BIRDWATCHING  IN

	MADAGASCAR
With
RÉUNION, MAURITIUS & SEYCHELLES.

OCT. - NOV.  1994

	Stig Jensen, Ulrik Andersen, 
Jesper Meedom and Erik Mølgaard.

DANISH ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY
BIRDLIFE - DENMARK

Front page: Verreaux's Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi). 

Publisher:

	Danish Ornithological Society's Excursion Committee©
	Vesterbrogade 140A
	1620 Copenhagen 
	Denmark

Copies of this report can be purchased from:

	Danish Ornithological Society's Bookshop
	Vesterbrogade 140A
	1620 Copenhagen
	Denmark

	Telephone	+45 31 31 85 63
	Fax		+45 31 31 24 35

 INTRODUCTION. 

In October-November 1994, the excursions committee of the Copenhagen department of the Danish Ornithological Society (DOF) carried out its first tour to Madagascar, Réunion and the Seychelles.

The main purpose of the tour was to provide the participants with a good impression and knowledge of the fantastic - and threatened - natural areas remaining and the local culture as well as to see as many of the endemic birds and other animals as possible.

The tour was organised in three parts: Part 1: 8 days in the Seychelles, part 2: 1 day in Réunion and 20 days in Madagascar, part 3: 7 days in northeastern Madagascar. Part 3 was offered only as an extension of the main tour (part 2).

In additional Marianne Andersen and Erik Mølgaard visited the Mauritius Island before the main tour and Jesper Meedom, Ulrik Andersen and Erik Mølgaard made a 4 days extension to the area around Andape in the northern Madagascar. We have included their notes in this report.

The participants were:

Part 1: Knud Petersen and Else Gagner.

Parts 1+2: Steen Skaarup.

Part 2: Stig Kjærgaard Rasmussen, Marianne Andersen and Sten Pedersen.

Parts 2+3: Anne Glad, Peter Christensen, Vibeke Møller, Flemming Møller, Ulrik Andersen, Anders Tvevad and Bodil Nyholm.

Parts 1+2+3: Jesper Meedom, Inger Andersen and Finn Jensen.

Stig Jensen was tour leader on all three parts, Erik Mølgaard only on part 2.

The number of bird species recorded was very impressive for the areas in question: Madagascar 192, Réunion 25 and the Seychelles 46.

The weather was warm and sunny in the Seychelles, Réunion and the western part of Madagascar. In eastern and northeastern Madagascar cooler and more cloudy weather prevailed, although light rain was only encountered in one area (Perinet).

The tour fee was DKK 29,300.- for the main tour (part 2). Additionally, the fee was DKK 9,500 for part 1 and DKK 5,000 for part 3, when taken as extensions of the main tour. The prices included all transportation, accommodations, full board, cancellation insurance, "official" tips, cost of local guides and tour leaders as well as the usual DOF service.

The local currency in Madagascar is the Malagasy franc (FMg) and the exchange rate in October 1994 was approximately 347,000 FMg for 100 USD (625 DKK). At the time of our visit, 100-dollar notes were not accepted for exchange. In Réunion, French francs are used and in the Seychelles, the local currency is called rupees.

Travelling in the Seychelles and Réunion is similar to travelling in western Europe when it comes to comfort, price level, infrastructure etc. In contrast, Madagascar can be categorized as a very poor third-world country with limited facilities for tourists and a poorly developed infrastructure.

The practical arrangements were easily made in all three islands; the three local agencies had all done an excellent job and their arrangements were perfect for birdwatchers. All three agencies are highly recommended:

The Seychelles:	Bunson Travel, Shipping House, Revolution Avenue, Victoria, P.O.Box 475, Mahe, Seychelles, Fax: 321-322.

Réunion:	Bourbon Tourisme, B.P. 128-97464 Saint-Denis Cedex, Réunion, Fax: (262) 417-285.

Madagascar:	Transcontinents. 10, Avenue de l'Indépendance, B.P. 541, Antananarivo, Madagascar, Fax: (261-2) 283-65.

The extensive field notes of Stig Kjærgaard Rasmussen, Jesper Meedom and Ulrik Andersen are the foundation of this report.

We wish to thank Kim Carstensen, Olivier Langrand, Dominique Halleux, Michael Køie Poulsen, Frank Lambert, Frank Hawkins, Steve Goodman, Henrik Kisbye and Andrian Skerett for their useful advice when planning this tour.

This report contains the following:

01. Summary of the Réunion and Madagascar journey (parts 2+3)	x

02. Overview map	 x

03. A personal diary from Réunion and Madagascar (parts 2+3)	x

04. Localities visited in Madagascar	xx

05. List of birds recorded in Réunion	xx

06. List of birds recorded in Madagascar	xx

07. List of mammals and reptiles recorded in Madagascar	xx

08. Summary of the Seychelles journey	xx

09. Description of localities visited in the Seychelles	xx

10. List of birds recorded in the Seychelles	xx

11. Mammals and reptiles recorded in the Seychelles	xx
12. Pre-tour notes from Mauritius (including list of birds)	xx

13. Bibliography and references	xx

We wish to thank the following persons for their assistance in writing this report: Stig Kjærgaard Rasmussen (initial compilation of field notes), Jesper Meedom (author of the Madagascar diary except from Nosy Mangabe, field notes in the Seychelles), Lene Hansen (maps) and Ulrik Andersen (Madagascar locality descriptions, review of the whole report).

It should not be forgotten that the whole trip was characterised by good fellowship and pleasant being together. Again it is a pleasure to look back on a successful DOF tour. We hope to see you again another time!

Stig Jensen			Erik Mølgaard
Åbakkevej 66 1.tv.		Lyngborghave 6 1.tv.
2720 Vanløse			3460 Birkerød
Denmark			Denmark

 SUMMARY OF THE RÉUNION AND MADAGASCAR JOURNEY.

14.10.1994:	       -18.15	Copenhagen.
20.15-23.59	Paris (Aeroport Charles de Gaulle).   

15.10.1994:	13.45-15.00	Saint-Denis Airport (Réunion).
16.40-18.20	Saint-Louis.
18.35-		Saint-Pierre.

16.10.1994:	       -05.20	Saint-Pierre.
07.00-14.00	Plaine des Chicots.
14.15-15.10	8 km south of Saint-Denis.
15.15-20.10	Saint-Denis.
21.40-		Antananarivo (Hotel Colbert).

17.10.1994:	       -07.45	Antananarivo.
08.35-13.15	Mahajanga 
11.00-11.30 Cirque Rouge.
13.15-19.15	Betsiboka Delta.
19.15-		Mahajanga (Hotel les Roches Rouge). 

18.10.1994:	       -04.20	Mahajanga.
06.00-15.25	Ampijoroa Forest Station.
15.45-17.25	Amboromalandy Swamp.
19.00-		Mahajanga.
 
19.10.1994:	       -03.30	Mahajanga.
05.15-10.20	Ampijoroa Forest Station.
12.10-17.15	Mahajanga.
18.00-		Antananarivo (Hotel Colbert).

20.10.1994:	       -09.55	Antananarivo.
11.00-12.25	Taolanaro (Fort Dauphin).
14.25-		Berenty Private Reserve (Berenty Lodge).

21.10.1994:	       -09.25	Berenty Private Reserve.
09.45-11.35	Bealoka.
12.00-14.25	Berenty Private Reserve.
15.40-17.55	Lac Anony.
18.55-		Berenty Private Reserve.

22.10.1994:	       -03.40	Berenty Private Reserve.
09.15-14.45	Andohahela Reserve.
18.30-		Berenty Private Reserve.

23.10.1994:	       -09.10	Berenty Private Reserve.
11.25-15.10	Taolanaro (Fort Dauphin).
16.25-17.15	Toliara (Tulear).
19.00-		Ifaty (Hotel Lakana Vezo).

24.10.1994:	All day		Ifaty.
04.55-09.05 Spiny forest immediately east of the village of Ifaty.
15.30-16.30 Lac Andranobe.
17.10-18.30 Spiny forest KM 32.

25.10.1994:	All day		Ifaty.
05.20-08.50 Spiny forest.
15.20-18.05 Bamboo Club - Hotel Lakana Vezo.

26.10.1994:	       -05.40	Ifaty.
07.30-10.45	Nosy Ve Island.
11.15-13.00	Anakao.
14.15-		Toliara (Hotel Capricorne).

27.10.1994:	       -04.20	Toliara.
06.25-11.30	Zombitse Forest.
12.45-14.45	Hotel Relais de la Reine.
15.00-18.45	Isalo N.P.
19.00-		Hotel, Relais de la Reine.

28.10.1994:	       -08.05 	Relais de la Reine.
12.50-14.10	Ambalavao.
15.35-16.00	Fianarantsoa.
18.45-		Ranomafana N.P. (Hotel Thermal).

29.10.1994:	All day		Ranomafana N.P.

30.10.1994:	All day		Ranomafana N.P.

31.10.1994:	       -07.00	Ranomafana N.P.
11.30-13.20	Ambositra.
14.50-15.25	Antsirabe.
18.20-		Antananarivo (Hotel Colbert).  

01.11.1994:	       -13.20	Antananarivo.
08.05-10.05 Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza.
10.20-11.30 The Queen's Palace.
15.00-15.30	Rivo Mangoro.
16.10-		Perinet Reserve (Hotel Andasibe).

02.11.1994:	All day		Perinet Reserve.

03.11.1994:	       -05.35	Perinet (Andasibe).
05.55-11.05	Maromizaha.
11.25-		Perinet Reserve.

04.11.1994:	       -07.45	Perinet Reserve.
10.30-18.05 	Antananarivo.

05.11.1994:	05.35-10.50	Paris (Aeroport Charles de Gaulle).
12.30-		Copenhagen.

EXTENSION WEEK:

05.11.1994:	All day		Antananarivo.
		08.00-10.30 Lake Alarobia.
16.00-18.00 Ambohimanga
15.00-17.25 Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbaza (only UA, JM & EM).	

06.11.1994:	       -07.15	Antananarivo.
10.15-12.30	Maroantsetra.
13.00-		Nosy Mangabe.

07.11.1994	All day		Nosy Mangabe.

08.11.1994	       -11.00	Nosy Mangabe.
13.00-		Maroantsetra.

09.11.1994	       -10.10	Maroantsetra.
10.45-15.00	Sambava.
15.00-18.30	Bemarino river.
18.30-		Sambava (Hotel Las Palmas).

10.11.1994	       -05.00	Sambava.
06.00-15.00	Manantenina valley.
16.00-		Sambava.

11.11.1994	       -10.15	Sambava.
12.40-18.10	Antananarivo.

12.11.1994	04.45-10.45	Paris (Aeroport de Gaulle).
12.30-		Copenhagen. 

A PERSONAL DIARY FROM RÉUNION AND MADAGASCAR.

October 15th. Our Madagascar tour started with a couple of days at Réunion. Though the species extinct on Réunion are more interesting than the ones still surviving it is anyway worth a visit. Réunion is a volcanic island with peaks above 3,000 meters. The coastal areas have been developed, but fine forested areas exist at higher altitudes. A few of us came from the Seychelles on a pre-tour extension and had an extra day to explore the birding sites at Réunion. Two persons had spent a week on Mauritus, but most of the group arrived tired from Copenhagen to the strong sun of this sleepy, europeanized, out-of-the-way place. Immediately upon their arrival we drove down to the south-west coast to look for Barau's Petrel. After Saint-Leu we saw them all the way along the coast. The day before, we had found a good spot for petrel-watching on the coast by Saint-Louis by driving the car across a grassy field, a football ground (they continued playing unaffected in the other end) and a playground. Today with the bus we took the road. The ocean swell broke over the reef roaring and foaming and at 16.30 there were already many Barau's Petrels, flying, turning and playing in the strong wind. Many started flying inland for their highland nesting sites in low height above us. These seabirds flying inland in daylight over football grounds and factories look out of place. We estimated a total of a thousand birds until sunset. Around 18.00 the rare Mascarene Petrel appeared low above the waves. 

October 16th. After a night in Saint Pierre we drove north to the Plaine de Chicots above Saint Denis. The path into the reserve is signposted and easily found. Many hikers come here - normally for two-day trips further into the mountains. We covered elevations from 1,150 to 1,650 meters. Below the reserve are pine and other introduced trees, but inside you soon enter indigenous forest with open views over the slopes, gnarled montane trees covered with lichens, and many tree ferns. During the morning we saw all the Réunion woodland endemics. The Mascarene Grey White-eye, lacking the white eyering and resembling a tit is the most common species, and the Réunion Cuckoo-Shrike is the rarest. It is a retiring species that is restricted to the Plaine de Chicots. We had good views of both sexes. After a fine, bright morning with clear skies the clouds drifted in around noon as they usually do on Réunion. We relaxed for a few hours in Saint Denis which looked very much what it was: a provincial French town on a Sunday afternoon. In the evening we flew on to Madagascar.

In the late evening we arrived in Antananarivo, which everybody calls Tana. The arrival was a shock: long lines with slow progress, currency declaration forms in four copies the officials expected us to have filled in (nobody told us beforehand), our bagage being searched. Outside, obtrusive persons insisted to carry our luggage or were simply begging. We drove into town on a terrible dirt road along open sewers, progressing slowly while keeping clear of the deepest holes. If this was the road between the airport and the capital we wondered, then what about the thousand kilometers we intended to drive in the countryside? At last we reached our fine hotel Colbert in a side street full of beggars and prostitutes. We took refuge in the hotel to fill in new detailed forms but at last we got our rooms. We were told we had taken a back road from the airport, because the main road wasn't safe at night, and we were strictly advised not to go out in Tana after dark, and to beware of people stealing the wallet out of your pocket and the glasses off of your nose in full daylight. The atmosphere in town was desperate due to a 50% devaluation a month ago. However, the first night in Tana was to remain our worst Madagascar experience.

October 17th. We rose early, and took the fine main road to the airport. Our nightmare city showed itself from a much nicer angle with the early morning light illuminating the old wooden and tiled houses up the hills, the churches, the palaces on the hill tops and the lilac-flowering jacaranda trees around the monumental lake. We flew to Mahajanga over a dry savannah landscape following the reddish-brown, sluggish, meandering Betsiboka River. Mahajanga is a provincial capital. The main street is full of market stalls with mangos or charcoal under white sunshades, women and elderly men promenating in colourful lambas wearing umbrellas as sun-shields, rickshaw coolies dragging Indian women in glistering dresses around. A huge baobab tree stand in the middle of the roundabout. Our hotel Roche Rouge with lemurs and kites in a miserable zoo is named after a rock formation we had visited in the morning. The place resembles an arena with steep reddish rock walls above the dry bushland. We saw a few of the most common bird species. The non-endemic families do not present much of an identification challenge as there is usually only one species: the lark, the bee-eater, the drongo. On the way back, we saw our first chameleon in a village tree. They move slowly, carefully grasping with a safe grip of one foot at a time, and move with mechanical movements not to draw attention. We saw many of these strange creatures in Madagascar, often in villages.

We soon got to know our Malagasy guide Roger as a very fine chap. In the last minute, Stig and Erik had accepted the travel agency's proposal for a local guide: it didn't cost much and it was practical to have someone speaking English and Malagasy and taking care of practical matters. In addition, Roger turned out to be a keen birdwatcher. He had served for many years as a nature guide at Berenty, but had quit for a free lance guide job with our travel agency. He knew birds and their voices very well, especially dry-country species. He was good-humoured and knowing about many things.

In the afternoon we went sailing up the Betsiboka Bay to the Betsiboka river delta. Our vessel was old and rusty, the engine in the middle had no protective cover and made so much noise that any conversation was impossible. The fishermen were out in their picturesque outriggers with triangular yellowish sails. Mangroves cover both banks of the river for miles, and we hoped this fine habitat could produce some birds. Curlew Sandpipers roosted on the mud inside the mangrove, Dimorphic Egrets of the coastal black morph flew around, and by the end of the day our list comprised Humblot's Heron and Madagascar Sacred Ibis, but unfortunately rather poor views not shared by everybody. Our engine had a breakdown and the men worked on it while we enjoyed the silence of the river. It was partially repaired meaning water was still leaking into the boat and had to be baled continuously while we were sailing. We crossed the dark waters of the bay under the full moon.

October 18th. Mahajanga is primarily used by birders as a base for visiting Ampijoroa some 117 kilometers away along the main road to Tana. We rose at 3 in the morning, only to find that our bus was not there, and it took some time to find it and wake up the driver. The road goes through a man-made savannah landscape with grass and widely scattered palms and trees.

Ampijoroa has fine deciduous forest with the tree crowns forming a coherent canopy. In the tall trees behind the rangers' cottages a group of Coquerel's Sifaka - large, white lemurs with reddish patches on the arms and thighs - looked down upon us. A group of Sickle-billed Vanga searched the same tree probing their decurved bill into bark and hollows. Greater Vasa Parrots flew around with characteristic slow wingbeats. We progressed slowly up the ridge between tall trees. A group of Whitebreasted Mesite was seen in the dead leaf litter moving carefully, nodding a little, looking like something in between rails and doves, and crossed the path. Another rustle in the dead leaves: this time a Madagascar Buttonquail. Suddenly a large female Henst's Goshawk swept powerfully through the forest. In a tree with dark tangled branches a group of the nocturnal Avahi lemur was resting, a pair with a young watching us with their large eyes. Red-capped Couas were walking on the side trails, pheasant-like, with sombre colours broken by the iridiscent blue patch around the eye. Vangas, mesite, couas, Cuckoo-Roller, birds of endemic families not resembling anything else tell what a unique place Madagascar is.

Our first meeting with the vangas had given seven species, among them the rare and local Van Dam's Vanga, a male and later a female sitting in the top of high trees. Another specialty of Ampijoroa is Schlegel's Asity which we tried to call out at a number of places suggested by our guides. We had a single vocal response, but were not able to spot the bird. Suddenly our guides started to move fast. Something interesting was moving fast through the understory, and we tried to follow up through wines and tangle without knowing our target was a Madagascar Crested Ibis which fled across the path right in front of that half of the group who had not participated in the pursuit.

We descended the ridge for the breakfast that had been sent after us in a separate car together with tables, cloths, garden chairs, plates, hot coffee and sweet cakes. A pair of Madagascar Fish-Eagle was soaring high in the air, their white tails shining in the sun. After breakfast we visited the lake on the opposite side of the road where the Fish-Eagles nest. One of the eagles came gliding and landed in a tall tree at the far side of the lake. The midday heat lay heavily in the shade-less forest and the bird activity had died out.

