Rediscoveryof the MadagascarPoch ard Aythya innotata in northernMadagascar Reddcouvertedu Fuligule de Madagascar'4ytlrya innotata en Madagascardu nord. Le Fuligule de MadagascarAyhya innotata, espBcegravement menacde d'extinction, a it6 reddcouverten novembre2006 sur un petit lac peu profond du nord du pays:jusqu'l cinq miles, quatrefemelles er quatrejeunes d'environ deux semainesont dt6 observds.Lors d'une deuxiBmevisite au site en ddcembre,environ 20 individus ont dti notis et cinq ont dtd trouvdssur un autre lac, ir 3 km du premier.En janvier 2007,16 oiseaux,dont deuxjeunes, ont dti comptds.Le nombretotal de Fuligulesde Madagascarpour les trois visitesest estimd i 20-25 individus. Le site hdbergeait dgalementenviron 60 Grdbesmalgaches Thchybaptus pelzenii,2l Crabiersblancs Ardzola idae, ll CanardsdeMeller Ana melleriet trois RAlesde MadagascarRallus madagascariensis. Summary.The Critically EndangeredMadagascar Pochard Attlryo innotatawas rediscoveredin November 2006 on a small shallow lake in northern Madagascar,where up to five males,four femalesand four young c.2 weeksold were observed.\7hen the site was revisitedin December, c.20 individualswere noted and five were found at anotherlake, 3 km away.In January2007, a total of 16 birds, including two young, was counted.The total number of MadagasarPochards during the three visits is estimatedar 20J5 individuals.Other threatenedwaterbirds present at the site included c.60Madagascar Little GrebesTachybapns pelzenii,Zl MadagascarPond Herons Ardeola idea, ll Mellert Ducl<sAnas melleri and three MadagascarRails Rallus madagacariensis. ,Tth. Critically Endangered Madagascar Butchart et al. 2006, Young & Kear 2006). I Pochard Aythya innotata is the rarest of Initially known only from Lake Alaotra, on the Madagascarteniemic birds and was recendyclas- central plateau of north-easternMadagascar, but sified asone of just 15 speciesin the world that is subsequentlyrecorded elsewhere (Collar & Stuart Possibly Extinct (Birdlife International 2004, 1985), it was consideredrelatively common at Figuresl-3. MadagascarPocherds A1tlrya innotata, northern Madagascar, 2 November2006: a pair with rwo young,an adult male,and a pair (Lily-ArisonRend de Roland/ThePeregrine Fund) Fuligulesde MedagascarAytlrya innotata, Madagascar du nord, 2 novembre2006: un coupleavec deux jeunes, un mile adulte,et un couple(Lily-Arison Reni de Roland/ThePeregrine Fund) Rediscoueryof the MadagascarPochard in northemMadagasear: Renl dz Rolandet al. BullABCVoI 14 No 2 (2tt07)- 171 Alaotrain the 1930s(Delacour 1932,Rand 1936, centre of the lake to resr and roosr, and when Young& Smith 1989,Young & Kear2006). moved towards the edgesdue to wind and wave The decline of the MadagascarPochard prob- action would return swiftly to the middle of the ablycommenced in the 1940sand 1950s,and has lake. been linked with the degradation of lake and The pochards dived frequently, remaining marshlandhabitat by introduced exotic plant and underwaterfor l-2 minutes.The four young also fish species,conversion to rice paddies,and burn- dived, but stayed underwater for shorter dura- ing (Young& Smith 1989). By the 1960ssight- tions. During the two and a half daysof observa- ings at Lake Alaotra had becomerare and the last tions, the pochardswere seento fly from one side observation of more than one bird was at Lake of the lake to the other rwice, and on two occa- Ambohibao in 1970 (Salvan1970,\Iilmd 1994) sionstwo individualsflew togetherfor r.4 minutes and the last confirmed recordin 1991, when a c.l0 m abovethe lake. The birds were silent and lone male was captured by local wildfowlers at showedno signs of competition with, or aggres- Lake Alaotra and subsequently transferred to sion towards, the other waterbirds present. On Antananarivo,where it washeld in the Zoological three occasions,the female with young closely and Botanical Gardensuntil its death a year later consorted with Mellert Ducks and Madagascar 'association' (Vilmd 1993). Despiteintensive searches and a Little Grebes,although this apparent publiciry campaignin the 1990s,the specieswas was quite plausiblycoincidental, not found again (\filme 1994, Pidgeon 1996, This lake and the surrounding areais part of Birdlife International2004). the centralhigh plateauecoregion. The lake is in a In November 2006, L-ARdR and TSS were volcanic depression,is small and surrounded by conducting bird surveysin a remotearea of north- tropical forest in the bowl, and grasslandand for- ern Madagascarwith many small lakesand habi- est on the rim. There is a narrow band (c.15 tats ranging from grasslandto tropical forest.On metres in width) of rceds (Phragrures)bordering I November, an unusual duck with bright white the lake and the nearbyforest. eyeswas found in the middle of a c.28 