Birding and Beyond in Coastal Kenya

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B C NewsletterNewsletter ooff tthehe BBritishritish ColumbiaColumbia FFieldield OOrnithologistsrnithologists ISSN 1206-1611 Volume 17 Number 4 / December 2007 In This Issue Birding and beyond in coastal Kenya ......................................................1 BCFO Offi cers and Directors; Membership Information;...............2 President’s report.............................3 Internet sources / Editor’s notes and notions ..........................................4 Treasurer’s report. ...........................5 2008 BCFO Annual General Meeting ......................................................6 Birding in Kenya, cont................ 7-12 Checklist of BC Birds / Journal and newsletter back issues ................13 White Backs Upcoming meetings and evernts .............................................. 14-15 BC Birding News Briefs / BCFO Birding and Beyond in Coastal Kenya award for ornithology, nominations requested ...................................16 Some time ago my father-in-law gave me a drawing. I don’t recall the Morris Myna / Bridge baffl es birds .17 occasion, but the images immediately caught my attention. The drawing is of a fl ock of ducks lifting off from a sparsely-treed landscape. The Museum buys rare guide ...............18 sketch is titled “White Backs.” I eventually consulted Madge and Burn’s Birds of Ekati, NWT ................. 19-21 waterfowl guide and discovered that my white backs came from Africa. Bird Listers’ Corner ........................21 The ducks found a home in my offi ce at the university, and whenever Help Wanted / Book Announcement visitors asked about them I retold the story and remarked on the / BCFO research grants / Library unlikelihood of ever seeing these creatures “in the fl esh.” news............................................22 Yet last April found us on a fl ight headed for Kenya. Together with Christmas Bird Count dates, 2007/08 ................................. 23-25 a small group from A Rocha Canada my wife Jenny and and I were travelling to an international conference in the coastal town of Watamu, Authors in this Issue / Advertisement ....................................................26 situated between Malindi & and Mombasa. Delegates from twenty-one Advertisements........................ 27-28 please see Kenya, page 7 Volume 17, Number 4 1 BCFO Offi cers and Directors PRESIDENT Jim Ginns BC Birding, ISSN 1206-1611, is published four times a year by British 1970 Sutherland Road, Penticton, BC V2A 8T8 Columbia Field Ornithologists (BCFO), P.O. Box 8059 Victoria, B.C. V8W 3R7 250-492-9610 / [email protected] PAST PRESIDENT A subscription to this quarterly is a benefi t of membership in the society. Sandra Kinsey Members will also receive a copy of the annual journal, British Columbia 9860 Alpine Drive, Prince George, BC V2N 5W7 Birds. Membership in BCFO is open to anyone interested in the study and 250-963-8381 (phone/fax) / [email protected] enjoyment of wild birds in British Columbia. VICE PRESIDENT Kevin Bell 1302 Sunnyside Drive, North Vancouver, BC V7R 1B1 BCFO objectives include fostering cooperation between amateur and 604-980-9085 professional ornithologists, promoting cooperative bird surveys and research TREASURER projects, and supporting conservation organizations in their efforts to preserve Andrew Stewart birds and their habitats. 3932 Telegraph Bay Road, Victoria, BC V8N 4H7 250-477-1328 / [email protected] Since November, 2003, BCFO has maintained an offi cial partnership with the RECORDING SECRETARY Changhwa Wild Bird Society, Changhwa, Taiwan. Laure Neishe 186 Dewdney Cr., Penticton, BC V2A 7Z6 250-490-3635 / [email protected] DIRECTORS Membership Dues Wayne Diakow 9840 Waller Court, Richmond, BC V7E 5S9 Please send membership requests, or requests for further information, to 604-275-2753 / [email protected] Membership Jude Grass 17375 27A Avenue British Columbia Field Ornithologists Surrey, BC V3S 0E9 P.O. Box 8059, Victoria, BC V8W 3R7 604-538-8774 / [email protected] Tony Greenfi eld Membership Dues: P.O. Box 319, Sechelt, BC V0N 3A0 604-885-5539 / greenfi [email protected] Individual memberships .......................................