Before we left we visited the turtle expert Don Reed, who has stayed here for eight years without electricity. He explained his project of raising a rare turtle from the inaccessible West and demonstrated the fights of the males turning turn each other around with a horn on the shield, and showed us the small young turtles. On the way back to Mahajanga, we stopped at a wetland with marshes, small lakes, rice paddies, reeds and fields. This was a good place for waterbirds where we saw a pair of African Pygmy-Goose and an Allen's Gallinule flying into the sedges. 

October 19th. Another visit to Ampijiroa after getting up at 3. We went for an early morning walk in the haunts of the ibis on the ridge but found only a feather, some eating marks in the soil, and some shit. After breakfast we tried the path along the lake and into the forest. Very few voices, very few birds. We had had a tremendous day the day before, but as it was our first real day in the field we had taken it for granted. Now we started to appreciate our luck. We saw the little Grey Mouse-Lemur, a nocturnal species retiring to its day roost in the early morning, and a group of Brown Lemur walking on the trail with their long, bushy tails waving above them. 
 
An afternoon flight brought us back to Tana for a stop-over on our way south. For dinner we had marinated raw zebu meat, and duck breast cooked rosy, a delicious meal - if you dared. We did not have severe stomach problems but one or two of us were down in turn throughout the journey.

October 20th. We took the morning flight to Taolanaro in the south-east. Newspapers were scarce in the provinces, but could be had on the plane. The hot issue in Malagasy politics was the choice whether to be in debt to the World Bank only or to several creditors - the outcome was the World Bank only. Madagascar is governed by a democratically elected government that has taken over after decades of Ratsiraka's dictatorship. However, Ratsiraka's people are still everywhere in the system, and the economic crisis is preparing the ground for a Ratsiraka comeback. 

In the Taolanaro area, the transition zone between the rainy east coast and the dry land is very narrow and the extremes of Malagasy landscapes can be seen in a few hours drive. Taolanaro is a fishing town famous for its lobsters. Recently a ship with a cargo of manganese had sunk in the harbour and contaminated the entire area, and we had to keep away from seafood. Fish were landed and eaten by the locals as they had no alternative. We saw the wrecked vessel in the harbour with yesteryear's shipwreck close by. The drive to Berenty goes from the foot of lush mountains to flat plains, from rice fields to sisal plantations. Many of the children in the area had swollen stomachs due to malnutrition. A few years ago the province had suffered drought and famine.
 
Berenty is a riverine gallery forest reserve along the Mandrare River. The estate is owned by the French businessman de Heaulme. At a time when nature was still plentiful his father understood the value of the forest and its wildlife and set it aside as a reserve in the middle of his vast sisal plantations. A lodge was built for the odd travellers who made it to southern Madagascar and wanted to watch lemurs. Now Berenty is famous, causing even the neighbouring estate to preserve the remains of its gallery forest. The area is approached through sisal factories and workers' villages, orderly laid out with gates manned by gate keepers. It all tells a story of a plantation community owned by a strong lord. The lodge has nice bungalows and a botanical garden with many of the strange plants of southern Madagascar. Lemurs are tame and move around between the bungalows. Bands of Ring-tailed Lemurs with raised black and white banded tail and little youngs clinging to their mothers' back are everywhere. Verreaux's Sifakas are more retiring and tend to stay in the trees. Lemurs are gentle, clean animals very different from monkeys. Especially the Sifakas have an unbelievably curious way of looking intensely at you when you meet them in the wood almost making you say "hello" to them. Giant Coua - a characteristic bird of the area often seen crossing the trails - was also seen by the bungalows.

After dark we drove up to a small parcel of spiny forest about one kilometer from the lodge. We walked on a small trail using torches while watching for lemurs. We had several Weasel Lemur and Grey Mouse-Lemur, small nocturnal lemurs moving around in the branches of the bushes. We also spotlighted a Madagascar Scops Owl sitting in a spiny tree and calling its deep and far-reaching hoo-hoo-hoo, bobbing for each note.

October 21st. The gallery forest of Berenty lies beautifully on the river bank. The river winds through a broad, sandy bed. In places with shallow water there were green rushes. Many Greenshanks flocked on the islets and a Knob-billed Goose drake with an enormous knob watched over a number of females. On the sandy banks a group of Ring-tailed Lemurs was searching for food while signalling with their black-and-white tails. The riverine forest is high and dense. One of the commonest trees is the tamarind - the sticky fruits of which are eaten by the lemurs. White-browed Owl is common and easily seen even in daylight. This morning we saw one sitting on a branch in the open and another one inside a dense bush.

Berenty holds rather few bird species, but a few of them are difficult to get good views of in other birding areas. After breakfast we visited another parcel of riverine forest that should be good for the scarcer raptors and where only birdwatchers are normally taken. The vegetation and birds looked much like in the forest by the lodge, but in the midday heat we didn't see much.

After lunch and siesta we visited Lac Anony. The lake is an open coastal lagoon with deep water and stony shores. We had a few palearctic waders and a Kelp Gull. On the shore we found egg-shell fragments from the Elephant Bird that became extinct, perhaps only 300 years ago. Sometimes you see eggs that are glued together of fragments displayed in hotels or for sale in markets. A few intact eggs are known. One is in the museum at Berenty. We asked to see it every day, but nobody seemed to know where the key was. The area above the lake is partly covered by dry coastal scrub where we found a male of Littoral Rocktrush. When we drove home through the sisal plantations around sunset we observed a large bird in a little tree in the middle of the sisal and stopped to check it. It turned out to be a Humblot's Heron, the species we had looked so much for in the north-west. A strange place to find it, although it is regularly seen at both Lac Anony and Berenty.

October 22nd. Andohahela is a reserve comprising a range of habitats from dry spiny forest to moist highland rain forest. The reserve is managed by the WWF and financed through "nature for debt" arrangements. Andohahela contains the southernmost relict part of the once extensive rain forests along the east coast. 

Our arrangement for the Andohahela visit was ambitious. Up at 2.30, scheduled departure at 3, real departure at 3.45 after waking up the kitchen and repacking the lunch, a drive in darkness while trying to get some sleep in the bus. We stopped at the agreed meeting point with the four-wheel drives in the middle of nowhere. It was 5.15 in the morning and there were no jeeps and no means to get in contact with anybody. Our only option was to send the bus to Taolanaro and at 7 two of the three jeeps appeared. We cramped together on top of the jeep and left the cook and guides and lunch to wait for the third vehicle. We climbed a steep track with holes and rocks and erosion gullies, through villages where a dozen children appeared from each cottage waving cheerfully and smiling - revealing the loss of the middle front teeth due to sugar cane chewing. In a market we got stuck in a traffic jam. Amazed people flocked around our cars staring intensely at us - such a sight was really an event. A truck blocking the road would or could not move, but at last some of the market stalls were removed instead so we could continue. In the last village we hired a local forestry guard as a guide increasing the number of staff on our picnic to seven. The sun was shining from a clear sky, and when we finally reached the rain forest it was hot and silent. We followed a path that led us through some clearings and along a watercourse into a tall and rather open rainforest. Few birds - but a Galidia, a reddish mongoose with a banded tail climbing a tree and ferreting about in the forest floor. A constant flow of people was returning from the market, the women carrying their burdens in baskets on the head, the men in baskets hanging on a stick or a spear over the shoulder, some with a bottle of destilled spirits dangling from the stick leaving a nasty stench. Everybody saluted, many gave hands - handshaking between a row of villagers ascending and a row of birdwatchers descending. An old man accused us of being French colonists, and calmed down when we explained we were from a small country. 

I had my glasses broken. Fortunately, the guide from the travel agency was to return to Tana the next day and we commissioned him to have the glasses repaired with a written instruction for the optician. He seemed uncomfortable with the job, but when we arrived in Tana eight days later, the glasses were ready.

On the way down, we passed a memorial place for the ancestors. In the tradition of the Antanosy people it is a gathering of steles from old days, modern obelisks of concrete, white crosses, carved poles with scenes from the deceased's life, ox-skulls from funeral feasts - recent and ancient mixed in a living tradition.

October 23rd. A morning walk around Berenty. We started in the open fields where we had a Madagascar Partridge running along the edges. We proceeded through the spiny forest down to the river. Back at the lodge a group of Verreaux's Sifaka had to cross a wide open area which they did by performing an unbelievable series of sideward jumps with the arms in the air, and the tails used for steering.

We had to leave early for Taolanaro as our guides claimed it was essential to check in four hours before departure due to overbooking of flights. There was actually plenty of room in the plane and we suspected the guides of playing a game using arguments we couldn't ignore. Actually it wasn't too bad as check-in was in town and we were taken to a restaurant on the cliffs by the sea. From there we observed a flock of Humpback Whales migrating south far away. Now and then they ascended to the surface, blowed, and wawed their flippers or tail above the waterline before diving again. A thousand Crested Terns and some Wedge-tailed Shearwaters flocked over a shoal of fish.

We flew to Toliara in the south-west over a green bushland with dry riverbeds. We met with Roger who had travelled from Tana by road with our drivers in the two minibusses that were to serve us for the next weeks. Toliara itself is an ugly town of concrete houses. The attraction for birdwatchers is the spiny forest some 25 kilometres north of Toliara where a number of seaside hotels cater to groups of scuba-divers and big-game anglers from France and Italy. We stayed at the Lakana Vezo. The road from Toliara was terrible. A sandstorm was blowing and the sea was rough and grey. In a village we got stuck in a sand dune on the track and had to push the minibus out assisted by a dozen children from the village. In the rough evening weather we did not quite appreciate our nice beach bungalows. The next days we had relaxed siestas by the sea. The fishing boats of the hotel landed richly coloured fish for lunch on the beach.

October 24th. Some of the most exiting birds of the spiny forest are very difficult to find. The wood-cutter Masindrake in Ifaty has a reputation for  knowing their whereabouts. We had him and a team of his friends and children as our guides the first morning. We were taken into the forest at dawn. In the poor light of day-break, a Long-tailed Ground-Roller was standing on the track. Another bird appeared and they moved into the understory together. The boys encircled them and drove them quietly back towards us. The light quickly improved and revealed the delicate patterns and the sky-blue shoulder-patch of these strange birds. They crossed the track a few meters from us. We were shown the nest which is simply a hole in the ground. This species is only seen in the early morning. Then we were taken to a nest of Subdesert Mesite, a stick-nest in a bush. While we were watching, the guides spread to search for the mate, which they found sitting in freezing posture in the fork of a branch, head down, body and tail up like a stub. It could be approached as it believed in being camouflaged. Within an hour we had had excellent views of the two prime species of the area, species we could have searched for in vain for days without guides. 

The spiny forest is a unique habitat that doesn't resemble anything else in the world. The strange Didiereaceae, Octopus Trees, are woody plants branching into 5 or 6 meters long arms covered with long spines. Baobabs are other strange trees of the forest with grotesque bottle-like trunks and ridiculous little crowns. There were at least 3 species and baobabs of the same species varied between naked and covered in yellow-green flowers. As the rains had come early this year, the spiny forest was green. Thorny bushes had fresh, light green leaves, and the Didiereaceae had rows of green needle-like leaves. The forest is used for woodcutting and charcoal burning, the scars of which are much in evidence.

The spiny forest soon becomes too hot for birdwatching so we had long siestas. Some of us visited the extensive area of coastal scrub south of the hotel. At noon the low tide revealed extensive mudflats in front of the hotel where palearctic waders and the endemic Madagascar Sandplover were searching for food. 

In the afternoon we attempted to visit lake Andranobe some distance north of Ifaty. One car broke down on the way, and we had to walk four kilometers along a sandy trail in the afternoon heat while our guide kept telling us there was only 500 meters to the lake. The lake was non-existent - only an area of rushes. One Squacco Heron was observed. We had to make it back in the Malagasy way, packing 17 passengers in a minibus suited for 9. We stopped for an evening walk in the spiny forest giving conspicuous flocks of Sickle-billed Vanga searching the Didiereaceae. They are noisy birds with many different vocalizations.

October 25th. Another morning in the spiny forest, this time on our own. Sakalava Weavers were building colonies in the baobabs. They start with a loop of straw, and work it into a sphere with a long downward entry tube. The males sit on their nest whatever its state of completion and flick their wings to attract attention. We had a pair of Lafresnaye's Vanga, a somewhat elusive species working low in the trees and bushes, and found their small nest on top of a branch. The peculiar bill is used for tearing off bark. 

In the afternoon we drove up to the Bamboo Club Hotel at Ifaty and walked back along the coast. There were many hotels and villages and little natural habitat. We saw a Madagascar Sparrowhawk gliding between series of deep, elaborate wingbeats as if displaying. 

October 26th. We had planned an afternoon excursion to the island of Nosy Ve off the coast south of Toliara and save the mornings for spiny forest birding, but as the wind increases in the afternoon we were advised to go in the morning. Yesterday strong winds had prevented us from going and throughout the afternoon and evening the wind frequently changed direction and the odds of our trip went up and down. The final decision to go was taken by the boat man at daybreak. It was a rough ride. They had two boats, a speed boat and a zodiac. Each had its advantages and disadvantages. From the zodiac, we could watch the wet-through speed boat passengers crouching to avoid the spray and they described us as dogged rodeo-riders on a mad beast. Both boats were sailed by sporty frenchmen who went for maximum speed and every wave beat us up. Some in the speed boat got blisters in the behind, and we got blisters in the hands from the ropes we clinged to. We saw Flying Fishes and Dolphins on the way. After nearly two hours we made a wet landing on the fine white beach of Nosy Ve where we collapsed on the sand to gather strength before proceeding.

On the tip of the island, a flock of Crab Plovers were preening in the waterline. Fine seashells, conches and other remnants from the diverse marine creatures of the coral reef were all over. A group of fishermen who had landed their outrigger hailed to show us a quite large sea-bottom shark they had caught. The top of the island is covered in degraded grass, scrub and agaves, and we were told that most of the island was burnt off by accident a few years ago. On the southern tip a colony of Red-tailed Tropicbird is found. They have settled on the island recently and are protected from persecution by a local taboo. A few are in the air all the time but most are found on the nests under the bushes. The bushes are low and the stout birds lie flat on the earth under the branches with the thin red tail streamers protruding behind them or caught in the branches in odd angles. A fishy smell came from the nesting sites. There were both small chicks and fat young with black chevrons in the white plumage but most nests presumably still contained eggs. We found 30 nests.

We had planned to land with the boats at San Augustin and the minibusses were waiting for us there. Due to the tide landing was impossible so we had to go to Toliara where we entered the harbour after carefully crossing a fishing net blocking the entrance. A few from the group had been to San Augustin in the morning to search for Verreaux's Coua in the coastal scrub. They had played a tape recording acquired from an international library, and a Running Coua responded and showed up! Anyway, they also found the right species.

October 27th. We stayed at the hotel Capricorne in Toliara to make a quick start for the drive inland. An ominous smell of beer hang in the cars, and especially one of the drivers looked worn when lashing the trunks to the luggage rack. The road inland was excellent and we could maintain a speed of more than 80 km per hour, being almost alone on the road. The front car was swaying from one side of the road to the other. It seemed out of control and we signalled all we could while panicking on behalf of them. Afterwards they explained that the driver had to smoke constantly to stay awake and the swaying only occured when he lit a new cigarette. We had second thoughts about crossing Madagascar in cars breaking down every other day with drunkards as drivers, but we didn't have more incidents. Our drivers proved to be skilled and good-humoured. At night they stayed with their sisters in the towns we passed through - they had sisters in every town!

Man-made grassland with scattered trees and low economic value, used for cattle-raising, prevail and the approach to Zombitse Forest is marked by newly burnt forest - the dead, burnt larger trees still stand as ghosts over the black soil. We found a track into the forest soon leading to a large clearance in what had appeared to be extensive forest. The forest is deciduous, light, the canopy hardly coherent. On the forest floor we found the Appert's Greenbul, a small bird with a rich yellow colour uttering a fine metallic call. They followed a few newtonias through the understory. Cuckoo-Rollers flew their strange slow-motion flight over the forest calling their series of three drawn-out descending notes diminishing in volume. 

We pushed on to the rocky massifs of the Isalo area. In a wet hollow by the road we saw four Madagascar Sandgrouse sitting. Hotel Relais de la Reine lies withdrawn from the main road indicated by a modest signpost. You drive towards the cliffs, and suddenly you see a splendid hotel built in natural stone, fitted perfectly into the landscape with a view of an oasis at the base of the rocks. Their kitchen was excellent. Crows and kites were fed with meat offal - an attempt, we suppose, to turn the place into a wildlife site. To us the main attraction was the pair of Benson's Rocktrush that nested in a crevice on the hotel wall and collected insects for their young around the restaurant.

In the afternoon we visited Isalo National Park. Guides are hired in the village of Ranohira. Stig was surprised to see the differences from his previous visit: noticeably poorer people, many more children, and the begging that wasn't there four years ago. We made the long walk over the grassland and the steep ascent of the ridge, and had a silent afternoon on the plateau surrounded by rock walls. We saw the dwarf baobab tree, an incredible minature baobab less than half a meter high. As the sun was setting, a group of Sooty Falcon were chasing each other with the rocks as background. We walked back to Ranohira in complete darkness watching the stars above us and the distant bush fires in the night.

October 28th. A day of travel along a highway that alternates between asphalt and gravel, between good and poor. There is not much traffic on the road but plenty of herds of zebu guarded by lads with spears. Progressing north the villages became richer and vineyards appeared on the ridges and terraces with rice on the slopes. We had hoped to be in Ranomafana for the afternoon, but we had underestimated the travel time and progressed along the road into the rain forest of Ranomafana towards evening. We had many good birds from the road: a fine male Réunion Harrier hunting over the rice paddies, Forest Rocktrush in the first patch of rain forest, a Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher by its nest hole and a pair of Meller's Duck on a river. A hostile, glaring fluorescent tube was enlightening the facade of the hotel Thermal and inside the air was fusty and unsound. The toilet and bath was in the cellar - the bath with cold water only and the shower was a hose.