ha lake, in During the first week of December 2006, L- the company of Vhite-faced Whisding Ducla ARdR and MPHR revisited the lake with Glvn Dendrocygna uiduata, Red-billed Teal Anas ery- Young from the Durell Wildlife Conservation throrhyncha, Mellert Ducks ,4. melleri and, Tiust and observedat leasr 15 adults and nine MadagascarLittle Grebes Thchybaptuspela,enii. k young. At another lake, 3 km from the first, five wasobserved from 14.00to 17.45h usingbinoc- adultswere found, but it is unclearwhether or not ularsand a spotting scope,and the observerscon- thesehad alreadybeen counted at the first lake. cluded that the bird was a MadagascarPochard, On 19-20 January2007, L-ARdR and MPHR basedon it being a brown diving duck with a dark accompaniedby RT, recorded 16 adult pochards head,white irides,white on the flanls and a white and two young c.l0 daysold. On the basisof the wingbar in flight. During the following two days, threevisits, we estimatethe currently known pop- 13 individuals were observedand photographed, ulation of MadagascarPochards at c.20-25 indi- comprising five males, four females and four viduals. Impressivenumbers of other threatened youngof c.2 weela old, which alwayskept closeto waterbirdswere present at the sire,including c.60 an adult female. Adult males had dark brown Madagascar Little Grebes (Vulnerable), 2l plumage which becamewhitish on the belly and Madagascar Pond Herons Ardeola idea undertail-coverts,gleaming white iridesand a lead (Endangered),I I Mellert Ducla (Endangered) grey bill with a black nail. Adult femaleswere and three MadagascarRails Rallus madagascarien- duller with dark brown irides:bill and nail colours szr(Vulnerable). werethe same.Both sexesexhibited a conspicuous white wingbar in flight. Discussion Pochards were always encountered in twos Madagascar Pochard closely resembles (male-maleor male-female)or trios (one male FerruginousDuck Aythyanyroca and Hardhead,4. 'groups' with two females),and all such main- australis.All are small brown diving ducks that are tained closecontact. They appearedto prefer the sexually dimorphic in eye colour. Australian 172- BullABC Vol 14 No 2 (2:N7) Rediscoueryof thc MadagasearPochard in northernMadagascar: RenC de Rolandet al. Hardhead is restricted to the Australian region, lakes. The site of the rediscovery is some distance whereasFerruginous Duck breedsin rhe Palearcdc frorn Aiaotra, but is close to a former wetland and winters to the south including Africa, with a basin like Lake Alaotra and those elsewhere on the recent record from Seychelles(Skerren 1999), Madagascan Central Plateau.'W'e therefore suggesr Afthough there was formerly a breeding popula- that future surveys to find the pochards should tion of Ferruginous Ducks in Africa, this no include expansesof former high-plateau wetlands. longer exists (Brown et al. 1982), and no other Aythya speciesis known to breed close to Acknowledgements Madagascar. W'e dedicate this paper to \Tilliam Burnham for his Little is known concerningthe life history of devoted support ofThe PeregrineFund, particularly the MadagascarPochard, a diving duck that of the Madagascar Program. W'e also thank the prefersshallow and marshylakes with small pools anonymous reviewers for their comments and help surrounded by emergent vegetation (Young & in improving this paper. Smith 1989).Historically, it wasknown principal- ly from the LakeAlaotra region, but this well-sur- References veyedarea has yielded only one sighting in recenr Birdlife International. 2004. ThreatenedBirds of the decades,suggesting that human persecutionand Vorld 2004. CD-ROM. Cambridge,UK: Birdlife habitat modification havebeen the main causesof International. its extirpation there.The lakeswhere the pochard Butchart,S. H. M., Stattersfield,A. J. & Brooks,T. M. 2006. Going or gone: has been rediscoveredare surroundedby pristine defining'PossiblyExtinct' speciesto give a truer picture of recentextinctions. tropical forest and grasslandwith no evidenceof BulL Br. Ornithol. C/. Suppl. 126:7-24. human disturbanceor degradation.The lack of Collar, N. & Stuart, S. 1985. ThreatenedBird.s of disturbanceis suspectedto be the main reasonfor J. Ajlica and Reland Islands. Cambridge, UK: the pochard'ssurvival in this region.The popula- International Council for Bird Preservation. has probablybeen at this site for many tion years, Delacour, 1932. Les oiseaux de la Mission-Anglo- (and J. given the lack ofavifaunal other faunal) sur- Americainei Madagascar.Oiseaa (t R F.O. 2: 1-96. veysof this region, with all previoussearches for Langrand, O. 1990. Guide to the Birds of Madagascar. the pochardconcentrating on the environsoflake New Haven, CT & London, UK: Yale University Alaotra. Press. [,ake Alaotra was consideredprime pochard Pidgeon, M. 1996.