black-casqued Hornbill Ceratogymna atrata Seen at Ankassa & heard at Ebekaopa. 175 Yellow-casqued Hornbill Ceratogymna elata Vulnerable. Seen at Ankassa. GROUND-HORNBILLS Bucorvidae 176 Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus Seen at Mole. BARBETS Lybiidae 177 Bristle-nosed Barbet Gymnobucco peli Seen at Antwikwa & Opro. 178 Naked-faced Barbet Gymnobucco calvus Seen at Kakum & Ebekaopa 179 Speckled Tinkerbird Pogoniulus scolopaceus Seen at Antwikwa, Ebekaopa & Aboabo. 180 Red-rumped Tinkerbird Pogoniulus atroflavus Seen at Kakum & heard at Ebekaopa. 181 Yellow-throated Tinkerbird Pogoniulus subsulphureus Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa,

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 24 182 Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird Pogoniulus bilineatus Seen at Shai Hills, 183 Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus chrysoconus Seen at Shai Hills & Mole. Heard at Tono Dam. 184 Yellow-spotted Barbet Buccanodon duchaillui Heard at Ankassa & Aboabo. 185 Hairy-breasted Barbet Tricholaema hirsuta Seen at Kakum. Heard at Ankassa & Aboabo. Seen at Mole & the upper White Volta. Heard 186 Vieillot's Barbet Lybius vieilloti at Shai Hills & Tongo Hills. 187 Bearded Barbet Lybius dubius Seen at Mole. HONEYGUIDES Indicatoridae 188 Thick-billed Honeyguide Indicator conirostris Seen at Ankassa. 189 Lesser Honeyguide Indicator minor Seen at Tono Dam. 190 Spotted Honeyguide Indicator maculatus Seen at Ankassa. 191 Greater Honeyguide Indicator indicator Seen at Shai Hills, WOODPECKERS Picidae 192 African Piculet Sasia africana Seen at Aboabo. 193 Fine-spotted Woodpecker Campethera punctuligera Seen at Mole. 194 Little Green Woodpecker Campethera maculosa Seen at Kakum, 195 Buff-spotted Woodpecker Campethera nivosa Seen at Shai Hills & Ebekaopa. 196 Brown-eared Woodpecker Campethera caroli Seen by the TB guide at Ankassa. 197 Golden-tailed Woodpecker Campethera abingoni Seen at Mole. 198 Cardinal Woodpecker Dendropicos fuscescens Seen at Shai Hills & Mole. 199 Melancholy Woodpecker Dendropicos lugubris Seen at Antwikwa & heard at Aboabo. 200 Fire-bellied Woodpecker Dendropicos pyrrhogaster Seen at Ankassa & Aboabo. Heard at Antwikwa 201 Gray Woodpecker Dendropicos goertae Seen at Mole. FALCONS Falconidae 202 Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus Seen at Accra, 203 Fox Kestrel Falco alopex Seen at Tongo Hills. Seen at Shai Hills, Antwikwa, Opro, Mole, the 204 Gray Kestrel Falco ardosiaceus upper White Volta & Nasia. 205 African Hobby Falco cuvierii Seen at Aboabo. 206 Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus Seen at Shai Hills, PARROTS Psittacidae 207 Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri Seen at Mole. 208 Red-headed Lovebird Agapornis pullarius Heard at Mole. 209 Gray Parrot Psittacus erithacus Vulnerable. Heard at Ankassa. 210 Red-fronted Parrot Poicephalus gulielmi Seen at Antwikwa, Ebekaopa & Aboabo. 211 Senegal Parrot Poicephalus senegalus Heard at Shai Hills, Mole & Tono Dam. BROADBILLS Calyptomenidae 212 Rufous-sided Broadbill Smithornis rufolateralis Seen at Ankassa & heard at Kakum. WATTLE-EYES & BATISES Platysteiridae 213 Brown-throated Wattle-eye Platysteira cyanea Seen at Shai Hills & Mole. Heard at Ebekaopa 214 West African Wattle-eye Platysteira hormophora Seen at Kakum & Ebekaopa. 215 Red-cheeked Wattle-eye Platysteira blissetti Seen at Antwikwa & Ebekaopa. 216 West African Batis Batis (poensis) occulta Seen at Aboabo & heard at Kakum. VANGAS & ALLIES Vangidae 217 Red-billed Helmetshrike Prionops caniceps Seen at Opro & heard at Ankassa. 218 African Shrike-flycatcher Megabyas flammulatus Seen at Kakum. 219 Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher Bias musicus Seen at Ebekaopa. BUSHSHRIKES Malaconotidae 220 Brubru Nilaus afer Seen at Mole & Upper White Volta. 