October 29th. In Ranomafana it is officially required to have local guides. Guiding is a business of family teams, and Stig and Roger had hired the best naturalists and some of their relatives as our guides and guide assistants. The guys seemed to enjoy a merry life and were dead drunk the first evening we met them and difficult to wake up at 5 this morning. Loret is the master and behaves like an artist: staying away from our appointment, suddenly appearing from nowhere in the middle of the forest to call out the extremely shy Brown Mesite to walk past an open area two meters from us because of his perfect direction of the beaters and the tape playing, and then disappearing again after the performance without notice. His wife followed him carrying his field guide and his cigarettes and doing the harder beater jobs. She was a beautiful woman in lovely and colourful dresses. Emile is a perfect guide, combining a profound knowledge of the lemurs with a genuine entusiasm when showing them to us and meeting them again himself. In Ranomafana we split into two groups as the narrow trails made birding all of us together difficult. Our third guide Fidy was always with the other group who described him as a pleasant and competent all-round guide. Being a top guide is a lucrative business and we were told there are violent rivalries between guide families. Our guides feared for their lives.

The first morning we explored the area around the viewpoint of Bellevue, one of the best birding areas in Ranomafana. We saw many of the more difficult species besides the Brown Mesites. Pitta-like Ground-Rollers were met with here and there on the paths. A pair of Dusky Greenbul were some of the first greenbuls we saw and as it is described as rare we checked them carefully. When they apparently reappeared they looked strange, until we realized that this time we were looking at a pair of Wedge-tailed Jery. Then we had Grey-crowned Greenbul, known as a local species. A glittering male of Sunbird Asity flew in to perch a few meters from us. A Madagascar Wood-Rail was called in with the tape recorder. We had the quiet forest floor species Crossley's Babbler and White-throated Oxylabes constantly making low metallic noises, but difficult to get views of. And we saw a pair of Red-bellied Lemurs.

In the afternoon we visited the forest near the village of Vohiparara. Here the forest seems more varied with small bogs and streams in moist valleys and many tree-ferns and high bamboo. A frog-like ground-roller call was heard from the understory - this time it had an ascending, somewhat surprised ring revealing it was a Rufous-headed Ground-Roller. Loret staged the show: Erik was commanded to stay on the slope to operate the tape recorder, while we went down to the stream and Loret cried his orders of "keep playing!" and "louder!". As it wouldn't come out we had to pursue it up a slope with tangled wines and moss-grown fallen trunks and branches to get a view of the bird throwing its big head forwards in each "hoo". When we had all managed to see it we proceded to the swamp by the village where we saw Grey Emutail in the bushes of the natural swamp and the heavy Madagascar Snipe in a paddyfield nearby.

At sunset, we returned to Bellevue. When we arrived at the picnic site, Emile was already there. He had lit a fire and was roasting some chicken meat, and soon a Fanaloka (Striped Civet) was eating bits from the ground. Hungry but still wary it entered the half-circle where we sat, sometimes eating in the torch light while cameras flashed and made noises, and then suddenly it started and took flight, only to reappear warily for the next titbit. On the way back through the dark forest we spotlighted a Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur in a tree-crown, a large-eyed night-creature with a fat, furry tail.

The hotel served fine meals, and for dinner we had frog legs with plenty of garlic, enjoyed by some of us but left untouched by others. We exhausted their stock of beverages one kind by the other.

October 30th. This morning we made a long walk in the forest near Vohiparara. We walked for hours without seeing or hearing much in contrast to yesterday. We ascended a ridge with a picnic site with a fine view over the rainforest. Here we heard a Brown Emutail singing from a low cover of dwarf bamboo a few inches high. We could feel the movement of the bird under the leaves at a meter's distance but were not able to get a good view of the creature. We also had Pollen's Vanga. And we had a group of Milne-Edward's Diademed Sifaka, all black with a white mantle on the lower back. They passed through through the trees right in front of us in long jumps steering with their long tails, stopping briefly to watch us, and then proceeding through the forest. Emile enthusiastically imitated their calls and pursued them in almost Sifaka-like jumps. He also showed us the eating marks of Aye-Aye on a dead trunk - little holes chiseled with its teeth and probably probed by its finger.

The afternoon started well with a Madagascar Flufftail which got very excited by our tape and climbed a little bush on a cliff. A long walk along shallow forest streams and through tangles and understory where the path had been washed away by a hurricane didn't produce many birds. The other group had better luck and saw many lemurs, for example two Rufous Mouse-Lemur eating banana in the late afternoon at the place where we had seen the Fanaloka. At dusk we met by the radio antenna, a site for Collared Nightjar which can be seen hunting here. But it started raining and we retired to the minibusses, a procession of people in rain coats scanning the trees with powerful torches and waking up a Broad-billed Roller to a wild flight in circles.

October 31st. Our schedule didn't allow for a final morning in the reserve. Ranomafana deserves more time than two days. Fortunately we were lucky with the weather. We made a few stops along the road through the forest, but the rest of the day was driving. In Ambositra we visited a wood-carving shop. We made a short stop in the centre of Antsirabe with broad avenues, flowering jacarandas, pompous colonial buildings and lots of beggars. Back at the Colbert in Tana we had well-done steak and a hot shower. 

November 1st. The morning in Tana. Tsimbazaza Botanical and Zoological Garden is a peaceful park. The museum there displays skeletons of Mega-lemurs and Elephant Birds, both extinct in recent time, as well as a collection of stuffed birds including a Red Owl. The Zoo has Malagasy animals in quite good surroundings and there is a natural heronry dominated by Cattle Egrets. Afterwards we visited the royal palace with an exhibition of the royal wealth and important documents of a nineteenth-century monarchy - the global cultural and political mainstream as seen from a remote and small country.

After lunch we drove to Perinet. A stop at the bridge over the Mangoro River gave a few Madagascar Pratincoles on the rocks in the stream. All the way to Perinet the landscape is deforested. We had time for an afternoon walk in the Perinet Indri reserve. Hotel de la Gare is well known from travel accounts as a fine stop-over on the romantic railway journey over the jungle-clad slopes to Tamatave. Now the jungle is cleared, the fine hotel is run down, and no guests seemed to arrive with the train when we were there, but instead the railway personel had noisy parties at night. A series of new bungalows across the road were already beginning to decay. The dining-room looked like a railway waiting-room in classical style and the menu was the same vegetable soup for starter and banana for desert every lunch and dinner.

November 2nd. Perinet Indri Reserve. We walked along the road to the cliffs where the Pygmy Kingfisher had recently had its nest and along paths by moist hollows and shallow ponds where a family of four Madagascar Crested Ibis were easily seen a week ago. We tried for Short-legged Ground-Roller which briefly responded to our tape at two out of three sites. We were disappointed to learn that Madagascar Little Grebe had not been seen for several years. We walked through the reserve in silent rain searching each other for leeches dropping down upon us from the trees. At nine the rain decreased and the Indris started singing. One group started, and Indris from all over the forest joined them. The song can be heard kilometers away so when we stood beneath a group forming their mouths to perfect funnels and singing out loud, it almost hurt our ears. We also saw a group of Indris passing through the forest in long jumps from tree to tree. The Indri is the largest of the lemurs, black and white, and has a funny, teddy-bear-like appearance as it lacks a tail and has large rounded ears. The afternoon was spent in the same area. The forest is not very tall and has no really impressive trees as it has been logged commercially in the past. There are stands of bamboo, many tree ferns, some pandans, epiphytes, a few trees flowering in red. We saw a variety of forest birds. At sunset we waited by some new bungalows by the road near the hotel. A Madagascar Long-eared Owl called once. In the distance we could hear the hoarse laughter of the Crested Ibis, so at last everybody had at least heard the species.  

November 3rd. In the morning we visited Maromizaha which is an unprotected rain forest planned to become an extension of Perinet. The road ended in a quarry where settlers were living in shelters with their many ragged children. We had to search for the path, the start of which had disappeared in a landslide. We followed a ridge with fine views over the entire area. On one side a panorama over extensive rain forest, on the other approaching clearings, secondary growth, smoke and fires. At an altitude of about 1100 meters the species known to birdwatchers as the "New Warbler" is quite common but overlooked until recently. Now it is being described and although it looks rather ordinary analyses have proved it to represent a new genus. We also had many Forest Fodies. As birds became harder to find we switched our attention to strange insects: stick insect, leaf insect, beetles with bright hues, and the bizarre Giraffe Beetles with long angled necks. 
 
In the afternoon we were in Perinet again. We called out a Rufous-headed Ground-Roller for excellent views and we had two feeding groups of Grey Gentle Lemurs: first a family feeding on bamboo cane and later a group with a juvenile feeding on the soft ends of sedges picked one by one in a swampy area. Spotlighting outside the hotel at night gave a group of Greater Dwarf Lemur moving around in a fruiting tree. Anders, who again had taken a day on his own, had seen a Fosa descending from a tree while he was waiting for a good motive.

November 4th. A morning walk in Perinet in light rain gave nothing at all and then we drove back to Tana. Friday is the day of the Zoma, the weekly market in Tana. The broad avenue by the railway station is turned into a chaos of market stalls covered by white parasols and cane shelters like a huge village market. Different quarters of the market specialise in different goods: glasses, medical herbs, old black sewing-machines, dye-stuff sold as powder, fish-mongers selling small dried fresh-water fish from stinking stalls keeping the flies away with a fan. We walked in a crowd of people carrying living poultry head-down by the legs, among begging lepers with hands and feet reduced to stumps and children carrying their dirty and naked younger brothers on the back. In the archades the tourist's market is found. Here the begging can be aggressive, with groups of beggars holding you back pressing their filthy hats upside down towards you. While we were negotiating souvenir prices I had my pocket cut up. I had forgotten to remove my compass and the presence of something in the pocket was too tempting. The stalls in the archades are wooden counters and thieves openly moved around underneath them with knives and scissors. We got very suspicious after the incident and just wanted to get away. After lunch we said goodbye to those going home after three weeks in Madagascar.

November 5th. Lake Alarobia is a private reserve in the suburbs of Tana, where you need a permit to enter. It is a quiet, park-like place, with a lake stuffed with ducks and islands packed with herons. It was a pleasure to be in a place with large numbers of waterfowl. In the heronry there were nests with well-grown youngs of Cattle Egret and Squacco Herons, while the Dimophic Egret - here the white morph with fine egrets - seemed to be earlier in the breeding cycle. A few Malagasy Pond-Heron were seen, but we didn't find any nests. In Tana we went to the supermarket to buy chocolate and there was also rich oppurtunity to buy green Madagascar pepper to take home. Though Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, the infrastructure for travelling foreigners had proved remarkably good and nothing had impeded our programme. Anyway, being in such places teaches you some sense of proportions of problems that you shouldn't forget while peeling leaves off an artichoke in a first-class restaurant. Coming from the isolation of the provinces we eagerly turned CNN World News on - only to find a sob story about a boy that had run away from home.

In the afternoon some of us revisited Tsimbazaza Zoo. In Perinet we had looked in vain for Madagascar Little Grebe, and there they told us the Zoo in Tana was a reliable site. We soon found two grebes on the largest pond. As I wasn't convinced they were Madagascar Little Grebe, we made an excursion to the museum where the stuffed specimen exactly matched every feature of the breeding-plumage bird in the lake. 

Editorial note:
From November 6th to November 9th, Jesper Meedom together with Ulrik Andersen and Erik Mølgaard explored the Andapa region while most of the group went to Nosy Mangabe under the leadership of Stig and Roger. For those four days, the diary has been written by Stig. 

November 6th.
This morning we set out for the main destination of the extension week. A morning flight took us to Maroantsetra via Sambava where Ulrik, Jesper and Erik got off for a birding expedition on their own. In Maroantsetra Airport, we were met by the staff of the Coco Beach Hotel and were then transferred to two boats that were to take us to Nosy Mangabe. We all sat in the one boat while the baggage, the hotel staff and the food - including live poultry - was in the other. The weather was not too exciting - actually it was grey and dull, but despite that, the attention of everybody seemed directed towards the forested island which is permanently inhabited by national park staff only. We all had high expectations. Immediately upon landing the tents were mounted - they were not exactly new and we quickly agreed they could hardly resist any significant precipitation. The staff of the national park was very helpful and offered to be our guides. On the first tour they proved their qualifications by spotting several Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus), an extremely well camouflaged gecko which many of us had hoped to see. Perhaps the main reason why Nosy Mangabe had been selected as the main locality of the extension week was its healthy population of the Aye-aye, a bizarre-looking lemur which is nocturnal and difficult to observe. We made arrangments with the local guides for an evening walk to look for the Aye-aye. Perhaps some of us had second thoughts when one of the guides fell asleep on a sand bar, but suddenly another guide had localised an Aye-aye which everybody managed to see. Needless to say the athmosphere was very good when we had dinner! 

November 7th.
The night was cool and humid so not everybody enjoyed spending it in a tent, but the Aye-aye last evening helped keep up the spirits. Although the island of Nosy Mangabe is small, our guides managed to make quite an expedition out of our walk. It was tough, especially because everybody were quite "worn" after three weeks of hard-birding. Anyway, our efforts were not in vain - we saw the beautiful white-headed Brown Lemur several times and at last we managed to see a Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur. We had been hearing them constantly, but had found them hard to localize. It is a beautiful lemur which understandably is called the Panda Lemur by the swedes. We also saw some handsome frogs and chameleons and some lucky ones saw one of the small Brookesia chameleons. Our guides were fantastic at spotting interesting creatures - and in addition pleasant company (like most malagasies). In the evening we naturally just had to make another attempt to see the Aye-aye, but we did not have the luck this time. This in combination with our running out of beer made the athmosphere at the dinner table significantly less elevated than yesterday evening.

November 8th.
This night was not as tough as the previous one, perhaps because we knew it was our last night in a tent. Most people seemed quite lazy this morning - probably because we had seen everything we had expected to see. Several were watching the sea where sea turtles from time to time emerged to breathe. Later in the morning we left Nosy Mangabe and arranged with the boatsman to go around the island before returning to Maroantsetra. It was a very beautiful trip and everyone agreed Nosy Mangabe was a tremendous place - I wonder what the views had been if we had not seen the Aye-aye.... After lunch at the Coco Beach Hotel we strolled around in Maroantsetra. We saw the local market and bought some baskets and some vanilla, quite nice and relaxing to be back into civilization.

November 9th.
Today we were to go north to Sambava to meet with Erik, Ulrik and Jesper in the evening and prepare for visiting the Marojejy Reserve the next day. We took a flight to Sambava which is the commercial centre of northeastern Madagascar. It was quite nice to see a certain amount of wealth because in general people are extremely poor in Madagascar. A beneficial climate and good soils have created the conditions necessary for economical development in the Sambava region. Our afternoon excursion in Sambava went through plantations of vanilla, pepper and coffee to an area by the Bemarivo river. We made several stops because this was our first opportunity to actually see and photograph vanilla plants. Some of us took advantage of the situation to buy vanilla directly from the primary producers. We also attempted to buy some green pepper, but it wasn't the right season. In Sambava, people only eat pepper fresh and after searching the whole market and half the town we concluded canned pepper was impossible to get here. In the evening we met with "the boys" who had made a lot of exciting observations of birds - and looked just as tired as we did.

November 10th. We set out early and went inland to Manantenina. We met with a forestry guard who denied us access to the Marojejy reserve, but offered to take us to some forest outside the reserve boundary. The path took us through a lot of scrub-land while the sun was getting increasingly hotter. Several times the path crossed a river and we had to wade. We were unaccustomed to walking on slippery stones in streams and our Malagasy porters had great fun watching us. At one crossing, a rubber boot was lost and drifted rapidly down the river - its owner looking dejected after it, but a porter rescued it. In a grove of degraded rainforest we saw a Madagascar Long-eared Owl, a downy pure white juvenile with a black mask and two downy eartufts. It looked as if it had tried to fly - it couldn't, and there it was. In another grove of degraded forest we had a Red-breasted Coua walking quietly past us. We also had a party of vangas, a fine good-bye to these special Malagasy birds. The walk through the fields was hot and difficult. By a plantation we had lunch in the open. The cloth was spread over the grass, the napkins were distributed and the waitress from the hotel who had followed us all day could serve. Malagasy picnics are arranged with style. By a river crossing a Banded Kestrel was spotted. It was hanging under a branch beating its wing heavily. We first thought it was trapped, but it turned out it clutched to a large orange chameleon it tried to rip off of the branch by using all its strength and weight. The chameleon clinged, but had to give in, first the front legs, then the back legs and at last the tail. Bird and prey whirled around in the air. The kestrel tried to fly away with the chameleon that was too heavy and forced the bird to land. We had been dismayed when we were refused access to the reserve, but the unpromising tour of the valley outside had turned out be a success. Before us, the long journey home via Tana and Paris was waiting.

LOCALITIES VISITED IN MADAGASCAR. 

Below the localities visited are described briefly in the order of their being visited by us.

BETSIBOKA DELTA, 15.5ES 46.5EE 

About an hour and a half by pram upstream the wide estuary of the Betsiboka River from Mahajanga the mouth of the river itself is marked by a series of mangrove islands. In the area of the river mouth, the British researcher (and birdwatcher) Frank Hawkins has seen Mad. Fish-Eagle, Bernier's Teal, many Humblot's Heron and Mad. Sacred Ibis. We only managed to see the latter 2 species on our boat trip (2 and 1, respectively) and found the area disappointingly devoid of birds. Whether this was due to the time of year or the fact that the tide was high during our visit, we do not know. However, since the area is the only easily accessible locality for Bernier's Teal near the travel route of most birders, we can only suggest to give this rare species a try! The management at your hotel can probably organize a boat.

AMPIJOROA, 16.4ES 46.8EE

Ampijoroa Forest Station, comprising a forested ridge and a lake surrounded by forest (a total of 20,000 hectares) is lying just outside the Ankaranafantsika Strict Nature Reserve (which is inaccessible to tourists), is the only prime birding area in the vicinity of Mahajanga. It is lying right by the main road to Tana about 2 hours (117 km) southwest of Mahajanga.

Behind the forest station buildings is a calcareous ridge covered by excellent dry deciduous forest. There are several trails ascending the ridge as well as trails following the ridge, one of them along the edge of the plateau on the top. This ridge is the best area for forest birding, harboring specialties such as Van Dam's Vanga (plateau), Mad. Crested Ibis (lower slope), Schlegel's Asity, Henst's Goshawk, White-breasted Mesite and Coquerel's Coua.