$25.00 Les Gyug Library subscriptions.............................................$25.00 3130 Ensign Way, Westbank, BC V4T 1T9 250-769-5907 / [email protected] Junior memberships (age under 18).....................$18.00 John Vooys U.S. and foreign memberships..............................$25.00 ($US) 3721 Nicola St., Abbotsford, BC V2T 4Z9 604-850-3757 / [email protected] Memberships are for the calendar year. MEMBERSHIP Rita Wege 2684 Davidson Road, Castlegar, BC V1N 4P9 250-359-7234 / [email protected] Newsletter Submissions ARCHIVIST Kevin Bell Send material for publication in any format to the editor. Submissions may 1302 Sunnyside Drive, North Vancouver, BC V7R 1B1 include bird fi nding information for our “Site Guide” series and any articles 604-980-9085 about birding experiences, preferably but not necessarily in British Columbia. NEWSLETTER EDITOR A brief biographical sketch (5--100 words) should accompany the article if the Phil Henderson editor does not have a recent version or you wish to change it. P.O. Box 615, Fort Langley, BC V1M 2R9 604-888-1571 / [email protected] Please send newsletter submissions to JOURNAL EDITOR John B. Sprague Phil Henderson (Editor, BC Birding) 474 Old Scott Road, Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 2L7 Box 615, Fort Langley, BC V1M 2R9 250-537-0760 / [email protected] 604-888-1571 / [email protected] NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTION Ted Goshulak Deadline for the receipt of material for publication is the 15th of the month 9578 - 212 B St., Langley, BC V1M 1N4 preceding the March, June, September, and December issues. 604-888-0408 / [email protected] LIAISON, CHANGHWA WILD BIRD SOCIETY Jo Ann MacKenzie 15341–21 Avenue, Surrey, BC V4A 6A8 Advertising 604-538-1676 / [email protected] Advertising rates are available upon request. BCFO Website http://www.bcfo.ca 2 BC Birding, December 2007 President’s Report The appearance in mid-October of a “trash birds”. A poll of our group for the brilliant with thousands of stars. Next Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Cawston stirred- “best bird” had opinions as varied as the morning we discovered that our camp up a rather dull autumn birding season. number of birders. However, getting “to- was in the middle of a feeding area for Carloads of birders fl ocked to see the lone die-for” looks at a group of three Hoopoes ±300 Eurasian Skylarks. A couple of bird and for most of them it performed was highly ranked as was the Fire-tailed Northern Harriers quartered across the admirably. The stampede led one birder Myzornis, a small but brightly coloured, marshy valley bottom and cranes started to try to sell his carbon credits to those active bird of oak forests. The Ibisbill, a moving from roosting sites to feeding who had burnt liters and liters to get to chicken-sized bird, with a long, down- areas. Wonderful to see and hear these Cawston. I was there on a windy, rainy curved, red bill and long, lavender legs, is magnifi cent birds. and cold October 18 but failed to see the a sight that won’t soon be forgotten. The Cuckoo. Ten minutes after our carload left sole Black Stork and the Black-necked the bird was spotted! Some days you can’t Cranes got votes. Several of us thought The BCFO directors met via conference win!! the White-bellied Herons Ardea insignis call on October 16 and dealt with a were the cream-of-the-crop. It is not a number of items. For example, 1) BC The next few weeks were some consolation brilliantly coloured bird and they kinda Breed Bird Atlas committee: Tony replaces for missing the Cawston Cuckoo when stand around looking in the water for Jude as BCFO’s alternate on the committe. I saw Black-winged Stilts in Bangkok, minutes on end but they are one of the Black Kites in Calcutta, Purple Sunbird 2) Mailing costs: Ted Goshuluk pointed most endangered bird species in the world. in Darjeeliing, Scarlet Minivets in Sikkim out that costs of mailing the journal and The Worldwide population is estimated to and White-bellied Herons in Bhutan. newsletters to some foreign address