221 Northern Puffback Dryoscopus gambensis Seen at Shai Hills & Mole.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 25 222 Large-billed Puffback Dryoscopus sabini Seen at Kakum & Opro. Seen at Shai Hills, Mole & the upper White 223 Black-crowned Tchagra Tchagra senegalus Volta. 224 Brown-crowned Tchagra Tchagra australis Seen at Ebekaopa. Seen at Accra & Mole. Heard at Shai Hills, 225 Common Gonolek Laniarius barbarus Winneba Plains, Brenu, & the upper White Volta. 226 Sooty Boubou Laniarius leucorhynchus Heard at Ebekaopa. 227 Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike Telophorus sulfureopectus Seen at Brenu. CUCKOOSHRIKES Campephagidae 228 White-breasted Cuckooshrike Coracina pectoralis Seen at Mole. 229 Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike Campephaga phoenicea Seen at Mole. 230 Blue Cuckooshrike Cyanograucalus azureus Seen at Ankassa. SHRIKES Laniidae 231 Northern (Common) Fiscal Lanius humeralis Seen at Ebekaopa & Brenu. 232 Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator Seen at near the lower White Volta. 233 Yellow-billed Shrike Corvinella corvina Seen at Accra, Mole & the upper White Volta. ORIOLES Oriolidae 234 African Golden Oriole Oriolus auratus Seen at Mole. 235 Western Black-headed Oriole Oriolus brachyrhynchus Seen at Ankassa & Opro. Heard at Aboabo. Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, Aboabo 236 Black-winged Oriole Oriolus nigripennis & Opro. DRONGOS Dicruridae 237 Square-tailed Drongo Dicrurus ludwigii Seen at Mole. 238 Shining Drongo Dicrurus atripennis Seen at Ankassa. Seen at Shai Hills, Mole & the upper White 239 Fork-tailed Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis Volta. Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, Aboabo 240 Velvet-mantled Drongo Dicrurus modestus & Opro. MONARCH FLYCATCHERS Monarchidae 241 Blue-headed Crested-Flycatcher Trochocercus nitens Seen at Kakum, Ankassa, Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Heard at Ebekaopa, 242 Black-headed Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone rufiventer Ankassa, Aboabo & Opro. 243 African Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis Seen at Shai Hills & Mole. CROWS & JAYS Corvidae Seen at Brenu, near the lower White Volta & 244 Piapiac Ptilostomus afer near Nasia. 245 Pied Crow Corvus albus Commonly seen throughout. ROCKFOWL Picathartidae Vulnerable. Upper Guinea endemic. Seen at 246 White-necked Rockfowl Picathartes gymnocephalus Picathartes site. NICATORS Nicatoridae Seen at Kakum, Ebekaopa & Opro. Heard at 247 Yellow-spotted Nicator Nicator chloris Antwikwa, Ankassa & Aboabo. LARKS Alaudidae 248 Flappet Lark Mirafra rufocinnamomea Seen at Shai Hills, 249 Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark Eremopterix leucotis Seen at Tono Dam. 250 Sun Lark Galerida modesta Seen at Mole & Tono Dam. SWALLOWS Hirundinidae 251 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica Commonly seen in the south. Seen at Opro, Mole, near the lower White 252 Red-chested Swallow Hirundo lucida Volta, Tongo Hills, the upper White Volta & Nasia.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 26 253 Ethiopian Swallow Hirundo aethiopica Commonly seen throughout. 254 White-throated Blue Swallow Hirundo nigrita Seen at Pra River. 255 Wire-tailed Swallow Hirundo smithii Seen at Mole & near the lower White Volta. 256 Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica Seen at Tongo Hills. 257 Lesser Striped-Swallow Cecropis abyssinica Seen at Antwikwa, Ebekaopa & Aboabo. 258 Rufous-chested Swallow Cecropis semirufa Seen at Nasia. 259 Preuss's Swallow Petrochelidon preussi Seen at Antwikwa, Pra River & Aboabo. 260 Square-tailed Sawwing Psalidoprocne nitens Seen at Ankassa. 