The lake (Lac Ravelobe) just across the road from the forestry station is excellent for Mad. Fish-Eagle, and other raptors may be spotted over the forest on the far side of the lake if time is spent scanning for them. The lake can also be good for Humblot's Heron, Mad. Jacana and the common ducks and herons (including Malagasy Pond-Heron).

There is even a trail in the forest along the west side of the lake. Although you can not expect to find all the specialties of the area here, it is known to be an excellent area for Mad. Crested Ibis and Schlegel's Asity (the latter particularly near the north end of the lake).

Ampijoroa is excellent for lemurs as well. The handsome Verreaux's Sifaka, Brown Lemur, Avahi (Wooly Lemur) and Grey Mouse-Lemur can be seen fairly easily. 

We hired 2 local guides at the forestry station and since they knew all the forest birds (and lemurs) and their whereabouts very well, we can only recommend other visitors to do the same.

AMBOROMALANDY SWAMP, 16.7ES 46.7EE

About 20 km northwest of Ampijoroa is an area of wetlands and rice fields, easily visible from the main road. Even though the area is not very exciting in itself, it does provide an easy spot for seeing such species as Mad. Jacana, Humblot's Heron (which we missed here), Pygmy-Goose and Allen's Gallinule, species which may be difficult to find elsewhere. 

BERENTY, 25.0ES 46.4EE

This private reserve is probably the most famous reserve on Madagascar. It receives a lot of ordinary tourists because of the abundance of its lemurs. However, service is lousy and the management is incompetent. Were it not for the lemurs, nobody would ever want to go there!

Berenty preserves a nice patch of gallery forest, a forest type of which very little remains elsewhere. 3 species of lemur can be seen extremely well: Verraux's Sifaka (beautiful!), Ringtail Lemur (very tame) and Brown Lemur (introduced). At night, Grey Mouse-Lemur and Weasel Lemur (Lepilemur) can be seen.

Berenty is not a birding hot spot, but some species are probably easier to find here than elsewhere: White-browed Owl and Giant Coua are common and Mad. Cuckoo-Falcon, Mad. Sandgrouse and Mad. Partridge are often seen. There did not seem to be any knowledgeable local guides around at the time of our visit - we were given an incompetent, not trust-worthy fool as our guide here. We would much have preferred to have been without him at this very easily birded place.

LAC ANONY, 25.1EE 46.5EE

Only some 30 km from Berenty - but taking at least 1½ hour on a horrible (but driveable even in a bus) road to get there - lies the large Anony lake. At times, it may be a very good place for Lesser Flamingo and Mad. Little Grebe, but it seemed deserted at the time of our visit. However, the adjoining dry scrubs harbour Littoral Rockthrush, a species restricted to the dry southern coastal strip and hence not often seen on organised birding trips.

ANDOHAHELA, 24.9EE 46.6EE

Andohahela is a strict nature reserve for which our agent had somehow managed to get us a permit. It consists of 3 parcels covering habitats from spiny forest to the southernmost rain forest in Madagascar. The rain forest is lying at altitudes from 100 to 1,200 m (the forest parcel extends to nearly 2000 m). Field work carried out by a team led by Steve Goodman has proven it to be an ornithologically very interesting area. The Red-tailed Newtonia, believed extinct for 50 years, is common here, and several species of ground-rollers (including Scaly!) are found as well. The three parcels are home to thirteen species of lemur, one more than even Ranomafana can boast. 

The rain forest parcel is a 3 hour drive from Berenty (2 hours from Taolanaro), but despite a 3 o'clock start from Berenty we did not arrive at the forest until 9.15 due to the incompetentness of the Berenty management who had messed up our arrangement completely (we spent two hours just waiting for our four-wheel drives before dawn).
TAOLANARO, 25.0ES 47.0EE

Formerly called Fort Dauphin, this city enjoys the perhaps most pleasant climate in Madagascar. When we had lunch at the hotel Miramar on the day we went from Berenty to Ifaty, we spent a little time sea-watching from the restaurant. This paid off - we saw several Humpback Whales migrating south and many terns and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters following a shoal of fish. However,  everything was too far away for really good looks, but it seemed as if excellent views could have been obtained from the point (cape) southeast of the hotel.

IFATY, 23.0ES 43.5EE

Ifaty is a village on the west coast some 20 km north of Toliara. There is a coral reef off-shore and a sandy beach which is why several tourist hotels have been built here. We stayed at the Lakana Vezo hotel which is not only a very nice hotel, but offers the additional advantage of good mud flats right in front of the hotel at low tide. These mud flats were excellent for shorebirds, including the much sought-after Mad. Plover.

Inland from the hotels and the village extensive areas of spectacular spiny forest is still found. This fantastic habitat is best birded in the early morning and the late afternoon due to the overwhelming midday heat, so we enjoyed long siestas in our wonderful beach resort. When the schedule is tight, hiring the local wood-cutter Masindraka and his family as guides is the only way to be sure to see the most (very!) difficult species: Long-tailed Ground-Roller and Subdesert Mesite. Both of these species are so spectacular and so interesting that missing them would be a real pity. Masindraka lives in the cottage opposite the turn-off for the Mora Mora hotel (worn down, not recommended). 

The area is home to several other localized species which are somewhat easier to find: Thamnornis Warbler, Archbold's Newtonia, Running Coua and Lafresnaye's Vanga.

In addition to the area near Ifaty, the spiny forest at km 32 (from Toliara) north of the village can be recommended. A good track goes inland (east) from the road opposite a spectacular baobab tree right at the western edge of the road.

LAC ANDRANOBE, 22.8ES 43.6EE

A drive of about an hour, first north from Ifaty and then east on a sandy track, may take you to Lac Andranobe which can be good for Mad. Little Grebe and other waterbirds when the water level is high. We found the lake almost dried up and saw nothing but a large lush green area of reeds and sedges.

ST. AUGUSTINE ROAD, 23.6ES 43.6EE

The coastal scrub (coral rag) along the road from Toliara to St. Augustine is excellent for Verreaux's Coua which we found with relative ease in the hills just (1 km) south of the hotel Mangrove. Running and Red-capped Coua were common in the area which did not have much in the way of birds apart from the couas.

NOSY VE, 23.8ES 43.5EE

Most of the group visited this island on a day trip arranged by the Lakana Vezo hotel. It was a very rough two-hour speed-boat trip to get there, but most of the courageous folks going agreed it was very worthwhile. To birders, the main attraction is the colony of Red-tailed Tropicbird. Crab Plovers may also be around, and the coral reef is among the best in Madagascar.

ZOMBITSE FOREST, 23.0ES 44.5EE

The dry deciduous forest east of Sakaraha is one of the two known localities for Appert's Greenbul. Cuckoo-Roller is common, and species such as Giant Coua, Mad. Spinetail and Banded Kestrel may be seen as well. Unfortunately, the forest is being cut and burnt at an astonishing rate, and at the time of our visit not much was left in the immediate vicinity of the main road. When going east from Sakaraha, burnt areas certainly look much larger than forested areas, and it seems to be a matter of a few years before the Zombitse Forest no longer exists. We found a small path going south from the main road into fragmented forest at km 152.8 from Toliara.

ISALO NATIONAL PARK, 22.5ES 45.2EE

The beautiful but rather barren Isalo massif is not exactly a birding hot spot, although one species, Benson's Rockthrush, has its only known nesting area there. One pair was nesting on our lovely hotel Relais de la Reine, lying withdrawn from the road in a spectacular setting. Among the species observed in the immediate vicinity of the hotel were Mad. Partridge and White-throated Rail. An afternoon hike to the "Piscine naturelle" from the village of Ranohira gave more Benson's Rockthrushes and a handful of Sooty Falcons - and multiple wonderful views of spectacular rock formations in the late afternoon sun.

RANOMAFANA NATIONAL PARK, 21.2ES 47.4EE

Preserving about 40,000 hectares of mostly steep hills covered in forest, this beautiful area is perhaps the best birding area in all of Madagascar. The western part of the park has been subject to logging through many years and contains many areas of secondary forest whereas the eastern part has retained its primary rain forest cover, except near the village. The altitude of the park varies between 800 and 1200 m and the temperature is generally pleasantly cool. There is only one hotel in Ranomafana, the "Station Thermale", which has damp, unattractive and over-priced rooms. The restaurant is OK.

Twelve species of lemurs and about 100 species of birds are found here. You are well advised to set aside plenty of time for exploring this wonderful national park and to include a weekend in your stay, since the two most prominent guides, Emile (lemur specialist and excellent for birds) and Loret (bird specialist) work full time on various research projects during the week. We had these two "gurus" and the competent all-round guide "Fidi" as our guides (with several of their friends and family members as assistants), and this together with the luck of dry weather the whole weekend we spent in Ranomafana is the reason we saw most of our "target" species. Ranomafana is a very humid area and you should typically expect half of your birding time to rain away, although the month of October is indeed known to be a little less wet than other months.

We spent our time in two easily accessible areas with several trails, the Belle-vue area and the Vohiparara area.

Belle-vue is a view point across the river from park headquarters 6 km up the road (west) from Ranomafana, at the tiny village of Ambodimontana. The area around the view point and along the river is criss-crossed by numerous trails. The forest here is very rich in both birds and lemurs. Pitta-like Ground-Roller is common, and with luck and persistence many of the following species may be found: Brown Mesite, Mad. Wood-Rail, Mad. Flufftail, Henst's Goshawk, Grey-crowned and Dusky Greenbuls, Wedge-tailed Jery and Yellow-browed Oxylabes. At the campsite near the view point, mouse lemurs and Striped Civet are often attracted to baits at dusk. 

Vohiparara is a small village some 13 km west of Ranomafana. The rice fields and the tiny swamp immediately east of the village are good for Grey Emutail and Mad. Snipe (and even Slender-billed Flufftail until about 1986), but the main attraction is the trail through swampy areas into fine primary forest about a kilometer further east. Mad. Rail is supposedly fairly common in the swamp, and the forest is home to many exciting species: Short-legged and Rufous-headed Ground-Rollers, Mad. Crested Ibis, Mad. Cuckoo-Falcon, Yellow-bellied Sunbird-Asity (rare), Brown Emutail, Pollen's Vanga and Forest Rockthrush, to mention a few.

Finally, it deserves mentioning that both Collared Nightjar and Mad. Long-eared Owl may be the reward for spending some time around dusk near the radio mast on the top of a hill between the village of Ranomafana and park headquarters.

ANTANANARIVO (TANA)

At least two localities within city limits are worth a birding visit.

One is the Parc de Tsimbazaza, the zoological and botanical gardens of Tana. The museum exhibits a complete skeleton of Aepyornis (elephant bird), and the southernmost of the ponds is home to the increasingly rare Mad. Little Grebe. There is also a heronry.

The other worthwhile locality is Lac Alarobia, a small privately owned lake on the southern outskirts of town. There is a large heronry on the islet in the lake which is frequented by high numbers of ducks, including Meller's Duck.

PERINET RESERVE SPECIAL D'INDRI, 19.0ES 48.4EE

The main attraction in this small (800 hectares) rain forest reserve 150 km east of Tana is undoubtedly the indri, the largest surviving member of the lemur family. Their eerie morning calls are worth the visit alone, although the reserve is actually quite good for birds. Despite the fact that exploring this reserve is much easier than Ranomafana, guide fees are much higher, undoubtedly a consequence of the proximity of the reserve to the capital. One guide, Maurice, is very good for birds. The Hotel de la Gare, part of the railway station, is the only hotel around. The rooms and cabins are adequate, but water supply seems to be somewhat erratic....

Noteworthy bird species in this reserve are Mad. Crested Ibis, Short-legged and Rufous-headed Ground-Rollers, Red-breasted Coua, Dusky Greenbul, Forest Fody and Nuthatch Vanga. Unfortunately, Little Grebes have taken over the reservoir (Lac Vert) from their endemic sister species which is getting more and more difficult to find. The cabins being constructed midway between the hotel and the reserve entrance is a good place to look and listen for Mad. Long-eared Owl at dusk.

MAROMIZAHA, 19.0ES 48.4EE

The forested ridges southeast of Perinet, on the opposite side of the Tana-Toamasina main road are called Maromizaha. The area was (is?) intended to replace the degraded Perinet reserve as the primary rain forest reserve near Tana. Time is running out for this magnificent area: neighbouring ridges are almost completely clear cut and immigrants have settled on the Maromizaha ridge and started cutting the forest for charcoal production. This is a tragedy - the forest is rich in both lemurs (including indri and black-and-white ruffed lemur) and birds. Among the bird species found here are Rufous-headed Ground-Roller, Mad. Crested Ibis, Grey-crowned Greenbul, Pollen's Vanga and Wedge-tailed Jery. The Perinet guides are happy to guide you here on day trips. 

NOSY MANGABE, 15.3EE 49.8EE

Nosy Mangabe is a beautiful rugged island covered in tropical rain forest, lying off the east coast near Maroantsetra. Bird life is rather limited, although it deserves mentioning that Mad. Pratincole is common around the island. The main attraction is the lemurs and the reptiles. Aye-ayes were released here in 1966 and the population seems to be thriving. Nosy Mangabe is the only place where you stand a fair chance of seeing this highly interesting and rather bizarre nocturnal lemur. The handsome Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur is quite common. Among the reptiles the incredible Uroplatus gecko draws most attention.

There are no tourist facilities on the island so food, drink and camping equipment must be obtained before going. A boat can be chartered in Maroantsetra.

ANJANAHARIBE-SUD, 14.7ES 49.4EE

Anjanaharibe-Sud is a newly created reserve southwest of Andapa in northern Madagascar. The reserve is very much the work of the WWF and seems not to be much respected by the local population. Covering altitudes from 600 to nearly 2000 m, the lowest altitude forest seems most severely threatened, being clear cut and burnt at an alarming rate without any respect for reserve boundaries. While we were there, field research was being conducted under the leadership of Steve Goodman who estimated that all forest below their low camp (850 m) would be gone within two years. Since there is a driveable road right through the reserve from the village of Andasibe (west of Andapa) to villages further southwest, access is easy for both birdwatchers and locals cutting the forest and hunting the lemurs and large birds.

Tickets for visiting the reserve can be bought at hotel Tam-Yock in Andapa which forms a convenient base for exploring the reserve on day trips by car - as done by Ulrik Andersen, Jesper Meedom and Erik Mølgaard, who rented a four-wheel drive vehicle with French-speaking driver through the hotel in Sambava and spent three days (Nov. 7th-9th) in this excellent locality.

Southwest of Andasibe, the road climbs a hill where most of the forest is gone, but quite a few dead snags are left. This area is good for Banded Kestrel. 

Two forest trails are suitable for birdwatching purposes. One goes from the abandoned village of Mandritarahely at the road (altitude approx. 950 m) southeast to a village called Ranomafana at the reserve boundary (altitude 600 m), probably the main threat to the lower forest (which is very spectacular). We worked the stretch between the road and a little below the low camp (covering the range from 800 to 1000 m). The other trail goes north from the road at the abandoned (bulldozed) village of Andrantserabe (altitude approx. 950 m) past Steve Goodman's middle camp (1250 m), crossing a ridge (1400 m), descending a valley and then ascending the next ridge to near 2000 m (the "high" research camp was to be placed at approx. 1650 m). This is called the Ambatomanity trail. We worked the stretch between the road and a little above the middle camp (950-1300 m).

Most malagasy rain forest species have been found in this reserve, although many have only been recorded a few times. The Ranomafana trail was excellent for Scaly Ground-Roller, Bernier's Vanga, Mad. Pygmy Kingfisher, Red-breasted Coua, Mad. Starling (secondary scrub near the road) and Dark Newtonia. In addition, Steve Goodman's team had recorded Brown Mesite, Pitta-like Ground-Roller, Mad. Serpent-Eagle, Helmetbird and Red-tailed Newtonia (two observations only of each of the latter three species in several weeks of field work).

The Ambatomanity trail produced Short-legged Ground-Roller, Yellow-bellied Sunbird-Asity, Grey-crowned Greenbul, Dark Newtonia, Nuthatch Vanga and Forest Rockthrush. All these species were described as common by Steve Goodman (the sunbird-asity only above 1500 m), as were Rufous-headed Ground-Roller, Brown Emutail and Yellow-browed Oxylabes!

Finally, it should be mentioned that this reserve is one of the few places where the Mad. Red Owl is believed to survive. Of the malagasy rain forest species, it seems that only Pollen's Vanga, Wedge-tailed Jery and Dusky Greenbul have not yet been recorded. Spectacular species as Mad. Blue Pigeon and Blue Coua are abundant. As a birdwatcher one can only hope that the hard work of the WWF will have some success in the end.

MANANTENINA VALLEY, 14.5ES 49.8EE

We had hoped to visit the exciting Marojejy Strict Nature Reserve, but the permit acquired by our local agent turned out to be invalid, and the local forestry official politely, but firmly, denied us access to the reserve. Being a most hospitable person, he acted as our guide for a day hike in the Manantenina valley, going right to the boundary of (but not inside) the reserve. He knew of a few patches of largely secondary forest and scrub near the reserve itself, and we must say that we were extremely lucky with the birdwatching there. Highlights of the day were a young Mad. Long-eared Owl at close quarters, a gorgeous Banded Kestrel struggling to rip a chamaeleon off of a branch, a Red-breasted Coua seen well and a vanga party including two Helmetbirds and two Bernier's Vangas. However, since we are quite convinced that at least the latter two species were "once-in-a-lifetime" occurrences in this place, and since the few forested patches may be gone already when you read this (the locals have even started cutting and burning the forest inside the reserve), the reader is advised not to go to Manantenina, unless all necessary permits to enter the reserve have been obtained.

LIST OF BIRDS RECORDED ON RÉUNION.

Information of status and threat is taken from N.J. Collar et al. "Birds to Watch 2".

AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER (Puffinus lherminieri).
7 Saint-Louis.

MASCARENE PETREL (Pterodroma aterrima).  
10 Saint-Louis.
Note: Red data book species. Known only from Réunion by four specimens collected during the nineteenth century. Rarely seen, first observed at Saint-Louis in 1989 by the American tour operator Field Guides. We concur with their description: same size as Barau's Petrel, but heavier-bodied with a rather short, slightly rounded tail, all non-petrels eliminated by wheeling flight with few and slow wingbeats, Bulweria petrels eliminated by larger size and shorter tail. The only other all-dark Pterodroma of the region is the Great-winged Petrel which is significantly larger than Barau's and performs a highly dramatic flight pattern. In contrast, the flight of the Mascarene was quite heavy and steady, with less careening and less abrupt changes of direction than typical for a Pterodroma. 
Status: Critical.

