ARQUIVOS DO MUSEU BOCAGE Nova Série, Vol III, N.o 19, pp. 503 - 528 30 de Maio de 2003 FIFTH REPORT ON BIRDS FROM THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS, INCLUDING RECORDS OF 15 TAXA NEW TO THE ARCHIPELAGO CORNELlS J. HAZEVOET (') INTRODUCTION This is lh e fifth sup plemenl lo The birds oflhe Cape Verde Islands (HAZEVOET, 1995). Previous updates were presented by HAZEVOET( 1997, 1998, I 999a) and HAZEVOET el 01. ( 1996). Most data in lh e currenl report concem lh e years 1999-2002, but records fmm earli er years lhat came to li ght after lhe pub li cat ion ofprevious supplements are also included. Wit h an ever increasi ng number af natu rali sts visiting lh e islands , it is not surprisin g lh al reeords of ' new' taxa can be added to the Cape Ve rd e I ist al a steady rate. Additiona ll y, several taxa lhat were on ly rarely recorded in lhe past are n QW known to be regul ar visitors. The growing interest in lhe birds af lhe Cape Verde Islands prov ides an exce ll ent opportu ni ty to leam more aboLlt lh e tempo ral and spati al distribution ofboth lhe resident and migra nt av ifa un a and it is hoped lh at observers w i]] co ntinu e to submit their records for inc lu si on in these reports. As detai led be low, the situation of seve ra l ofthe endemic breedi ng birds is less promi si ng. Whi le some are on the brink of extinct ion (e. g. Ardea bournei), ot hers (e.g. Mi/vlIs fosciicauda) may already have bee n gone forever. Attempts ove r the past (I) M use u e Laboratório Zoo lóg ico c An tropo lóg ico (Museu Bocage). Museu N acional de lIistór ia Natural. Ruada Escola Politécnica 58.1250- 102 Lisboa. Portugal (cjha zcvoc t@ fc_uLpt) 504 Cornelis J. Hazevoel decades to develop progralTI mc s and proj ec ts to safeguard the rarer end emic birds have had liule or no effeel. This is at least partly due to the laek ofloeal naturalists as we l! as to lh e absence Df non-govc rnm ent al organi sat ions concerned with lh e preservatiol1 ofnature and bi odiversity. Moreover, conservation ofthe rcmaining and impoverished endemic fau na has clearly n01 becn hi gh 011 the agenda of subsequent Cape Verde governmenls an d environmcntal awarcness among the population is minimal or absent. Nevertheless and against ali odds, a handful Df de voted expatriatc work ers continue with th eir allcmpts to raise local interest in lhese issues and wc can only hope th at their elforts will be rewarded one day. Unl ess stated ot herwise, genera l data on di str ibution , statu s, numb erofrecords, etc. in the following are taken from HAZEVOET ( 1995, 1997, 1998, I 999a) and HAZEVOET et aI. ( 1996). ln lh e taxon accounts, island s are li sted in clock-wi sc arder, starting wi th lhe main island o fSantiago. Taxonomy follows HAZEVOET ( 1995) and SANGSTER el ai. ( 1999). As in previous reports, reeords ofrare taxa were serutinized by Helder Costa (Portuguese rarit ies committee), C.S. Rose laar (Dutch rarities committee), and the author. Abbreviati ons used to indicate observe rs are as follo ws: BA - Bud Anderson ; BC - Max Berlijn & Tony Clarke; BF - Leo Boon & Tommy Frandsen; CD - Colin Dodsworth el ai.; HB - I-Ian Blankert; JPS - Jean-Philippe Siblct el ai.; MHK - Manrred & Heidi Koeh; MP - Marce l Peters el ai.; PC - Paul Carler; PD - Paul Donald el aI.; PG - Phil ippe Geni cz; TRS - Tito & Rafa Salvadores. BREEDING BIRDS ln thi s seclion , additional data 0 11 Cape Verde breedin g birds are presented, in cluding range expansion s wi thin lh e archipelago, new bree ding sites , data 011 rare endemic taxa, new ar rare rcco rds for a part icular island , as we ll as ot her notewo rthy observat ions. Phaethon aelhereus LINNAEUS, 1758 SA NTO ANTÃO: a 5mall co lony af abou t 10 pairs along lhe coast c. 3 km narth af Ta rrafal, 17 April 200 I (JPS). This foll ows the earli er re pol1 of c. 15 birds in lh e sa mc area in Febru ary 1995 an d co nstilules a hitherto unknown breeding site of Red-billed T ropi cbird, th e only one known 011 Santo Antão. Ardea cinerea L1NNAEUS, 1758 SANTO A NTÃO: a nest with you llg a1 Tarrafal, 2 Ju ne 20 00 (PALACIOS & BARONE, 200 1), and again a breedillg pair there, 17 Apri l 200 1 (JPS). Grey Heron is a not Fifih reporl on birds from lhe Cape Verde Islands 505 