261 Fanti Sawwing Psalidoprocne obscura Seen at Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, FAIRY FLYCATCHERS Stenostiridae 262 African Blue-Flycatcher Elminia longicauda Seen at Mole. 263 Dusky Crested-Flycatcher Elminia nigromitrata Seen at Ankassa. TITS Paridae 264 White-shouldered Black-Tit Melaniparus guineensis Seen at Shai Hills & Mole. PENDULINE-TITS Remizidae 265 Forest Penduline-Tit Anthoscopus flavifrons Seen at Aboabo. BULBULS Pycnonotidae Seen at Kakum, Aboabo & Opro. Heard at 266 Slender-billed Greenbul Stelgidillas gracilirostris Ankassa. 267 Golden Greenbul Calyptocichla serinus Seen at Kakum, 268 Common Bristlebill Bleda syndactylus Heard at Kakum & Ankassa. Near-threatened. Upper Guinea endemic. Seen 269 Green-tailed Bristlebill Bleda eximius at Ankassa & heard at Picathartes site. Seen at Ebekaopa & Picathartes site. Heard at 270 Gray-headed Bristlebill Bleda canicapillus Kakum & Ankassa. 271 Simple Greenbul Chlorocichla simplex Seen at Antwikwa, 272 Honeyguide Greenbul Baeopogon indicator Heard at Ebekaopa & Aboabo. 273 Spotted Greenbul Ixonotus guttatus Seen at Ankassa & heard at Ebekaopa. 274 Swamp Greenbul Thescelocichla leucopleura Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Ankassa & Aboabo. 275 Red-tailed Greenbul Criniger calurus Seen at Kakum, Ankassa & Aboabo. 276 Western Bearded-Greenbul Criniger barbatus Seen at Kakum, Ankassa, Vulnerable. Upper Guinea endemic. Seen at 277 Yellow-bearded Greenbul Criniger olivaceus Kakum & Ankassa. 278 Gray Greenbul Eurillas gracilis Seen at Kakum, 279 Ansorge's Greenbul Eurillas ansorgei Seen at Ebekaopa, 280 Plain Greenbul Eurillas curvirostris Seen at Kakum, 281 Yellow-whiskered Greenbul Eurillas latirostris Seen at Kakum, Seen at Ankassa. Heard at Antwikwa, Ebekaopa 282 Little Greenbul Eurillas virens & Aboabo. 283 Icterine Greenbul Phyllastrephus icterinus Seen at Kakum & Ankassa. Seen at Ebekaopa& Picathartes site. Heard at 284 White-throated Greenbul Phyllastrephus albigularis Kakum 285 Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus Commonly seen throughout. AFRICAN WARBLERS Macrosphenidae 286 Green Crombec Sylvietta virens Seen on the way to Ankassa & Aboabo. 287 Lemon-bellied Crombec Sylvietta denti Heard at Kakum. 288 Northern Crombec Sylvietta brachyura Seen at Mole & Tono Dam. 289 Moustached Grass-Warbler Melocichla mentalis Seen at Winneba Plains & Nasia. 290 Kemp's Longbill Macrosphenus kempi Seen at Antwikwa & Ebekaopa. 291 Gray Longbill Macrosphenus concolor Seen at Antwikwa, Heard at Kakum Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa & 292 Green Hylia Hylia prasina Aboabo. Heard at Ankassa & Opro.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 27 BUSH-WARBLERS & ALLIES Cettiidae 293 Chestnut-capped Flycatcher Erythrocercus mccallii Heard at Kakum. LEAF-WARBLERS Phylloscopidae Seen at Shai Hills, Mole, the upper White Volta 294 Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus & Nasia. 295 Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix Seen at Kakum, REED-WARBLERS & ALLIES Acrocephalidae 296 Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta Seen at Mole. 297 Great Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus Seen at Nasia. CISTICOLAS & ALLIES Cisticolidae 298 Black-capped Apalis Apalis nigriceps Seen at Kakum & heard at Ankassa. 299 Yellow-breasted Apalis Apalis flavida Seen at Mole. 300 Sharpe's Apalis Apalis sharpii Upper Guinea endemic. Seen at Kakum & Opro. Seen at Shai Hills, Brenu, Mole, Tono Dam & 301 Green-backed Camaroptera Camaroptera brachyura Nasia. Heard at Aboabo. 302 Yellow-browed Camaroptera Camaroptera superciliaris Seen at Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, 303 Olive-green Camaroptera Camaroptera chloronota Seen at Antwikwa & Aboabo. Seen at Winneba Plains, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, 304 Red-faced Cisticola Cisticola erythrops Brenu & Mole. 305 Singing Cisticola Cisticola cantans Seen at Shai Hills, Winneba Plains & Brenu. 