BARAU'S PETREL (Pterodroma baraui).  
4 Saint-Denis - Saint-Louis and 1,000 Saint-Louis.
Note: Red data book species. Endemic to Réunion, where is estimated population of 3,000 pairs (in 1991) has in recent years been subjected to illegal shooting, such that numbers are already believed to have been halved. 
Status: Critical.
 
WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD (Phaethon lepturus).
At least 6 in the gorge south of Saint-Denis and 3 between Saint-Denis and Plaine des Chicots.

STRIATED HERON (Butorides striatus).
1 Saint-Paul.

RÉUNION HARRIER (Circus maillardi).  
2 Plaine des Chicots, 1 between Plaine des Chicots and Saint-Denis, 1 in the gorge south of Saint-Denis.
Status: Near-threatened species.

CURLEW SANDPIPER (Calidris ferruginea).
4 Saint-Louis. 

SOOTY TERN / BRIDLED TERN (Sterna fuscata/anaethetus). 
9 Saint-Louis. 

NODDY SPECIES (Anous species).
100 (in one flock) Saint-Louis. 
Note: Probably Lesser Noddy (A. minor), judging from flock behaviour and flight.

FERAL PIGEON (ROCK PIGEON) (Columba livia).	INTRODUCED.
Common.

MADAGASCAR TURTLE-DOVE (Streptopelia picturata).	INTRODUCED.
2 in the gorge south of Saint-Denis.

ZEBRA DOVE (PEACEFUL DOVE) (Geopelia striata).	INTRODUCED.
2 Saint-Denis - Saint-Louis, 2 in the gorge south of Saint-Denis and 5 in the Saint-Denis Botanical Gardens.

MASCARENE SWIFTLET (Collocalia francica).  
Common. About 100 birds observed.
Status: Near-threatened species.

RÉUNION CUCKOO-SHRIKE (Coracina newtoni).  
5 Plaine des Chicots.
Note: Red data book species. Endemic and restricted to two very small and unprotected areas in north-west Réunion. The total population is estimated to be 120 pairs. 
Status: Endangered.

RÉUNION BULBUL (Hypsipetes borbonicus).  
10 Plaine des Chicots.
Note: According to Sibley and Monroe, conspecific with the Mauritius Bulbul (H. olivaceus). If so, the species is called Mascarene Bulbul (H. borbonicus). 

MASCARENE PARADISE-FLYCATCHER (Terpsiphone bourbonnensis).  
10 Plaine des Chicots.

RÉUNION CHAT (Saxicola tectes).  
4 Saint-Denis - Plaine des Chicots and 33 (24 %%) Plaine des Chicots. 

COMMON MYNA (Acridotheres tristis).	INTRODUCED.
Common, at least 80 observed.

RÉUNION OLIVE WHITE-EYE (Zosterops olivacea).  
85 Plaine des Chicots.
Note: Truly abundant in native forest, but not found elsewhere at all. Sometimes considered conspecific with the Mauritius Olive White-eye.

MASCARENE GREY WHITE-EYE (Zosteriops borbonicus).  
2 Saint-Paul, 60 Plaine des Chicots and 1 Saint-Denis Botanical Gardens.
Note: The only native forest bird found outside native forest. Also found in Mauritius.

HOUSE SPARROW (Passer domesticus).	INTRODUCED.
Abundant, at least 140 observed.

BLACK-HEADED WEAVER (Ploceus cucullatus).	INTRODUCED.
25 Saint-Leu, 50 Saint-Paul 1 Saint-Denis Botanical Gardens.
Note: Also called Village Weaver.

MADAGASCAR RED FODY (Foudia madagascariensis).  	INTRODUCED.
A total of 10 birds observed in 5 localities.
Note: Common in secondary habitats (the majority of the island), but uncommon in native forest (we only saw 2 at Plaine des Chicots).

YELLOW-CROWNED CANARY (Serinus canicollis).	INTRODUCED.
1 Plaine des Chicots - Saint-Denis and 2 in the gorge south of Saint-Denis.

COMMON WAXBILL (Estrilda astrild).	INTRODUCED.
1 Saint-Paul.

LIST OF BIRDS RECORDED IN MADAGASCAR.

The taxonomy used in this list is mainly based on O. Langrand's "Guide to the Birds of Madagascar", supplemented with new classification by G. Sibley and B.L. Monroe  "Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World".

Information of status and threat is taken from N.J. Collar et al. "Birds to Watch 2".

* = Species only recorded duing the extension week.

Species observed only by one or two participants are marked in the list with the initials of the observers in brackets.
   
WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER (Puffinus pacificus).  
30 Taolanaro.

LITTLE GREBE (Tachybaptus ruficollis).
2 Perinet Reserve (Lac Vert), 5 Tana.
Note:  Until recently Madagascar Little Grebe was the grebe of Perinet Reserve. All birds identified as ruficollis were intermediate between ruficollis and pelzenii in some respects.

*MADAGASCAR LITTLE GREBE (Tachybaptus pelzenii).
2 Tana (Parc de Tsimbazaza).
Note: Red data book species. Endemic to Madagascar, where in the recent past (up to the 1960s) it was common and widespread. It has suffered a considerable decline due to habitat loss and the total population is judged to be between 5,000 - 10,000 birds.
Status: Vulnerable.

RED-TAILED TROPICBIRD (Phaethon rubricauda).  
30 ad. and 20 juv. Nosy Ve Island, where at least 30 active nests were observed.

*LONG-TAILED CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax africanus).
4+ between Maroantsetra and Nosy Mangabe, 2 Nosy Mangabe and 1 Manantenina.
Note: Also called Reed Cormorant.

AFRICAN DARTER (Anhinga rufa).
2 Ampijoroa Forest Station (Lac Ravelobe).

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (Nycticorax nycticorax).
7 Bealoka, 4 Maroantsetra and 80 Lac Alarobia, Tana, plus a few elsewhere in the city.

SQUACCO HERON (Ardeola ralloides).
About 370 Tana, 350 of which were seen at Lac Alarobia and 15 in Parc Tsimbazaza. Also 4 Ampijoroa Forest Station, 15 Amboromalandy Swamp, 4 Lac Andranobe, 1 Fianarantsoa - Ranomafana N.P.

MALAGASY POND HERON (Ardeola idae).
10 Ampijoroa Forest Station (Lac Ravelobe), 1 Perinet Reserve, 4 Tana (Lac Alarobia), 40 Maroantsetra - Nosy Mangabe and 20 Nosy Mangabe.
Note: Near-threatened species.

CATTLE EGRET (Bubulcus ibis).
Abundant throughout, at least 3,000 observed. Highest numbers recorded were 1,500 Lac Alarobia, 500 Parc de Tsimbazaza and 500 Berenty Private Reserve.

STRIATED HERON (Butorides striatus).
A total of 19 birds were recorded, widely scattered.

BLACK HERON (Egretta ardesiaca).
2 Betsiboka Delta, 2 Ampijoroa Forest Station (Lac Ravelobe), 3 Amboromalandy Swamp, 1 Tana (Parc de Tsimbazaza). 

DIMORPHIC EGRET (Egretta dimorpha).  
About 75 birds were recorded. The highest numbers were 35 along the Betsiboka River and 30 at Lac Alarobia, Tana. 
Note: Nearly all birds in coastal areas are of the dark morph (e.g. 34 out of 35 at Betsiboka), whereas the white morph dominates in the interior.

GREAT EGRET (Egretta alba).
Common and widespread, about 220 recorded, 50 of which in the Tana area and 27 Mahajanga - Ampijoroa Forest Station.

PURPLE HERON (Ardea purpurea).
2 Ampijoroa Forest Station, 2 Berenty Private Reserve - Andohahela Reserve Reserve, 1 Isalo N.P. - Fianarantsoa, 1 Perinet Reserve and 2 Bemarivo river mouth.

GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea).
5 Bemarivo River mouth, 1 Mahajanga - Ampijoroa Forest Station, 1 Ampijoroa Forest Station, 1 Nosy Ve Island, 1 St. Augustin Road (Hotel Mangrove).

HUMBLOT'S HERON (Ardea humbloti).  
2 Betsiboka Delta, 1 Berenty Private Reserve (EM), and 2 near Lac Anony.
Note: Red data book species. Little known waterbird breeding only in Madagascar, but also recorded on the Comoro Island and Mayotte. It has declined alarmingly and apart from relatively strong numbers in  northwestern Madagascar very patchy, with a total population well below 5,000 individuals. 
Status: Vulnerable.

HAMERKOP (Scopus umbretta).
2 Berenty Private Reserve - Taolanaro, 1 Isalo N.P. - Fianarantsoa, 2 Ranomafana N.P. - Fianarantsoa and 2 Tana (Parc Tsimbazaza). 

YELLOW-BILLED STORK (Mycteria ibis).
1 Ampijoroa Forest Station.

MADAGASCAR SACRED IBIS (Threskiornis bernierii).
1 Betsiboka Delta.
Note: Often considered conspecific with T. aethiopicus (together with melanocephalus and molucca). Probably a threatened species, rarely reported nowadays.

GLOSSY IBIS (Plegadis falcinellus).
8 Ampijoroa Forest Station - Mahajanga.

MADAGASCAR CRESTED IBIS (Lophotibis cristata).  
1 seen and probably 1 heard Ampijoroa Forest Station, 1 heard Perinet Reserve.
Note: Near-threatened species.

LESSER FLAMINGO (Phoenicopterus minor).
6 Lac Anony.
Note: Near-threatened species.

WHITE-FACED WHISTLING DUCK (Dendrocygna viduata).
About 750 were seen. The highest numbers were 52 Ampijoroa Forest Station, 400 Lac Alarobia, Tana, and 215 Nosy Mangabe - Maroantsetra.

KNOB-BILLED GOOSE (Sarkidiornis melanotos).
20 Betsiboka Delta, 9 Berenty Private Reserve and 4 Lac Alarobia, Tana.

AFRICAN PYGMY-GOOSE (Nettapus auritus).  
5 %% and 5 && Amboromalandy Swamp.

MELLER'S DUCK (Anas melleri).  
2 on the river 1 km W of Vohiparara and 5 Lac Alarobia, Tana.
Note: Near-threatened species.

RED-BILLED TEAL (Anas erythrorhyncha).
2 Berenty Private Reserve, 50 Isalo N.P. - Fianarantsoa, 50 Lac Alarobia, Tana and 10 Maroantsetra.
 
HOTTENTOT TEAL (Anas hottentota).
3 Amboromalandy Swamp and 19 Lac Alarobia, Tana.

BAT HAWK (Machaeramphus alcinus).
2 Berenty Private Reserve (SJ & FM).

BLACK KITE (Milvus migrans).
Widespread and common, but no large concentrations observed. About 70 birds in all.

MADAGASCAR FISH-EAGLE (Haliaeetus vociferoides).  
3 adults Ampijoroa Forest Station.
Note: Red data book species. Survives in extremely low numbers on the west coast of Madagascar. Population judge approx. 60 pairs. 
Status: Critical.

MADAGASCAR HARRIER-HAWK (Polyboroides radiatus).
2 Betsiboka Delta, 1 Ampijoroa Forest Station, 1 Amboromalandy Swamp, 1 Andohahela Reserve and 3 around Ifaty.

REUNION HARRIER (Circus maillardi).
1 % Berenty Private Reserve - Taolanaro, 1 % Fianarantsoa - Ranomafana N.P. and 1 % Sambava Airport.
Note: Near-threatened species.

HENST'S GOSHAWK (Accipiter henstii).
1 & Ampijoroa Forest Station.
Note: Near-threatened species.

MADAGASCAR SPARROWHAWK (Accipiter madagascariensis).  
1 adult Ifaty (near Bamboo Club) and 1 immature Anjanaharibe Sud.
Note: Near-threatened species.

FRANCES'S SPARROWHAWK (Accipiter francesii).  
The commonest Accipiter - at least 18 were seen, an impressive 8 of which at Berenty Private Reserve and Bealoka.

MADAGASCAR BUZZARD (Buteo brachypterus).  
Widespread, a total of 24 were seen with no more than 2 at any locality.

MADAGASCAR KESTREL (Falco newtoni).  
Widespread and very common. At least 75 birds were recorded.

BANDED KESTREL (Falco zoniventris).
1 Anjanaharibe Sud and 1 Manantenina. Also 1 probable (almost certainly this species) in the Zombitse Forest.

SOOTY FALCON (Falco concolor).  
5 Isalo N.P., 2 Tana and 1 Manantenina.

*ELEONORA'S FALCON (Falco eleonorae).
2 Ambohimanga and 1 Tana.

PEREGRINE FALCON (Falco peregrinus).
1 Maromizaha and 1 Anjanaharibe Sud.

MADAGASCAR PARTRIDGE (Margaroperdix madagascarensis).  
1 % Berenty Private Reserve, 1 Isalo N.P., 2 Isalo N.P. - Fianarantsoa and 1 Antsirabe - Tana.

COMMON QUAIL (Coturnix coturnix).
1 St. Augustin Road.

HELMETED GUINEAFOWL (Numida meleagris).
25 Berenty Private Reserve, 15 between Berenty Private Reserve and Taolanaro, 4 Zombitse Forest and 7 Isalo N.P.
Note: Probably an introduced species.

WHITE-BREASTED MESITE (Mesitornis variegata).  
7 Ampijoroa Forest Station.
Note: Red data book species. Known only from a small number of sites in northern and western Madagascar. 
Status: Vulnerable.

BROWN MESITE (Mesitornis unicolor).
4 Ranomafana N.P.                        
Note: Red data book species. Occuring in the rainforest belt of eastern Madagascar, it seems to be patchy in range and to prefer lower-lying habitat, which is being depleted very fast. 
Status: Vulnerable.
             
SUBDESERT MESITE (Monias benschi).  
4 Ifaty (one on its nest). 
Note: Red data book species. It is restricted to a 70 km wide coastal strip between Mangoky and Fiherenana with no protected area and the Subdesert Mesite is subject to predation from dogs, rats and trappers and to habitat destruction. 
Status: Vulnerable.

MADAGASCAR BUTTONQUAIL (Turnix nigricollis).  
Common in the drier regions. We observed a total of 57 birds, 20 of which in the scrub at Lac Anony. Not seen in the east or north at all.

WHITE-THROATED RAIL (Dryolimnas cuvieri).  
2 heard Ampijoroa Forest Station, 1 Isalo N.P. (Relais de la Reine) and 3-4 Perinet Reserve.

MADAGASCAR WOOD-RAIL (Canirallus kioloides).  
3 Ranomafana N.P. and 3 Perinet Reserve.

MADAGASCAR FLUFFTAIL (Sarothrura insularis).  
6 Ranomafana N.P., 2 Perinet Reserve and at least 5 (+ 3 pull.) Anjanaharibe Sud.

COMMON MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus).
About 15 were seen. Highest number was 5 at Lac Alarobia, Tana.

ALLEN'S GALLINULE (Porphyrula alleni).  
1 Amboromalandy Swamp.

MADAGASCAR JACANA (Actophilornis albinucha).  
4 Ampijoroa Forest Station and 8 Amboromalandy Swamp.

BLACK-WINGED STILT (Himantopus himantopus).
2 Ampijoroa Forest Station.

CRAB PLOVER (Dromas ardeola).
29 Nosy Ve.

MADAGASCAR PRATINCOLE (Glareola ocularis).
2 Tana - Perinet Reserve (Rivo Mangoro), 1 Sambava Airport and 10+ in the Nosy Mangabe/Maroantsetra area. 

BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (Pluvialis squatarola).
17 Ifaty, 12 Nosy Ve, 25 Toliara and 5 Maroantsetra/Nosy Mangabe.

COMMON RINGED PLOVER (Charadrius hiaticula).
10 Lac Anony, 1 Ifaty, 30 Toliara and 2 Maroantsetra.

MADAGASCAR PLOVER (Charadrius thoracius).  
6 Ifaty, on the mud flats right in front of hotel Lakana Vezo.
Note: Red data book species. Restricted to southwestern Madagascar where it is generally rare, and greatly outnumbered (and perhaps outcompeted) by Kittlitz's Plover and/or White-fronted Plover. 
Status: Vulnerable.

KITTLITZ'S PLOVER (Charadrius pecuarius).
6 Lac Anony.

GREATER SAND PLOVER (Charadrius leschenaultii).
1 Lac Anony, 12 Ifaty, 40 Toliara and 1 Nosy Mangabe - Maroantsetra.

WHITE-FRONTED PLOVER (Charadrius marginatus).
5 Ifaty.

BAR-TAILED GODWIT (Limosa lapponica).
1 Lac Anony.

*BLACK-TAILED GODWIT (Limosa limosa).
1 Nosy Mangabe - Maroantsetra.

WHIMBREL (Numenius phaeopus).
About 130, 30 of which at Betsiboka Delta, 20 Ifaty and 50 on the mud flats at Toliara.

COMMON GREENSHANK (Tringa nebularia).
At least 60 Berenty Private Reserve. About 25 in total elsewhere.

*MARSH SANDPIPER (Tringa stagnatilis).
1 Maroantsetra.

TEREK SANDPIPER (Xenus cinereus).
2 Lac Anony.

COMMON SANDPIPER (Actitis hypoleucos).
About 22 in total, with 8 Betsiboka Delta being the highest record.

RUDDY TURNSTONE (Arenaria interpres).
About 110 in total, with 16 Ifaty and 70 Nosy Ve being the highest records.

MADAGASCAR SNIPE (Gallinago macrodactyla).
1 Vohiparara.

SANDERLING (Calidris alba).
4 Lac Anony, 21 Ifaty, 12 Nosy Ve Island.

CURLEW SANDPIPER (Calidris ferruginea).
475 Betsiboka Delta, 150 Hotel Lakana Vezo, 35 Bamboo Club - Hotel Lakana Vezo, 20 Maroantsetra.

KELP GULL (Larus dominicanus).
1-2 Lac Anony and 1 Taolanaro.

WHISKERED TERN (Chlidonias hybridus).
6 Amboromalandy Swamp.

CASPIAN TERN (Sterna caspia).
1 Nosy Ve and 1 Anakao.

ROSEATE TERN (Sterna dougallii).
3 Toliara - Ifaty and 3 Nosy Ve (SKR).