is be nearly 200 and 26 have been tallied in My species total for the trip was 189 and more than the annual dues. Some options Bhutan. When we spotted fi ve in one day most were “lifers”. I was surprised to see included posting pdf fi le of newsletters several of us thought that was Awesome! on the Indian subcontinent a number of and a postal surcharge for foreign species that I had seen in North America At the Black-necked Crane (Grus addresses. or Europe; such as Eurasian Wigeon, nigricollis, throng throng karm or the 3) Membership coordinator: Rita Pochard, Common Merganser, Northern heavenly birds) festival in the wide, Wege wishes to pass the job on. See the Harrier, Common Kingfi sher, Barn glacial, alpine wetland of the Phobjikha advertisement in this issue. Swallow, and Eurasian Tree Sparrow. valley (162 km2, ± 2900 m (9500’) elev.) there were speeches and singing 4) Bird checklist: The Birds of British Our birding was principally in western and dances. Although there was lots Columbia checklist continues to be Bhutan, where we were mainly around of entertainment and stalls selling popular. Links between the checklist 2120 m (7000’) elevation but sometimes everything from vegetables and beetle-nut committee and a rare birds records were above 3640 m (12000’ ). The packets to barbie dolls, the purpose of the committee were discussed. vegetation varied with the elevation and festival is to convince the local farmers aspect. But getting off the road to chase- Recently a letter arrived from Bird that it is in their interest to protect the down birds was diffi cult as the roads Studies Canada. It dealt mainly with their cranes. Loss and degradation of habitat follow the contours of steep hillsides, i.e., Baillie Birdathon program and we were in the wintering areas are the main it was straight up or straight down! The pleasantly surprised to fi nd that some threats to the cranes, where wetlands wild cherries were full of pink blooms and Birdathon participants had designated are being altered by draining, dam a number of other plants were blooming, BCFO as their “partner”.
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  • HOST LIST of AVIAN BROOD PARASITES - 2 - CUCULIFORMES - Old World Cuckoos

    HOST LIST of AVIAN BROOD PARASITES - 2 - CUCULIFORMES - Old World Cuckoos

    Cuckoo hosts - page 1 HOST LIST OF AVIAN BROOD PARASITES - 2 - CUCULIFORMES - Old World cuckoos Peter E. Lowther, Field Museum version 28 Mar 2014 This list remains a working copy; colored text used often as editorial reminder; strike-out gives indication of alternate names. Names prefixed with “&” or “%” usually indicate the host species has successfully reared the brood parasite. Notes following names qualify host status or indicate source for inclusion in list. Important references on all Cuculiformes include Payne 2005 and Erritzøe et al. 2012 (the range maps from Erritzøe et al. 2012 can be accessed at http://www.fullerlab.org/cuckoos/.) Note on taxonomy. Cuckoo taxonomy here follows Payne 2005. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that brood parasitism has evolved in 3 clades within the Cuculiformes with monophyletic groups defined as Cuculinae (including genera Cuculus, Cerococcyx, Chrysococcyx, Cacomantis and Surniculus), Phaenicophaeinae (including nonparasitic genera Phaeniocphaeus and Piaya and the brood parasitic genus Clamator) and Neomorphinae (including parasitic genera Dromococcyx and Tapera and nonparasitic genera Geococcyx, Neomorphus, and Guira) (Aragón et al. 1999). For host species, most English and scientific names come from Sibley and Monroe (1990); taxonomy follows either Sibley and Monroe 1990 or Peterson 2014. Hosts listed at subspecific level indicate that that taxon sometimes considered specifically distinct (see notes in Sibley and Monroe 1990). Clamator Clamator Kaup 1829, Skizzirte Entwicklungs-Geschichte und natüriches System der Europäischen Thierwelt ... , p. 53. Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, Clamator coromandus (Linnaeus 1766) Systema Naturae, ed. 12, p. 171. Distribution. – Southern Asia. Host list. – Based on Friedmann 1964; see also Baker 1942, Erritzøe et al.