306 Whistling Cisticola Cisticola lateralis Seen at Antwikwa, Ebekaopa & Mole. 307 Rock-loving Cisticola Cisticola aberrans Seen at Tongo Hills. 308 Dorst's Cisticola Cisticola guinea Seen at Mole & Nasia. 309 Winding Cisticola Cisticola galactotes Seen at Nasia. 310 Croaking Cisticola Cisticola natalensis Seen at Shai Hills & Winneba Plains. 311 Siffling Cisticola Cisticola brachypterus Seen at Winneba Plains. 312 Rufous Cisticola Cisticola rufus Seen at Mole & the upper White Volta. Seen at Sakamono. near the lower White Volta 313 Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis & the upper White Volta. 314 Black-necked Cisticola Cisticola eximius Seen at Sakamono. 315 Oriole Warbler Hypergerus atriceps Seen at Shai Hills & Mole. 316 Tawny-flanked Prinia Prinia subflava Seen at Mole. Tongo Hills & Tono Dam. Seen at Winneba Plains, Brenu, Mole & the 317 Red-winged Prinia Prinia erythroptera upper White Volta. 318 Senegal Eremomela Eremomela pusilla Seen at Shai Hills, Mole & Tono Dam. 319 Rufous-crowned Eremomela Eremomela badiceps Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa & Aboabo. WHITE-EYES Zosteropidae Seen at Sakamono, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, Mole 320 African Yellow White-eye Zosterops senegalensis & the upper White Volta. FULVETTAS & GROUND BABBLERS Pellorneidae 321 Pale-breasted Illadopsis Illadopsis rufipennis Seen at Ankassa. 322 Blackcap Illadopsis Illadopsis cleaveri Seen at Ankassa & heard at Opro. 323 Puvel's Illadopsis Illadopsis puveli Seen at Antwikwa & heard at Ebekaopa. LAUGHINGTHRUSHES Leiothrichidae 324 Blackcap Babbler Turdoides reinwardtii Seen at Shai Hills & heard at Mole. 325 Brown Babbler Turdoides plebejus Seen at Sakamono & Mole. HYLIOTAS Hyliotidae 326 Violet-backed Hyliota Hyliota violacea Seen at Kakum & Aboabo. OLD WORLD FLYCATCHER Muscicapidae 327 Northern Black-Flycatcher Melaenornis edolioides Seen at Mole. 328 African Forest-Flycatcher Fraseria ocreata Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Aboabo & Opro.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 28 329 Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata Seen at Shai Hills, 330 Ussher's Flycatcher Muscicapa ussheri Seen at Kakum & Aboabo. 331 Swamp Flycatcher Muscicapa aquatica Seen at Mole. 332 Dusky-blue Flycatcher Muscicapa comitata Seen at Antwikwa, Ankassa & Aboabo. 333 Tessmann's Flycatcher Muscicapa tessmanni Near-threatened. Seen at Kakum. 334 Cassin's Flycatcher Muscicapa cassini Seen at Ankassa. 335 Gray-throated Tit-Flycatcher Myioparus griseigularis Seen at Ankassa & heard at Picathartes site. 336 Gray Tit-Flycatcher Myioparus plumbeus Seen at Antwikwa, 337 Fire-crested (White-tailed) Alethe Alethe diademata Seen at Kakum & Ankassa. 338 Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat Cossypha cyanocampter Seen at Ebekaopa. 339 Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat Cossypha niveicapilla Seen at Mole & heard Shai Hills. 340 White-crowned Robin-Chat Cossypha albicapilla Seen at Mole. 341 Forest Robin Stiphrornis erythrothorax Seen at Kakum, 342 European Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca Seen at Mole. 343 Whinchat Saxicola rubetra Seen at Shai Hills, Winneba Plains, 344 White-fronted Black-Chat Myrmecocichla albifrons Seen at Mole. 345 Mocking Cliff-Chat Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris Seen at Shai Hills & Tongo Hills. THRUSHES Turdidae 346 Finsch's Flycatcher-Thrush Neocossyphus finschii Seen at Ebekaopa & heard at Antwikwa. 347 White-tailed Ant-Thrush Neocossyphus poensis Seen at Kakum & Ankassa, 348 African Thrush Turdus pelios Seen at Shai Hills & Mole. STARLINGS Sturnidae 349 Greater Blue-eared Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis chalybaeus Seen at the upper White Volta. 