SAUNDER'S TERN (Sterna saundersi).
20 Toliara.
Note: Sometimes considered conspecific with Little Tern (S. albifrons).

GREATER CRESTED TERN (Sterna bergii).
1,500 Taolanaro, 6 Nosy Ve, 1 Toliara, 1 St. Augustin Road and 10 Nosy Mangabe - Maroantsetra.

LESSER CRESTED TERN (Sterna bengalensis).
3+ Taolanaro, 2 Nosy Ve and 1 Toliara.
 
MADAGASCAR SANDGROUSE (Pterocles personatus).  
2 Berenty Private Reserve, and 4 Zombitse Forest - Isalo N.P. (1 % + 3 &&).

ROCK DOVE (FERAL PIGEON) (Columba livia).	INTRODUCED.
Seen in several areas, mainly in or near the cities.

MADAGASCAR TURTLE-DOVE (Streptopelia picturata).
Common and widespread, about 65 recorded with no major concentrations.

NAMAQUA DOVE (Oena capensis).
Common in the dry areas, about 120 recorded with 50 Andohahela Reserve - Berenty Private Reserve being the highest number.

MADAGASCAR GREEN PIGEON (Treron australis).  
Fairly common and widespread, although not recorded in either Ranomafana N.P. or Perinet Reserve. A total of 50 birds were seen, 17 of which at Ampijoroa Forest Station.

MADAGASCAR BLUE PIGEON (Alectroenas madagascariensis).  
3 Ranomafana N.P., 3 Perinet Reserve, 7 Maromizaha and 30 Anjanaharibe Sud.

GREATER VASA PARROT (Coracopsis vasa).  
20 Ampijoroa Forest Station, 5 Ifaty area and 6 Maromizaha.

LESSER VASA PARROT (Coracopsis nigra).  
More widespread than the previous species, at least 45 seen, highest numbers recorded was 13 Berenty Private Reserve and 15+ Anjanaharibe Sud.
Note: At Isalo N.P. we observed the species singing by midnight.

GRAY-HEADED LOVEBIRD (Agapornis cana).  
Quite common in semi-open areas, about 100 seen, none of which in humid forest.

MADAGASCAR LESSER CUCKOO (Cuculus richii).  
Widespread and common, approx. 40 heard or seen. Recorded in all forest types.

GIANT COUA (Coua gigas).  
5+ Berenty Private Reserve, 2 south of Andohahela Reserve and 2 Zombitse Forest.

COQUEREL'S COUA (Coua coquereli). 
5 Ampijoroa Forest Station.

RED-BREASTED COUA (Coua serriana).  
2 heard Perinet Reserve, at least 5 Anjanaharibe Sud and 1 Manantenina.

RED-FRONTED COUA (Coua reynaudii).  
4 Ranomafana N.P., 2 Perinet Reserve, 1 Maromizaha and 3 Anjanaharibe Sud.

RUNNING COUA (Coua cursor).  
4 in the Ifaty area, 6 St. Augustin Road. 

RED-CAPPED COUA (Coua ruficeps).
6 Ampijoroa Forest Station, 2 Berenty Private Reserve, 3+ Ifaty, 2 St. Augustine Road and 2 Zombitse Forest. 

CRESTED COUA (Coua cristata).  
The most widespread coua, distributed both in the west and the east. We did not see it in the east, but recorded at least 32 in the west. Highest number recorded was 10+ Berenty Private Reserve.

VERREAUX'S COUA (Coua verreauxi).
2 St. Augustin Road (UA, IA & EM).
Note: Near-threatened species.

BLUE COUA (Coua caerulea).
Recorded in all humid forests from Andohahela Reserve in the south to Anjanaharibe Sud in the north. Of the about 30 birds recorded the highest numbers were 4 Ranomafana N.P., 4 Ranomafana N.P. - Fianarantsoa and 10 Anjanaharibe Sud.  

MADAGASCAR COUCAL (Centropus toulou).  
Widespread and common, especially in the west. We recorded almost 70 birds, with about 20 in the Berenty Private Reserve/Bealoka area being the highest count.

COMMON BARN OWL (Tyto alba).
1 heard Berenty Private Reserve and 3 seen in the Andapa valley.

MALAGASY SCOPS-OWL (Otus rutilus).  
5 Berenty Private Reserve, 2 heard Ranomafana N.P. and 3 heard Perinet Reserve.  
 
WHITE-BROWED OWL (Ninox superciliaris).  
About 10 heard and seen at Berenty Private Reserve.

MADAGASCAR LONG-EARED OWL (Asio madagascariensis).  
1 heard Perinet Reserve and 1 fledged young seen near Manantenina.

MADAGASCAR NIGHTJAR (Caprimulgus madagascariensis).  
A widespread species, found even in Tana, where we heard 1 by hotel Colbert. 12 more were recorded, scattered over the journey.

COLLARED NIGHTJAR (Caprimulgus ennaratus).
1 Ranomafana N.P., found and identified by Emile - to us, it was just a glimpse in the dark.

MALAGASY SPINE-TAILED SWIFT (Zoonavena grandidieri).  
15 Andohahela Reserve, 4 Zombitse Forest, 10 Anjanaharibe Sud and 20 Andapa - Sambava.

AFRICAN PALM SWIFT (Cypsiurus parvus).
Common and widespread, about 80 observed.

ALPINE SWIFT (Apus melba).
2 Isalo N.P. - Fianarantsoa and 30 Andapa - Sambava.

MADAGASCAR SWIFT (Apus balstoni).
Common in Tana, where 40+ were seen. Outside Tana, 1 Betsiboka Delta, 3 Ifaty, 2 Antsirabe - Tana, 5 Andapa - Sambava.
Note: Forms a superspecies with African Black Swift (A. barbatus).

MALAGASY KINGFISHER (Corythornis vintsioides).  
Common in all wetlands. 30 were seen with 6 on the Betsiboka river trip being the highest count.

MADAGASCAR PYGMY KINGFISHER (Ispidina madagascariensis).  
1 Fianarantsoa - Ranomafana N.P. (by nest hole) and 1 Anjanaharibe Sud.

MADAGASCAR BEE-EATER (Merops superciliosus).
Common and widespread in open areas. 67 were seen with 10 at Mahajanga (Cirque Rouge) being the highest concentration.
Note: Forms a superspecies with Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus).

BROAD-BILLED ROLLER (Eurystomus glaucurus).
Widespread and rather common. About 30 were recorded, with the highest day count being 7 at Berenty Private Reserve.

SHORT-LEGGED GROUND-ROLLER (Brachypteracias leptosomus).
2 heard Perinet Reserve and 3 Anjanaharibe Sud (2 of which seen superbly).
Note: Red data book species. Recorded throughout the rainforest belt of eastern Madagascar, but only common in the least disturbed araes of primary forest and threatened by habitat destruction. 
Status: Vulnerable.

*SCALY GROUND-ROLLER (Brachypteracias squamiger).
4 Anjanaharibe Sud, 2 of which were seen superbly.
Note: Red data book species. Chiefly known from the centre and northeast of the rainforest belt of eastern Madagascar, preferring low-altitude areas of undisturbed primary forest and threatened by habitat destruction and possible predation by village dogs and exploitation by man for food. 
Status: Vulnerable.

PITTA-LIKE GROUND-ROLLER (Aterlornis pittoides).  
8-10 Ranomafana N.P.. The most easily observed Ground-Roller. 
Note: Near-threatened species.

RUFOUS-HEADED GROUND-ROLLER (Atelornis crossleyi).  
3 Ranomafana N.P., 2 Maromizaha and 2 Perinet Reserve. Seen well at all 3 localities!
Note: Red data book species. Recorded in undisturbed habitat in the centre and north-east of the humid forest belt of Madagascar, where it is rare (the rarest of its family) and threatened by forest destruction. 
Status: Vulnerable. 

LONG-TAILED GROUND-ROLLER (Uratelornis chimaera).  
3 Ifaty, 2 of which seen very well (by their nest hole).
Note: Red data book species. Confined to subdesert scrub in the coastal hinterland of south west Madagascar. It occurs in no protected area and is threatened by hunting, trapping and habitat destruction. 
Status: Vulnerable. 

CUCKOO-ROLLER (Leptosomus discolor).  
This terrific bird was seen and heard at all forest localities, except Berenty Private Reserve. A total of 31 birds was recorded, with an astonishing 8 displaying over the highly fragmented Zombitse Forest.

AFRICAN HOOPOE (Upupa africana).
5+ Ampijoroa Forest Station, 1 Berenty Private Reserve, 6+ Ifaty and 5 Zombitse Forest.
Note: It is conceivable the Madagascar subspecies marginata may obtain full species rank.  

VELVET ASITY (Philepitta castanea).  
6 Ranomafana N.P., 5 Perinet Reserve, 1 Maromizaha and 1 Anjanaharibe Sud.

SCHLEGEL'S ASITY (Philepitta schlegeli).  
2 heard Ampijoroa Forest Station. (Identified by guide!). 
Note: Near-threatened species.

SUNBIRD-ASITY (Neodrepanis coruscans).  
17 Ranomafana N.P., 2 Perinet Reserve, 2 Maromizaha and 6+ Anjanaharibe Sud. This species is much more heard than seen - and easily overlooked.

*YELLOW-BELLIED SUNBIRD-ASITY (Neodrepanis hypoxantha).
1 & Anjanaharibe Sud at an altitude of 1150 m.
Note: Red data book species. Endemic to the central part of the humid forest belt of eastern Madagascar, is known from 13 specimens collected before 1933 and recent sightings from Marojejy, Ranomafana N.P. and Andringitra, these latter suggesting a localized distribution in montane forest relicts, which is under serious threat from clearance. 
The recent field work by Steve Goodman has shown the species to be quite common at Anjanaharibe Sud at altitudes between 1500 and 1800 m. It is uncommon below 1400 m. However, at Ranomafana N.P. it occurs at about 1100 m. Dominique Halleux of the WWF had seen a female Yellow-bellied Sunbird-Asity in the same area (quite likely the same bird) the day before our observation.
Status: Endangered.

MADAGASCAR BUSH LARK (Mirafra hova).  
Common in grassland and scrub. 80 were recorded, the highest count being 30 along the road between Isalo N.P. and Fianarantsoa.

BROWN-THROATED SAND MARTIN (Riparia paludicola).
90 were seen, 65 of which along the road between Perinet Reserve and Tana.

MASCARENE MARTIN (Phedina borbonica).  
15 Tana, 2 Ampijoroa Forest Station, 1 Taolanaro and 2 Ranomafana N.P. - Fianarantsoa.

BARN SWALLOW (Hirundo rustica).
1 Ifaty (UA) (Hotel Lakana Vezo).

MADAGASCAR WAGTAIL (Motacilla flaviventris).  
About 33 recorded, widely scattered although not seen in the west.

ASHY (MADAGASCAR) CUCKOO-SHRIKE (Coracina cinerea).  
Seen at all forest localities, about 25 in total.

LONG-BILLED GREENBUL (Phyllastrephus madagascariensis).
The most widespread greenbul. 40 were recorded, with 17 Ampijoroa Forest Station and 10 Anjanaharibe Sud being the highest numbers.  
Note: 2 races are involved, one in the east and one in the west.

SPECTACLED GREENBUL (Phyllastrephus zosterops).  
1 Andohahela Reserve, 2 Ranomafana N.P., 7 Perinet Reserve and approx. 15 Anjanaharibe Sud.

APPERT'S GREENBUL (Phyllastrephus apperti).  
2 Zombitse Forest. An unusually handsome greenbul.
Note: Red data book species. Only known from two unprotected localities (Zombitse and Vohibasia forests) in south-west Madagascar and threatened by habitat destruction. 
Status: Vulnerable.

DUSKY GREENBUL (Phyllastrephus tenebrosus).  
2 Ranomafana N.P. and 5 Perinet Reserve.
Note: Red data book species. A mysterious (virtually unknown) bulbul of undisturbed rainforest, known from only eight skins and few localities in eastern-central Madagascar. 
Status: Endangered. 

GREY-CROWNED GREENBUL (Phyllastrephus cinereiceps).
1 Ranomafana N.P. and 6 Anjanaharibe Sud.
Note: Red data book species. A little-known bulbul appearing on recent evidence to be confined to montane forest (900 meters upwards), known to be locally common in Ranomafana N.P.. Threatened by habitat loss but occurring in six protected areas. 
Status: Vulnerable.

MADAGASCAR (BLACK) BULBUL (Hypsipetes madagascariensis).  
Abundant throughout, more than 300 were recorded. Highest day count was 40 at Perinet Reserve.

MADAGASCAR MAGPIE-ROBIN (Copsychus albospecularis).  
Common throughout, about 50 were recorded with 10 along the Vohiparara trail at Ranomafana N.P. being the largest concentration.

STONECHAT (Saxicola torquata).  
Common, but localized. 30 were seen, nearly all along the road between Fianarantsoa and Tana and between those cities and Ranomafana N.P. and Perinet Reserve, respectively.

FOREST ROCK-THRUSH (Pseudocossyphus sharpei).  
More common than expected, seen in all eastern forest areas visited: 1 Andohahela Reserve, 3 between Fianarantsoa and Ranomafana N.P., a total of 6 in the Ranomafana N.P. area, 2 Maromizaha and 2 Anjanaharibe Sud.
Note: Near-threatened species.

LITTORAL ROCK-THRUSH (Pseudocossyphus imerinus).  
1 % Lac Anony.

BENSON'S ROCK-THRUSH (Pseudocossyphus bensoni).  
7 Isalo N.P.: 1 pair nesting at hotel Relais de la Reine and 3 %% 2 && seen on the hike in the Isalo N.P.
Note: Red data book species. Only known from arid rocky country and associated vegetation in southern Madagascar, chiefly in and around the Isalo Massif. No threats are known, but the total numbers of the species may prove small. 
Status: Vulnerable.

MADAGASCAR SWAMP-WARBLER (Acrocephalus newtoni).  
3 Ampijoroa Forest Station and 4 Lac Alarobia, Tana.

MADAGASCAR BRUSH-WARBLER (Nesillas typica).
Common throughout, about 90 were recorded. The highest number was about 35 in the Ifaty area.  
Note: The eastern and western races are distinctly different and may well be 2 separate species.

THAMNORNIS WARBLER (Thamnornis chloropetoides).  
3 Ifaty.

MADAGASCAR CISTICOLA (Cisticola cherina).  
Common in grassland and scrub, where about 60 were observed, mostly in the south.

BROWN EMUTAIL (Dromaeocercus brunneus).  
3 Ranomafana N.P. An extremely difficult species to see, running on the ground like a mouse.
Note: Near-threatened species.

GREY EMUTAIL (Dromaeocercus seebohmi).  
2 Ranomafana N.P. (Vohiparara).

RAND'S WARBLER (Randia pseudozosterops).  
2 Ranomafana N.P., 3 Perinet Reserve and 1 Anjanaharibe Sud.
Note: Near-threatened species.
DARK NEWTONIA (Newtonia amphichroa).
1 Ranomafana N.P. and 6 Anjanaharibe Sud.
Note: Probably overlooked.

COMMON NEWTONIA (Newtonia brunneicauda).  
Common in forested areas throughout, about 130 were observed with almost 50 at Ampijoroa Forest Station being the highest number.

ARCHBOLD'S NEWTONIA (Newtonia archboldi).  
10 Ifaty.

COMMON JERY (Neomixis tenella).  
Common in forested areas throughout. About 175 were observed with almost 50 around Ifaty being the largest concentration.

GREEN JERY (Neomixis viridis).  
3 Ranomafana N.P. and 1 Perinet Reserve. 

STRIPE-THROATED JERY (Neomixis striatigula).  
2 Andohahela Reserve, 10 Ranomafana N.P., 4 Perinet Reserve and 10 Anjanaharibe Sud.
Note: Also known to be common around Ifaty where we probably overlooked it.

WEDGE-TAILED JERY (Hartertula flavoviridis).
2 Ranomafana N.P..
Note: Near-threatened species.

"FOREST" WARBLER (Cryptosylvicola randizianasoloi).  
4 Ranomafana N.P. and 6 Maromizaha.
Note: This species is fairly common at altitudes of 900-1100 m, and it is really amazing that it escaped discovery until 1992. Systematically, it forms its own (endemic) genus showing affinities some African genies such as Camaroptera warblers. The above name has not yet been published, but Steve Goodman kindly informed us about it when we met him at Anjanaharibe Sud (where the species also occurs).

WARD'S FLYCATCHER (Pseudobias wardi).  
3 Ranomafana N.P., 3 Perinet Reserve and 2 Anjanaharibe Sud.
Note: Near-threatened species.

MADAGASCAR PARADISE FLYCATCHER (Terpsiphone mutata).
Common in forested areas throughout, 55 were observed, with 12 at Berenty Private Reserve and 12 at Anjanaharibe Sud being the highest numbers.

WHITE-THROATED OXYLABES (Oxylabs madagascariensis).  
5 Ranomafana N.P. and 5+ Anjanaharibe Sud.

YELLOW-BROWED OXYLABES (Oxylabes xanthophrys).
2 Andohahela Reserve, 1 heard Ranomafana N.P. (SJ).
Note: Red data book species. Known to be a fairly rare ground-haunting species of mainly montane forest of eastern Madagascar and is threatened by habitat clearance. 
Status: Vulnerable.

CROSSLEY'S BABBLER (Mystacornis crossleyi).  
4 Ranomafana N.P., 2 Perinet Reserve and 3 Anjanaharibe Sud.

SOUIMANGA SUNBIRD (Nectarinia souimanga).
Abundant throughout, at least 400 observed, about 100 of which in the Ifaty area.   

LONG-BILLED GREEN SUNBIRD (Nectarinia notata).  
Fairly common in a variety of vegetation types. About 25 were observed.

MADAGASCAR WHITE-EYE (Zosterops maderaspatana).  
Common in forested areas, about 105 recorded.

RED-TAILED VANGA (Calicalicus madagascariensis).  
3 Ifaty, 4 Ranomafana N.P., 3 Perinet Reserve, 1 Maromizaha, 5 Anjanaharibe Sud and 1 Manantenina.

RUFOUS VANGA (Schetba rufa).  
5 Ampijoroa Forest Station.