uncommon migrant visitor to the Cape Verde Islands, but th ese are the first breeding record s. Ardea bournei DE NA UROIS, 1966 Co un ts of th e endcmic heran in lhe colony at Banana, Ribeira Montanha, Santiago, in th e years 2000-2002, yield ed the fo ll owing results: e ight adults and 10 j uveni les, 15 March 2000 (BC), six adults and four j uveniles, 28 Decembcr 2000 (HB), eight (including juveniles), with about fi ve out of c. 15 nests appearin g busy, 9 November 200 I (PC), eight adults and sixj uveniles, 29 November-I December 200 I, wh ile young in one nest we re sti ll be in g fcd and adults were busy bui lding nests for a second brood (MP), and at least 13- 15 (including juveniles), 2 March 2002 (BF). Due to abundant rai ns during th e last months of 1999 and 200 I, the food situation \Vas probably rather favourable and breeding at th e Banana colony appears to have becn re lative ly successfu l. At Boa Entrada, lhe only other knowll breedin g site 011 Sa nti ago, a dea d but full grown youn g and tWQ poss ibl y rece ntly uscd nests were found, 15 March 2000 (BC). During subsequent visits on 28 December 2000 (HB), 20 April 200 I (JPS), 7 November 200 I (PC), 30 November 200 I (MP), and 2 March 2002 (BF), no herons were present and the colony has apparently been aband oned, probably due to the constant ha rassment by youth fro m the nearby v ill age and other distu rbances, including shooting (cf. HAZEVOET, 1999a). Today lh e entire po pu latioll ofthe endemi c heron appcars to be concentrated at the Banana co lony. The taxon may ncvcr have been parti cularl y nu merou s, but during th e 1960s th e population numbered at least c. 100 birds (HAZEVOET, 1992, 1995). A colony at São Dom ingos, \V hi ch held 30 pairs in 1963 and 50-60 pairs in 1966, disappeared in the early 1970s when th e trees we re felled. At present the total population does probably not exceed c. 20 birds. The news that villagers at Banana had caught and eaten at least 10 herons during th e fi rst months of 2000 (HAZEVOET, 200 I) is not particularly encouragin g in this respect. Milvus fasciicauda I-IARTERT, 19 14 Milv us migra ns (BODDAERT, 1783) SANTO ANTÃO: seven sigh tin gs or kites (Iargest group-size tive) in the Ribeira Grande area, 24 March-6 Apri! 1998, were inferred to befasciicallda(BA). SÃo VICENTE: two ki tes near Mi ndelo, 12 March 2000, were said to be ei th er fasciicallda or jasciicauda x migrans (Be). RAso-BRANCO: one migrans f1y ing ove r sea bel ween lhe islets, 25 February 2002 (CD). BOAV ISTA : a kite near Cabeço de Ta rafes-Morro Negro, 15 July 1997 (PG; GEN IEZ & LOPEZ-JURADO, 1998), was cl aimed to befasciicallda. ln ad dit ion, there we re report s of four kites on Boav ista and up to 10 on M aio in Ju ly­ August 200 I, a ll eged ly inc lu ding fasciicallda, migrans, as well as hybrid s fasciica llda x migrans (P. LOPEZ SUAREzper BF) . 506 Cornelis J. Hazevoet ln view of the taxonomic complexity of the Cape Verde kite situation (cf. OE NAUROIS, 1972; HAlEVOET 1995), ali ofthese record s should be viewed cautiously as to which taxa we re involve d. ln facl it may we ll be the case lhat the few kites surviving in lh e Cape Ve rdes cannot be ass igned to any spec ies-I eve l taxoll in part icular, with in dividua is showing a vary ing mixture of characte rs ofboth migrans andfasciicauda. The current situation of fasciicauda and migrans in lhe Cape Verdes was discussed by HILLE & T"'OLLAV (2000), who concluded that both are in immediate da nger ofextin cti on ifnol already 'techn ica lly extinct', Surveys 0 11 ali maio islands, ex ce pt São Nicolau and Maio, in March -Jun e 1999 resulted in onl y twofasciicauda be in g detcc ted on Sa nto Antão and a single migrans on Boavista ( H rLLE & Tt'1I0LLAY, 2000). The records reported above may thus provide a last g limmer of hope for the surviva l ofkites in lhe Cape Verdes. Attcmpts to capture the kites present on Boavista in the summer of200 1 for an envisioned capt ive breed ing programme were unsuccessful (cf. WATSON, 200 I ; WI LLM ARTH, 200 I). Buteo bannermani SWANN, 19 19 ln the years 1999-2002, the usual numbers ( 1-5) ofbuzzards were reported fTom the interior Of SANTIAGO and from northem SANTOANTÀO (BC, BF, J PS, MP, BARONE el 01., 1999).