350 Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis chloropterus Seen at the upper White Volta. 351 Bronze-tailed Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis chalcurus Seen at Mole & the upper White Volta. 352 Splendid Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis splendidus Seen at on the way to Ankassa & Aboabo. Seen at Accra, Sakamono, Mole, the lower & 353 Purple Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis purpureus upper White Volta. 354 Long-tailed Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis caudatus Seen at Mole & the upper White Volta. 355 Chestnut-bellied Starling Lamprotornis pulcher Seen at the upper White Volta. Near-threatened. Upper Guinea endemic. Seen 356 Copper-tailed Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis cupreocauda at Kakum & Ebekaopa. 357 Chestnut-winged Starling Onychognathus fulgidus Seen at Kakum, Seen at Antwikwa, Mole & the upper White 358 Violet-backed Starling Cinnyricinclus leucogaster Volta. OXPECKERS Buphagidae 359 Yellow-billed Oxpecker Buphagus africanus Seen at the upper White Volta. SUNBIRDS Nectariniidae 360 Scarlet-tufted Sunbird Deleornis fraseri Seen at Kakum, Ebekaopa & Ankassa. 361 Western Violet-backed Sunbird Anthreptes longuemarei Seen at Mole. 362 Mouse-brown Sunbird Anthreptes gabonicus Seen at mangroves on the way to Ankassa. 363 Little Green Sunbird Anthreptes seimundi Seen at Kakum & Aboabo. 364 Green Sunbird Anthreptes rectirostris Seen at Kakum, Ebekaopa & Aboabo. Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa & 365 Collared Sunbird Hedydipna collaris Aboabo. 366 Pygmy Sunbird Hedydipna platura Seen at Mole. 367 Reichenbach's Sunbird Anabathmis reichenbachii Seen at mangroves on the way to Ankassa. 368 Green-headed Sunbird Cyanomitra verticalis Seen at Shai Hills, Ebekaopa & Mole. 369 Blue-throated Brown Sunbird Cyanomitra cyanolaema Seen at Kakum, Ankassa & Aboabo. 370 Western Olive Sunbird Cyanomitra obscura Seen at Ankassa. 371 Buff-throated Sunbird Chalcomitra adelberti Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa & Opro.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 29 Seen at Mole, Tongo Hills & the upper White 372 Scarlet-chested Sunbird Chalcomitra senegalensis Volta. 373 Olive-bellied Sunbird Cinnyris chloropygius Seen at Shai Hills, Ebekaopa & Aboabo. 374 Tiny Sunbird Cinnyris minullus Seen at Kakum & Aboabo. Heard at Ankassa. 375 Beautiful Sunbird Cinnyris pulchellus Seen at Mole. 376 Splendid Sunbird Cinnyris coccinigastrus Seen at Shai Hills & Brenu. 377 Johanna's Sunbird Cinnyris johannae Seen at Kakum & on the way to Ankassa, 378 Superb Sunbird Cinnyris superbus Seen at Antwikwa & Ebekaopa. Seen at Shai Hills, Winneba Plains, Brenu, Mole 379 Copper Sunbird Cinnyris cupreus & the upper White Volta. WAGTAILS & PIPITS Motacillidae 380 Western Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava Seen at Sakamono. 381 African Pied Wagtail Motacilla aguimp Seen at Kakum & on the way to Ankassa. 382 Plain-backed Pipit Anthus leucophrys Seen at Sakamono, Winneba Plains, 383 Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis Seen at Shai Hills, BUNTINGS Emberizidae 384 Cinnamon-breasted Bunting Emberiza tahapisi Seen at Tongo Hills & Tono Dam. 385 Brown-rumped Bunting Emberiza affinis Seen at Mole. 386 Golden-breasted Bunting Emberiza flaviventris Seen at the upper White Volta. SISKINS, CROSSBILLS, & ALLIES Fringillidae Seen at Winneba Plains, Mole, the upper White 387 Yellow-fronted Canary Serinus mozambicus Volta & Nasia. 388 Streaky-headed Seedeater Serinus gularis Seen at Mole. SPARROWS Passeridae Seen at Accra, Sakamono, Brenu, Opro, Mole & 389 Northern Gray-headed Sparrow Passer griseus Tongo Hills. 