HOOK-BILLED VANGA (Vanga curvirostris).  
2 Ampijoroa Forest Station, 2 Berenty Private Reserve, 2 Andohahela Reserve, 3 Ifaty and 1 by the Bemarivo River.

LAFRESNAYE'S VANGA (Xenopirostris xenopirostris).  
4+ Ifaty.

VAN DAM'S VANGA (Xenopirostris damii).
2 Ampijoroa Forest Station.
Note: Red data book species. Known from only two sites with primary deciduous forest in north-western Madagascar and under great pressure due to habitat destruction. 
Status: Vulnerable.

POLLEN'S VANGA (Xenopirostris polleni).
3 Ranomafana N.P.
Note: Red data book species. Has a very patchy distribution and abundance (only fairly common in Ranomafana N.P.) in the rainforest belt of eastern Madagascar. 
Status: Vulnerable.

SICKLE-BILLED VANGA (Falculea palliata).  
7+ Ampijoroa Forest Station, 1 Taolanaro - Berenty Private Reserve, 3 Berenty Private Reserve and 20+ Ifaty (15 at km 32).

WHITE-HEADED VANGA (Leptopterus viridis).  
Widespread and fairly common, 20 recorded with no major concentrations. Seen in all forest types from spiny forest to rain forest.

CHABERT'S VANGA (Leptopterus chabert).  
The commonest and most widespread vanga, recorded in all forest types. 48 birds were seen, 23 of them in the Ifaty area.

BLUE VANGA (Cyanolanius madagascarinus).  
Fairly common in forested areas, except in the south-west. 23 birds were seen, with 6 at Ampijoroa Forest Station and 6 at Ranomafana N.P. being the highest numbers.

NUTHATCH VANGA (Hypositta corallirostris).  
3-4 Perinet Reserve and 5+ Anjanaharibe Sud.

*BERNIER'S VANGA (Oriola bernieri).
1 Anjanaharibe Sud, 2 Manantenina.
Note: Red data book species. Is seemingly restricted to undisturbed forest in the northern rainforest of eastern Madagascar and described as certainly the rarest vanga in the Eastern Forest. 
Status: Vulnerable.

*HELMETBIRD (Euryceros prevostii).
2 Manantenina. 
Note: Near-threatened species.

TYLAS VANGA (Tylas eduardi).  
10 Ranomafana N.P., 1 Perinet Reserve, 1 Maromizaha and 6+ Anjanaharibe Sud.

CRESTED DRONGO (Dicrurus forficatus).
Abundant throughout, except in the Tana area. About 120 birds were recorded.  

PIED CROW (Corvus albus).
Abundant in the south and west, few elsewhere. More than 300 birds were recorded.

MADAGASCAR STARLING (Hartlaubius auratus).  
7 Ranomafana N.P., 3 Ranomafana N.P. - Fianarantsoa, 2+ Perinet Reserve and 4 Anjanaharibe Sud.

COMMON MYNA (Acridotheres tristis).	INTRODUCED.
Common throughout, about 350 were recorded. The highest number was 250+ around Maroantsetra. Not found inside humid forest.

HOUSE SPARROW (Passer domesticus).	INTRODUCED.
3 Tamatave Airport, Tana.

NELICOURVI WEAVER (Ploceus nelicourvi).  
6 Ranomafana N.P., 6 Perinet Reserve, 4 Anjanaharibe Sud, 2 Bemarivo River and 2 Manantenina. 

SAKALAVA WEAVER (Ploceus sakalava).
Common in the south and west, about 215 birds were recorded, about 150 of which in the Ifaty area.  

MADAGASCAR RED FODY (Foudia madagascariensis).
Abundant in open areas throughout, about 390 recorded.

FOREST FODY (Foudia omissa).  
5+ Ranomafana N.P. (Vohiparara), 5+ Perinet Reserve, 8 Maromizaha and 5 Anjanaharibe Sud.
Note: It is conceivable that the species is becoming threatened as the rain forest becomes more fragmented due to hybridization with Mad. Red Fody. At Anjanaharibe Sud, all Forest Fodies showed signs of hybridization, but in the Perinet Reserve area, where the forest is at least as fragmented, no signs at all were evident.

MADAGASCAR MANNIKIN (Lonchura nana).  
6 Ampijoroa Forest Station, 200 Amboromalandy Swamp and 6 Ranomafana N.P.
Note: The species is known to be widespread and very common, and we suspect we have under-recorded it.

LIST OF MAMMALS & REPTILES RECORDED IN MADAGASCAR.

The taxonomy used in this list is mainly based on Ken Preston-Mafham's "Madagascar A natural history".

* = Species only recorded duing the extension week.

Species observed only by one or two participants are marked in the list with the initials of the observers in brackets.

FLYING FOX (Pteropus rufus).
10 Berenty Private Reserve and 1 Nosy Mangabe.

YELLOW-STREAKED TENREC (Hemicentetes semispuhosus).
2 Perinet Reserve and 1 Anjanaharibe Sud.

RING-TAILED LEMUR (Lemur catta).
75+ Berenty Private Reserve.

BROWN LEMUR (Lemur fulvus).
L. f. fulvus:	11 Ampijoroa Forest Station, 20+ Berenty Private Reserve and 7+ Ranomafana N.P. and 5 Maromizaha.

L. f. rufus: 8 Ranomafana N.P.

L. f. albifrons: 3 Anjanaharibe Sud and 10+ Nosy Mangabe.

RED-BELLIED LEMUR (Lemur rubriventer).
5 Ranomafana N.P.

BLACK-AND-WHITE RUFFED LEMUR (Varecia variegata variegata).
1 heard Perinet Reserve, 1 seen and several heard Nosy Mangabe.

WEASEL (SPORTIVE) LEMUR (Lepilemur mustelinus).
L. m. mustelinus: 2 Ranomafana N.P.

L. m. leucopus: 4 Berenty Private Reserve and 1 Bealoka.

GREY GENTLE LEMUR (Hapalemur griseus griseus).
7 Perinet Reserve.

INDRI (Indri indri).
2-3 families heard and seen Perinet Reserve, 2 families heard Maromizaha, 2 families heard Anjanaharibe Sud.
Note: 2 races are involved, the northern (occurring at Anjanaharibe Sud) is all-black.

AVAHI (WOOLLY LEMUR) (Avahi laniger).
A. l. laniger: 3 Perinet Reserve.
A. l. occidentalis: 9+ Ampijoroa Forest Station.

MILNE-EDWARDS DIADEMED SIFAKA (Propithecus diadema diadema).
10 Ranomafana N.P.

VERREAUX'S SIFAKA (Propithecus verreauxi).
P. v. verreauxi: 20+ Berenty Private Reserve, 7 Bealoka and 1 heard Zombitse Forest.

P. v. cocquereli: 10 Ampijoroa Forest Station.  

GREATER DWARF LEMUR (Cheirogaleus major).
3 Perinet Reserve.

FAT-TAILED DWARF LEMUR (Cheirogaleus medius).
1 Ranomafana N.P.

GREY MOUSE-LEMUR (Microcebus murinus).
2 Ampijoroa Forest Station and 4 Berenty Private Reserve.
Note: Sometimes regarded conspecific with Rufous Mouse-Lemur (M. rufus).

RUFOUS MOUSE-LEMUR (Microcebus rufus).
2 Ranomafana N.P. and 3 Nosy Mangabe.
Note: See the former species.

*AYE-AYE (Daubentonia madagascariensis).
1 Nosy Mangabe.

RED FOREST RAT (Nesomys rufus).
1 Ranomafana N.P.
Note: Probably overlooked.

BROWN RAT (Rattus norvegicus).
1 Mahajanga.

FOSA (Cryptoprocta ferox).
1 Perinet Reserve (AT). 

STRIPED CIVET (Fossa fossana).
1 Ranomafana N.P.

RING-TAILED MONGOOSE (Gallidia elegans).
2 Andohahela Reserve and 1 Ranomafana N.P.

HUMPBACK WHALE (Megaptera novaeangliae).
5 Taolanaro, migrating south.

SNAKE SP.
Snakes were seen at Ampijoroa Forest Station, Ifaty, Perinet Reserve and Manantenina. At the former 2 localities, they were slim and fast-moving, whereas the one at Perinet Reserve was a 1 m long bluish Boa. 
HAWKSBILL (Eretmochelys imbricata).
2 Nosy Mangabe.

LEAF-TAILED GECKO (Uroplatus fimbriatus).
10+ Nosy Mangabe.

"DAY GECKO" 
Phelsuma quadriocellata: 1 Ranomafana N.P.

Phelsuma madagascariensis ?: 2 Ampijoroa Forest Station.

"IGUANA" (Oplurus cuvieri).
2 Ampijoroa Forest Station.

CHAMELEON SP. 
Around 10 different species was seen from the large Parson's Chameleon (Chamaeleo parsonii) to a very small Brookesia species.

GIRDLE-TAILED LIZARD (Cordylidae sp.).
1 Ampijoroa Forest Station.

SKINK SP.
1 species was seen at Nosy Mangabe, probably a Mabuya species.

ITINERARY OF THE JOURNEY

06.10.1995:	     -09.00	Victoria Airport, Mahé.
09.15-10.00 	Coral Strand Hotel.
10.15-11.15 	Botanical Garden.
12.00-12.45 	Mangrove near Victoria.
12.45-13.30 	Roche Caiman Bird Sanctuary
15.00-19.00 	Walk Fairview Estate to Salazie Tea Plantation.
Night at Coral Strand Hotel.

07.10.1995:	10.00-16.15 	Fregate Island.
Night at Coral Strand Hotel

08.10.1995:			Morning flight for Praslin about 10.00 Praslin Airstrip.
11.30-12.00 	Ferry Praslin - La Digue.
12.00-16.00 	La Digue (incl. Paradise Fly Catcher's Lodge).
16.00-17.00 	La Veuve Special Reserve.
17.00-18.20 	Walk in hinterland to La Digue Rock
Night at Paradise Fly Catcher's Lodge

09.10.1995:	06.00-08.00 	Pools by La Digue Water Treatment Office (and walk to and from).
08.00-13.30 	Paradise Fly Catcher's Lodge.
14.00-16.15 	By glass bottom boat to Cocos Island and Felecité Island.
16.30-17.00 	Walk along the beach from near jetty to lodge.
17.15-18.30 	Mangrove near La Digue Rock.
Night Paradise Fly Catcher's Lodge.

10.10.1995:	05.45-08.00 	Beach beyond and mangrove near la Digue Rock, around 11.00 Pools before Grande Anse.
12.00-13.00 	Around jetty, afternoon Paradise Fly Catcher's Lodge.
17.00-17.30 	Jetty.
17.30-18.00 	Ferry La Digue-Praslin.
Night at Hotel Flamboyant.

11.10.1995:	06.30-07.30 	Walk by Hotel Flamboyant, around 9.30 Grande Anse, Praslin.
10.00-12.00 	Cousin Island, around 14.00 Coast by turn-off to Valle de Mai.
14.15-16.00 	Hotel Flamboyant.
16.00-18.30 	Walk along coast to valle de Mai turn-off.
Night at Hotel Flamboyant.

12.10.1995:	06.30-07.30 	Walk by Hotel Flamboyant.
08.00-08.30 	Garden, Hotel Flamboyant.
10.15-15.30 	Aride Island.
15.30-16.00 	Boat Aride-Praslin.
16.00-16.15 	Landing site, Praslin.
Night at Hotel Flamboyant.

13.10.1995:	06.00-07.15 	Walk Hotel Flamboyant-Valle de Mai Reserve.
07.15-09.30 	Valle de Mai Reserve.
09.30-10.30 	Walk Valle de Mai Reserve-Hotel Flamboyant.
10.30-16.30 	Hotel Flamboyant.
16.30-18.15 	Walk along coast to Valle de Mai turn-off.
Night at Hotel Flamboyant.

14.10.1995:			Morning flight for Mahé and Reunion.
12.00	 	Saint Denis Airport.
14.30-15.30 	Driving saint Denis - Wetland by Saint Paul.
15.30-16.15 	Wetland by Saint Paul.
17.30-18.30 	Coast by Saint Louis.

15.10.1995:	06.00-10.15 	Plaine de Chicots.

DESCRIPTION OF LOCALITIES VISITED IN THE SEYCHELLES

Below the localities visited are described briefly in the order of their being visited by us.

MAHE

Mahe is the largest island and the commercial center of the Seychelles. We spent a day birding on Mahe visiting different localities. 

The Botanical Garden in the center of the capital city of Victoria is a beautiful park and three of the endemics were seen here: Seychelles Blue Pigeon, Seychelles Bulbul and Seychelles Sunbird. The highlight of the Gardens was the display by White-tailed Tropicbirds flying low over our heads.

The mangrove area to the southeast of Victoria was visited briefly. We saw some wetland birds including a local rarity - Black-crowned Night-Heron.

Most of our time was spent in the central highland to the west of Victoria. We took a taxi from Victoria to the Fairview Estate where we had beautiful view over Victoria and some of the nearby islands. The area around Fairview is known to be one of the best places for the Seychelles White-eye, the most difficult of the endemics, but we could not find it. Then we made a superb walk from Fairview through forest and tea plantations down to the Sans Souci road. The Sans Souci road near the Salazie Tea Plantation is known to be a good place for the rare Seychelles Scops-owl and we heard at least three different birds calling.

FRIGATE

Frigate Island is the easternmost of the granitic Seychelles. Frigate is small, only 202 ha, and can only be reached by aeroplane from Mahe. The endemic Seychelles Magpie-Robin can only be seen on Frigate. Birdlife International has a conservation project trying to improve the situation for the magpie-robin. The BirdLife staff: Neil McCulloch, Robert Lucking and Vicki Ayrton guided us around the island. We saw a large proportion of the world population of the magpie-robin and were informed about the different BirdLife initiatives to improve conditions for it. Another bird of interest seen on Frigate was the endemic Seychelles Fody. The Frigate endemic Giant Tenebrionid Beetle was also seen and the enormous Giant Aldabra Land Tortoise impressed everybody.

LA DIGUE

La Digue is the only island where the beautiful endemic Seychelles Black Paradise-Flycatcher can be seen and we found it quite common not only in the forested Flycatcher Reserve, but also in the more open areas. Another speciality for La Digue is Chinese Bittern which can be found in the marshy areas on the western side of the island - best seen in the morning. We observed a local rarity - Grey-tailed Tatler on the tidal flats near the jetty. One afternoon we did a glass bottom boat trip from La Digue to the reefs around the small islands of Cocos and Felcite. The corals were beautiful with colourful fish and sea turtles.

PRASLIN

Praslin is the second largest island in the Seychelles and the only one to have Lesser Vasa Parrots (here called Black Parrot). On Praslin we stayed at the hotel Flamboyant around which we saw many of the endemics. The elusive Seychelles Kestrel used the hotel as a roost, the parrots were flying over the garden in the mornings and swiftlets, bulbuls, sunbirds and pigeons were always present. The tidal flats at the nearby village of Grand Anse was good for waders including Crab Plover. The visit to the Vallee de Mai National Park for the unique Coco-de-Mer forest was made very special by the guidance of the local expert Mr. Victorin Laboudallon from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Planning and Environment.

COUSIN

Cousin is a small island approximately one km in diameter (27 ha) lying about 2 km off the coast of Praslin. Cousin is owned by BirdLife International and the island is a nature reserve. The work of BirdLife on Cousin is a conservation success: in the 1960's the Seychelles Warbler was on the brink of extinction with less than 30 birds remaining, but due to different initiatives the population of Seychelles Warbler is now over 400 birds and it has been introduced on a couple of nearby islands. A visit to Cousin is special not only because of the Seychelles Warbler, but because there are birds all over: White-tailed Tropicbirds breeding on the ground, Fairy Terns in the trees and noisy Lesser and Brown Noddies flying overhead. Cousin is also home to one of the oldest Giant Tortoises outside Aldabra, a truly huge creature. 

ARIDE

Aride is another small island off the coast of Praslin. The island is owned by the British nature organisation Royal Society for Nature Conservation and is now a nature reserve like Cousin. The island is one big seabird colony with 10 breeding species of seabirds including Wedge-tailed and Audubon's Shearwater, one of the world's largest breeding colonies of Lesser Noddy and huge numbers of breeding Sooty Terns. What impressed us most was the number and display by the non-breeding frigatebirds. The best place for seeing displaying frigatebirds and another Aride specialty, Red-tailed Tropicbird, is the highest point of the island, Gros La Tete. 	     

LIST OF BIRDS RECORDED ON THE SEYSCHELLES.

WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER (Puffinus pacificus).
10 Frigate 7/10, 40 La Digue 10/10, 5 Aride-Praslin 12/10.

AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER (Puffinus lherminieri).
200 La Digue 10/10, 3 La Digue-Praslin 10/10, 2 Aride 12/10.

WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD (Phaethon lepturus).
8 Botanical Garden 6/10, 1 Frigate 7/10, 2 La Digue 9/10, 30 Cousin 11/10, 300 Aride 12/10.

RED-TAILED TROPICBIRD (Phaethon rubricauda).
3 Aride 12/10.

GREAT FRIGATEBIRD (Fregata minor).
3 Cocos Island 9/10, 900 Aride 12/10.

LESSER FRIGATEBIRD (Fregata ariel).
1 Frigate 7/10 (FJ, SS), 3 Aride 12/10.

FRIGATEBIRD SP. (Fregata sp.).
1 Frigate 7/10, 1 La Digue 8/10, 1 Cousin 11/10, 1 Aride-Praslin 12/10.

GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea).
1 Victoria Mangrove 6/10, 1 mangrove by La Digue Rock 9/10.

CATTLE EGRET (Bubulcus ibis).
50 Victoria 6/10, 1 Praslin Airstrip 8/10.

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON (Nycticorax nycticorax).
1 imm. Roche Caiman Bird Sanctuary 6/10.
Note: Vagrant on the Seychelles.

STRIATED HERON (Butorides striatus).
2 Victoria mangrove 6/10, 3 Roche Caiman Bird Sanctuary 6/10, 1 Salazie Tea Plantation 6/10, 4 La Digue 8/10, 1 9/10, 5 10/10, 1 Praslin 13/10.

CHINESE BITTERN (Ixobrychus sinensis).
1 pools by Water Treatment Office 9/10, 1 La Digue 10/10 (IA).