390 Bush Petronia Petronia dentata Seen at Mole, WEAVERS Ploceidae 391 White-billed Buffalo-Weaver Bubalornis albirostris Seen at the upper White Volta. 392 Speckle-fronted Weaver Sporopipes frontalis Seen at the upper White Volta. 393 Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver Plocepasser superciliosus Seen at Mole. 394 Red-vented Malimbe Malimbus scutatus Seen at Antwikwa, Ankassa & Aboabo. Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, Ankassa 395 Gray's Malimbe Malimbus nitens & Aboabo. 396 Crested Malimbe Malimbus malimbicus Seen at Ebekaopa & Aboabo. Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa & 397 Red-headed Malimbe Malimbus rubricollis Aboabo. 398 Little Weaver Ploceus luteolus Seen at Mole & the upper White Volta. 399 Black-necked Weaver Ploceus nigricollis Seen at Accra, Antwikwa. 400 Orange Weaver Ploceus aurantius Seen at mangroves on the way to Ankassa, 401 Vitelline Masked-Weaver Ploceus vitellinus Seen at Tono Dam. 402 Heuglin's Masked-Weaver Ploceus heuglini Seen at Nasia. Seen at Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, on the way to 403 Vieillot's Weaver Ploceus nigerrimus Ankassa, Brenu, Aboabo & Opro. Seen at Accra, Sakamono, Antwikwa, Brenu & 404 Village Weaver Ploceus cucullatus Aboabo. 405 Black-headed Weaver Ploceus melanocephalus Seen at Mole. 406 Yellow-mantled Weaver Ploceus tricolor Seen at Kakum & Aboabo. 407 Maxwell's Black Weaver Ploceus albinucha Seen at Kakum & Ankassa. 408 Preuss's Weaver Ploceus preussi Seen at Kakum & Aboabo. 409 Red-headed Quelea Quelea erythrops Seen at Ebekaopa, Aboabo & Opro. 410 Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea Seen at Mole & the upper White Volta.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 30 411 Orange Bishop Euplectes franciscanus Seen at Mole. Seen at Ebekaopa, Brenu, Aboabo, Mole & 412 Black-winged Bishop Euplectes hordeaceus Tongo Hills. 413 Yellow-shouldered Widowbird Euplectes macroura Seen at Winneba Plains & Brenu. WAXBILLS & ALLIES Estrildidae Seen at Kakum, Antwikwa, Ebekaopa & 414 Gray-headed Nigrita Nigrita canicapillus Aboabo. Heard at Ankassa. 415 Chestnut-breasted Nigrita Nigrita bicolor Seen at Kakum, Ebekaopa & Ankassa. 416 White-breasted Nigrita Nigrita fusconotus Seen at Antwikwa & Aboabo. 417 Lavender Waxbill Estrilda caerulescens Seen at Mole. 418 Orange-cheeked Waxbill Estrilda melpoda Seen at Antwikwa & Mole. Heard at Brenu. Seen at Brenu, Mole, Tongo Hills, the upper 419 Black-rumped Waxbill Estrilda troglodytes White Volta & Nasia. 420 Western Bluebill Spermophaga haematina Seen at Kakum & heard at Ebekaopa. 421 Black-bellied Seedcracker Pyrenestes ostrinus Seen at Ebekaopa. Seen at Mole, Tongo Hills, the upper White 422 Red-cheeked Cordonbleu Uraeginthus bengalus Volta,Tono Dam & Nasia. 423 Red-winged Pytilia Pytilia phoenicoptera Seen at Mole. 424 Red-billed Firefinch Lagonosticta senegala Seen at Mole & Tongo Hills. 425 Bar-breasted Firefinch Lagonosticta rufopicta Seen at Accra, Winneba Plains & Brenu. 426 Black-faced Firefinch Lagonosticta larvata Seen at Mole. 427 African Firefinch Lagonosticta rubricata Seen at Brenu. 428 Cut-throat Amadina fasciata Seen at the upper White Volta. 429 Zebra Waxbill Sporaeginthus subflavus Seen at Nasia. 430 Black-faced Quailfinch Ortygospiza atricollis Seen at Nasia. Seen at Accra, Winneba Plains, Kakum, 431 Bronze Mannikin Spermestes cucullatus Antwikwa, Ebekaopa, Aboabo, Mole & Nasia. 432 Black-and-white Mannikin Spermestes bicolor Seen at Antwikwa. 433 African Silverbill Euodice cantans Seen at the upper White Volta & Nasia. INDIGOBIRDS Viduidae 434 Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura Seen at Ebekaopa & Mole. 435 Long-tailed Paradise-Whydah Vidua interjecta Seen at Mole. 436 Pale-winged Indigobird Vidua wilsoni Seen at Mole.