SEYCHELLES KESTREL (Falco araea).
1 at night roost Hotel Flamboyant 10/10 to 13/10.
Note: Red data book species. The Kestrel is restricted to three islands in the Seychelles with a population of around 400 pairs and is declining. 
Status: Vulnerable.

MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus).
8 La Digue 8/10, 1 pools by Water Treatment Office 9/10, 7 (ad.2 pull.5) pool near Grande Anse 10/10, 1 Cousin 11/10, 3 Aride 12/10.  

GREATER SAND PLOVER (Charadrius leschenaultii).
1 Victoria Mangrove 6/10, 1 Praslin Airstrip 8/10, 1 La Digue 10/10, 6 Grande Anse, Praslin 11/10, 7 Praslin, Valle de Mai turn-off 11/10, 3 13/10.

GREY PLOVER (Pluvialis squatarola).
4 Frigate 7/10, 1 Praslin Airstrip 8/10, 2 La Digue 8/10, 2 9/10, 1 10/10, 5 Praslin 11/10, 1 12/10, 8 13/10.

WHIMBREL (Numenius phaeopus).
4 Victoria Mangrove 6/10, 1 Frigate 7/10, 1 Praslin Airstrip 8/10, 4 La Digue 8/10, 3 9/10, 3 10/10, 1 Grande Anse, Praslin 11/10, 5 Praslin, Valle de Mai turn-off 11/10, 31 13/10. 

BAR-TAILED GODWIT (Limosa lapponica).
1 Grande Anse, Praslin 11/10 (JM).

GREENSHANK (Tringa nebularia).
1 La Digue 9/10, 1 10/10, 1 Grande Anse, Praslin 11/10, 2 Praslin, Valle de Mai turn-off 11/10 and 13/10.  

TEREK SANDPIPER (Xenus cinerea).
1 Praslin, Valle de Mai turn-off 11/10.

COMMON SANDPIPER (Actitis hypoleucos).
1 Hotel Flamboyant 11/10, 2 Praslin, Valle de Mai turn-off 11/10 and 13/10. 
GREY-TAILED TATTLER (Heteroscelus brevipes).
1 La Digue (near jetty) 9/10 and 10/10.
Note: Vagrant on the Seychelles.

TURNSTONE (Arenaria interpres).
7 Victoria Mangrove 6/10, 19 Frigate 7/10, 2 Praslin Airstrip 8/10, 1 La Digue 8/10, 18 9/10, 13 10/10, 11 Praslin 11/10, 4 12/10, 5 13/10.

CURLEW SANDPIPER (Calidris ferruginea).
20 Victoria Mangrove 6/10, 4 Grande Anse, Praslin 11/10, 7 Praslin, Valle de Mai turn-off 11/10 and 13/10. 

SANDERLING (Calidris alba).
3 Grande Anse, Praslin 11/10, 6 Praslin, Valle de Mai turn-off 11/10, 7 13/10. 

CRAB PLOVER (Dromas ardeola).
1 imm. Cousin 11/10 (SS, IA), 1 imm. Praslin, Valle de Mai turn-off 13/10 (JM).

BRIDLED TERN (Sterna anaethetus).
1 Frigate 7/10, 9 Cocos Island 9/10, 2 Aride 12/10, 1 Hotel Flamboyant 13/10.

SOOTY TERN (Sterna fuscata).
4 Frigate 7/10, 3 La Digue 10/10, 1 Hotel Flamboyant 11/10, 400 Aride 12/10.

CRESTED TERN (Sterna bergii).
1 Coral Strand Hotel 7/10, 3 Praslin (coast near Hotel Flamboyant) 13/10.

LESSER NODDY (Anous tenuirostris).
300 Frigate 7/10, 1 Cocos Island 9/10, 500 La Digue 10/10, 15 La Digue-Praslin 10/10, 1000 Cousin 11/10, 3000 Aride 12/10, 600 Aride-Praslin 12/10.

COMMON NODDY (Anous stolidus).
50 Frigate 7/10, 18 Praslin-La Digue 8/10, 3 Cousin 11/10, 20 Aride 12/10, 10 Aride-Praslin 12/10. 

FAIRY TERN (Gygis alba).
1 Botanical Garden 6/10, 80 Frigate 7/10, 15 La Digue 9/10, 15 La Digue 10/10, 200 Cousin 11/10, 200 Aride 12/10.

SEYCHELLES BLUE PIGEON (Alectroenas pulcherrima).
6 Botanical Garden 6/10, 1 Fair View Estate-Salazie Tea Plantation 6/10, 10 Frigate 7/10, 1 Hotel Flamboyant 11/10, 1 Cousin 11/10, 1 Praslin 11/10, 4 Hotel Flamboyant 12/10, 6 Hotel Flamboyant-Valle de Mai, 2 Valle de Mai 13/10.

MADAGASCAR TURTLE DOVE (Streptopelia picturata). 	INTRODUCED.
Widespread, seen on all islands, highest counts 13 Frigate 7/10, 9 Aride 12/10.
Note: The indigenous race S. p. rostrata is now considered extinct due to interbreeding with introduced S. p. picturata. Until recently, S. p. rostrata could be seen on Aride and Cousin. A few possible hybrids were observed on Cousin).

BARRED GROUND DOVE (Geopelia striata).  	INTRODUCED.
Common, seen on all islands, highest count 30 Frigate 7/10.

LESSER VASA PARROT (Coracopsis nigra). 
1 Hotel Flamboyant 11/10, 3 12/10, 6 Hotel Flamboyant-Valle de Mai, 7 Valle de Mai 13/10.
Note: In litterature on the Seychelles this form is often called Black Parrot.

SEYCHELLES BARE-LEGGED SCOPS-OWL (Otus insularis).
3 heard Salazie Tea Plantation 6/10.
Note: Red data book species. A species known only from the upland of the island of Mahe, where the total numbers may be only 80 pairs. 
Status: Critical.

EURASIAN CUCKOO (Cuculus canorus).
1 Frigate 7/10.

SEYCHELLES SWIFTLET (Collocalia elaphra).
5 Coral Strand Hotel 6/10, 36 Fair View Estate-Salazie Tea Plantation 6/10, 3 La Digue 8/10, 1 9/10, 6 Hotel Flamboyant 11/10, 43 Praslin 11/10, 4 Hotel Flamboyant-Valle de Mai 13/10.
Note: Red data book species. The swiftlet is endemic to Mahe, Praslin and La Digue with a total population of under 1000 birds. 
Status: Vulnerable.

SEYCHELLES BULBUL (Hypsipetes crassirostris).
10 Botanical Garden 6/10, 25 Fair View Estate-Salazie Tea Plantation 6/10, 17 La Digue 8/10 (incl. 8 la Veuve Special Reserve), 1 9/10, 2 10/10, 1 Praslin 11/10, 4 Hotel Flamboyant 12/10, 12 Hotel Flamboyant-Valle de Mai, 18 Valle de Mai 13/10.

SEYCHELLES MAGPIE-ROBIN (Copsychus sechellarum).
13 Frigate 7/10.
Note: Red data book species. The last population of this species lives on the tiny island of Frigate, where there are 46 birds.
Status: Critical.

SEYCHELLES BRUSH-WARBLER (Bebrornis sechellensis).
3 Cousin 11/10, 7 Aride 12/10.
Note: Red data book species. The population of this endemic warbler was down to 50 birds on the island of Cousin in 1965, but due to the management work of ICBP/BirdLife the population is now over 600 birds. 
Status: Vulnerable. 

SEYCHELLES BLACK PARADISE FLYCATCHER (Terpsiphone corvina).
At least 17 different birds seen La Digue, highest count 13 La Digue 8/10 (incl. 7 la Veuve Special Reserve).
Note: Red data book species. The population of this very beautiful Paradise-Flycatcher is estimated to around 70 birds. The Paradise-Flycatcher is restricted to a woodland area on La Digue Island. The woodland of La Digue is under pressure from human development. 
Status: Critical.

COMMON MYNA (Acridotheres tristis).  	INTRODUCED.
Common, seen on larger islands but not Cousin and Aride, highest counts 70 Fair View Estate-Salazie Tea Plantation 6/10, 60 Frigate 7/10.

SEYCHELLES SUNBIRD (Nectarinia dussumiera).
2 Botanical Garden 6/10, 2 Victoria Mangrove 6/10, 18 Fair View Estate-Salazie Tea Plantation 6/10, 15 Frigate 7/10, 9 La Digue 8/10, 3 10/10, 12 Hotel Flamboyant 11/10, 7 Cousin 11/10, 2 Praslin 11/10, 8 Hotel Flamboyant 12/10, 3 Aride 12/10, 12 Valle de Mai 13/10.

MADAGASCAR RED FODY (Foudia madagascariensis).  	INTRODUCED.
Common, seen on all islands, highest count 65 Frigate incl. 6 birds of yellow morph.

SEYCHELLES FODY (Foudia sechellarum).
20 Frigate 7/10, 12 Cousin 11/10.
Note: Red data book species. The fody only survives on the three small rat-free islands Cousin, Cousine and Frigate. 
Status: Vulnerable.

COMMON WAXBILL (Estrilda astrild). 	INTRODUCED.
35 La Digue 8/10, 2 10/10.

MAMMALS AND REPTILES RECORDED ON THE SEYCHELLES.

FLYING FOX
100 Botanical Garden 6/10, 20 Salazie Tea Plantation 6/10, 9 La Digue 8/10, 25 Hotel Flamboyant 11/10, 20 Aride 12/10, 7 Hotel Flamboyant-Valle de Mai 13/10.

ALDABRA GIANT LAND TORTOISE (Geochelonia gigantea).
8 Frigate 7/10, 5 Cousin 11/10.

HAWKSBILL TURTLE (Eretmochelys imbricata).
1 Praslin-La Digue 8/10, 6 Cocos Island-Felicité Island 9/10, 1 Aride 12/10.

GREEN GECKO (Phelsuma astriata).
Frigate 7/10, 10 La Digue 8/10, 9/10, 10/10, 1 Aride 12/10.

BRONZE GECKO (Ailuronyx seychellensis).
Frigate 7/10, Cousin 11/10, 2 Aride 12/10.

WRIGHT'S SKINK (Mubuya wrightii).
Frigate 7/10, Cousin 11/10, Aride 12/10.

SEYCHELLES SKINK (Mabuya sechellensis).
Frigate 7/10, Cousin 11/10, Aride 12/10.

GIANT TENEBRIONID BEETLE (Coleoptera ?).
Frigate 7/10.

PRE-TOUR NOTES FROM MAURITIUS.

From October 8th to October 14th, Marianne Andersen and Erik Mølgaard visited the island of Mauritius. Mauritius is situated in the Indian Ocean 855 km east of Madagascar and 160 km east of Reunion. The island measures 65 by 45 km.
Mauritius is an independent nation today, but previously it has been a French as well as a British colony. The population is dominated by hindus (52 %) and moslems (16 %), giving the island a distinct oriental atmosphere. Tourism and sugar cane growing are the main businesses. The tourist facilities are mainly found along the north coast. In contrast, the south coast appears wild and exciting. Outside the major hotels, the price level is relatively low.
For centuries, the local population as well as the colonists have exploited nature heavily, and today only tiny fragments of native forest remain in the southern mountains. A few years ago, several bird species were facing extinction, but projects sponsored by the WWF and others have increased the populations of Mauritius Kestrel and Pink Pigeon significantly. The efforts are now focused on the Mauritius Parakeet, only 7-15 of which are still found in the wild.
The following localities are worth a visit (several moderately priced hotels are conveniently located between Flic en Flac and the Black River):

MACCHABÉ NATURE RESERVE.
This is the largest nature reserve of Mauritius, situated in the southern mountains. A gravel road enters the park from the east at Le Pétrin and forks after about 1 km. The left fork takes you to a view point above the Black River Gorge. Mauritius Kestrel, Mauritius Parakeet and Mauritius Cuckoo-Shrike may all be seen here. In about 2 km, the right fork takes you to a field camp where biologists are studying the Pink Pigeon and willingly share their knowledge (and show up the birds) to visitors.

ALEXANDER FALLS.
This site is a tourist attraction, 7 km in the direction of Chamarel from Le Pétrin (and well signposted from the latter). Near the parking lot, excellent views of the falls can be obtained and a small nature trail descends the gorge to a stream.
Mauritius Kestrel, Pink Pigeon, Mauritius Parakeet and Mauritius Olive White-eye are possible in this area.

BASIN BLANC.
Around this small crater lake, appearing on most tourist maps, half way between Le Pètrin and Chemin Grenier, some native forest is still found, especially near a little bridge along the road north of the crater. This area is among the best for Mauritius Olive White-eye, Mauritius Fody and Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher.

BLACK RIVER GORGE.
Guided tours into the gorge are conducted by the biologists in the Black River Aviary with whom you must register directly. The area is home to a large population of Mauritius Kestrel, some of which are fed by the biologists daily. This is the only locality requiring a four-wheel drive vehicle.

LE GRIS GRIS & LE SOUFFLEUR.
Both of the above are fine vantage points on the south coast from where seabirds can be seen. A spotting-scope is a must (MA and EM did not have one).

LIST OF BIRDS RECORDED ON MAURITIUS.

Information of status and threat is taken from N.J. Collar et al. "Birds to Watch 2".

WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER (Puffinus pacificus).
50 Le Gris Gris, 20 Le Souffleur.

WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD (Phaethon lepturus).
25 Macchabè Nature Reserve, 3 Le Souffleur.

STRIATED HERON (Butorides striatus).
1 near Flic en Flac, 2 Flic en Flac, 1-2 Le Gris Gris.
 
MAURITIUS KESTREL (Falco punctatus).
7 Black River Gorge.
Note: Red Data Book species. Formerly reduced to just 4 individuals, this Kestrel now numbers about 200 in the wild. 
Status: Endangered.

GREY FRANCOLIN (Francolinus podicerianus).	INTRODUCED.
2 Flic en Flac.

RUDDY TURNSTONE (Arenaria interpres).
50 Flic en Flac, 4 Le Souffleur.

WHIMBREL (Numenius phaeopus).
1 Flic en Flac 8/10, 2 9/10.

SANDERLING (Calidris alba).
1 Flic en Flac.

CRESTED TERN (Sterna bergii).
1 along the North coast.

SOOTY TERN (Sterna fuscata).
40 Le Souffleur.

SOOTY -/BRIDLED TERN (Sterna fuscata/anaethetus).
60 Le Gris Gris.

COMMON NODDY (Anous stolidus).
5 Le Gris Gris.

NODDY SP. (Anous sp.).
10 Le Souffleur.

PINK PIGEON (Columba mayeri).
15 Macchabè Nature Reserve.
Note: Red Data Book species. Having experienced almost total loss of habitat compounded (in particular) by nest predation by introduced rats and monkeys (also cyclones), had survived in very low numbers (c.20) in the upland areas of native forest in the south-west. A successful captive-bred program have released several birds, so the estimated free-living population is a least 200 birds (1994).   
Status: Critical.

MADAGASCAR TURTLE-DOVE (Streptopelia picturata).	INTRODUCED.
Uncommon in the southern part of the Island.

SPOTTED DOVE (Streptopelia chinensis).	INTRODUCED.
Common.

PEACEFUL DOVE (Geopelia striata).	INTRODUCED.
Uncommon.

ROSE-RINGED PARAKEET (Psittacula krameri).	INTRODUCED.
1 Piton - Goodlands.

MAURITIUS PARAKEET (Psittacula echo).
2 Macchabè Nature Reserve 9/10, 2 12/10. (Probably the same individuals).
Note: Red Data Book species. Only 7-15 birds now surviving in the wild, and no success as yet with breeding in captivity. 
Status: Critical.

GREY-HEADED LOVEBIRD (Agapornis cana).	INTRODUCED.
Heard Royal Botanical Garden (Pamplemousses).

MASCARENE SWIFTLET (Collocalia francicus).
Uncommon in the Southern part of the Island.

HOUSE CROW (Corvus splendens).	INTRODUCED.
40 Royal Botanical Garden (Pamplemousses).

MAURITIUS CUCKOO-SHRIKE (Coracina typica).
3 Macchabè Nature Reserve 9/10, 3 12/10, 1 Basin Blanc.
Note: Red Data Book species. An insectivorous, forest-dwelling species, that suffers from continous habitat degration and heavy predation of its nest by introduced mammals. Over 200 pairs was estimated in 1993. 
Status: Vulnerable.  

COMMON MYNA (Acridotheres tristis).	INTRODUCED.
Common.
Note: Introduced in the 1760's to control locusts. 

MASCARENE MARTIN (Phedina borbonica).
5 Macchabè Nature Reserve.

RED-WHISKERED BULBUL (Pycnonotus jocosus).	INTRODUCED.
Common.
Note: One pair of birds escaping from a cage duing the 1892 cyclone are said to be the ancestors of all the bulbuls on the Island.

MAURITIUS BULBUL (Hypsipetes olivaceus).
2 Basin Blanc, 1 Macchabè Nature Reserve.
Note: Red Data Book species. Over 200 pairs estimated in 1993, although it may be slowly declining as the native forest degrades. According to Sibley & Monroe, conspecific with the Reunion Bulbul (H. borbonicus). If so, the species is called Mascarene Bulbul (H. borbonicus). 
Status: Vulnerable.

MAURITIUS OLIVE WHITE-EYE (Zosterops olivacea).
1 Basin Blanc.
Note: Red Data Book species. Has long suffered from the destruction and (continuing) degradation of its habitat, and from nest predation by introduced mammals. The total population is estimated to be 150 pairs (1990). 
Status: Critical.

MASCARENE GREY WHITE-EYE (Zosterops borbonicus mauritiana).
1 Flic en Flac, 50 Macchabè Nature Reserve, 50 Basin Blanc.

BLACK-HEADED WEAVER (Ploceus cucullatus).	INTRODUCED.
150 Flic en Flac and several seen at a few other places.
Note: Also called Village Weaver.

MADAGASCAR FODY (Foudia madagascariensis).	INTRODUCED.
Common, even in the same area in Basin Blanc where Mauritius Fody occur.

MAURITIUS FODY (Foudia rubra).	
5 Basin Blanc.
Note: Red Data Book species. Has suffered catastrophically from the clearance of its upland forest habitat in the south-west duing the 1970s. Declining from around 250 pairs in 1975 to 81-102 pairs in 1990.
Status: Critical. 

YELLOW-FRONTED CANARY (Serinus mozambicus).	INTRODUCED.
3 Flic en Flac.

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