Mammal list Taxonomy follows Wikipedia.org 1 Olive Baboon Papio anubis Seen at Shai Hills & Mole. 2 Callithris Monkey Cercopithecus sabaeus Seen at Mole. 3 Patas Monkey Cercopithecus patas Seen at Mole. 4 Lowe's Mona Monkey Cercopithecus lowei Heard at Kakum & Ankassa. 5 Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey Cercopithecus petaurista Seen at Shai Hills & Kakum. Heard at Ankassa. 6 Senegal Galago Galago senegalensis Seen at Mole. 7 Demidoff's Galago Galagoides demidoff Seen at Ebekaopa & Ankassa. 8 Gambian Epauletted Fruit Bat Anomalurus pusillus Seen at a restaurant between Tamale & Bolga. 9 Yellow-winged Bat Lavia frons Seen at Mole. 10 Scrub Hare Lepus saxatilis Seen at Mole. 11 Striped Ground Squirrel Euxerus erythropus Seen at Mole. 12 Fire-footed Rope Squirrel Funisciurus pyrropus Seen at Aboabo. 13 Kintampo Rope Squirrel Funisciurus substriatus Seen at Mole. 14 African Giant Squirrel Protoxerus stangeri Seen at Ankassa. 15 Slender-tailed Squirrel Protoxerus aubinnii Seen at Kakum,

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 31 16 Green Bush Squirrel Paraxerus poensis Seen at Ebekaopa, Ankass & Aboabo. 17 Lesser Anomalure Anomalurus pusillus Seen at Ankassa. 18 Giant Pouched Rat Cricetomys gambianus Seen at Kakum & Ankassa. 19 Greater Cane Rat Thryonomys swinderianus Seen at Nasia. 20 Gambian Mongoose Mungos mungo Seen at Mole. 21 Slender Mongoose Herpestes sanguinea Seen at Antwikwa & Brenu. 22 White-tailed Mongoose Ichneumia albicauda Seen at Mole. 23 Common Cusimanse Crossarchus obscurus Seen at Ankassa. 24 Common Genet Genetta genetta Seen at Mole. 25 Western Tree Hyrax Dendrohyrax dorsalis Heard at Kakum, Ebekaopa & Ankassa. 26 African Elephant Loxodonta africana Seen at Mole. 27 Common Warthog Phacochoerus africanus Seen at Mole. 28 Bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus Seen at Mole. 29 Bush Duiker Sylvicapra grimmia Seen at Mole. 30 Kob Kobus kob Seen at Shai Hills & Mole. 31 Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus Seen at Mole.

Reptile list Taxonomy follows Wikipedia.org 1 West African leaf viper Atheris chlorechis Seen at Kakum, 2 Common Agama Agama agama Commonly seen throughout. 3 Tropical House Gecko Hemidactylus mabouia Seen at Kakum, 4 African Fat-tailed Gecko Hemitheconyx caudicinctus Seen at Mole. 5 Rainbow Skink Mabuya margaritifer Seen at Tono Dam. 6 Nile Monitor Varanus niloticus Seen at Mole. 7 Nile Crocodile Crocodylus niloticus Seen at Mole.

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