Angola
Cave Chat: The bold, pied Angola Cave Chat Xenocopsychus ansorgei
has captured the imagination of birders more than any Angolan species.
Fortunately, it's reliance on rocky outcrops rather than forest,
makes it one of the Angolan endemics most robust to habitat destruction.
Monteiro's
Bush-Shrike: The least-known member of Africa's impressive group
of Bush-Shrikes, Monteiro's Bush-shrike Malaconotus monteiri is
known only from a couple of forest patches in Angola and southwest
Cameroon. The pale lores, dark eye and pure yellow underparts separate
it from other closely related species.
In October 2003 we visited Angola on a short, one-week exploratory trip,
with the aim of adding to an ever-growing post-war knowledge of the Western
Angola Endemic Bird Area. An invitation from 'Wings Over Africa', who organised
our visit and hosted us at the wonderful 'Rio Longa Lodge', provided the
perfect opportunity for this.
Initially we spent a day and a half at Rio Longa Lodge, birding the surrounding
wetland habitats, riverside thickets and arid bushveld. Rufous-tailed Palm-Thrush
and Bubbling Cisticola could be seen from the balcony in front of our room.
A short walk upstream along the Longa River produced our first Red-backed
Mousebird, White-fronted Wattle-eye and Angola Batis, and our only Golden-backed
Bishop, in non-breeding plumage.
Red-backed
Mousebird: Angola's most widespread endemic, Red-backed Mousebird
Colius castanotus, has left a gaping hole in African birders' life
lists for almost 30 years. Visiting Angola will help many to complete
their Mousebird lists.
Rio Longa:
There is no better place to base one's visit to the nearby escarpment
forest than the comfortable Rio Longa Lodge. Surrounding arid bushveld
and Croton thicket holds specials such as Red-backed Mousebird Colius
castonotus, Angola Batis Batis minulla and White-fronted Wattle-eye
Platysteira albifrons.
Although our visit along the Longa River had been productive, we were
far keener to get onto the Angolan escarpment, where most of the endemics
and threatened species occur. Once onto the edge of the escarpment we
attempted to make our way southwards to Mount Moco, which holds the only
true montane forests in Angola where Swiestra's Francolin, Angola Cave-Chat
and Angola-Slaty Flycatcher had been collected decades previously. Unfortunately
we had to abort our mission at Atome due to mined roads, so returned to
the forests in the Gabela area, first publicised by Ian Sinclair and Peter
Ryan.
Tanks:
Reminders of the recent war, these tanks positioned just outside
the village of Seles are hopefully out of action for good.
Atome:
Although the debilitating war is thankfully over, some still live
in its shadow. Ex-UNITA militants are barred from leaving their
old, demolished headquaters at Atomé where the old enemy's - the
governing MPLA party - flag flies high.
Kumbira:
Angola's escarpment not only provides fantastic forest birding,
but also breathtaking views. Below Kumbira forest the escarpment
drops away to the arid coastal plain where a whole suite of other
interesting species.
Non-endemic highlights included Gabon Coucal,
Falkenstein's Greenbul, Pale-olive Greenbul, Forest Scrub-Robin, Miombo
Rock-Thrush, Oustalet's and Montane Double-collared Sunbirds, Perrin's
Bush-Shrike, Dusky Twinspot, Pale-billed Firefinch and Black-faced Canary.
Red-crested Turaco, Gabela Bush-Shrike, Gabela Akalat and Monteiro's Bush-Shrike
were also sighted and the latter two photographed for the first time.
We photographed recorded at new localities both Pulitzer's Longbill and
Angola Cave-Chat (only the second recent record). Our most significant
find, however, was Angola Slaty-Flycatcher, which had not been sighted
for 30 years.
Forest
Destruction: The Escarpment forests of the Western Angola Endemic
Bird Area are a top priority for conservation in Africa. With 2
vulnerable and 6 endangered species it is imperative to halt any
further forest destruction to ensure the species' long-term survival.
With such an array of range-restricted and threatened
species, the Western Angola EBA must rank among the highest priorities
for African conservation. Further research is urgently needed to accurately
establish how much forest remains, where the most significant patches
are located and what the conservation status is of certain species.
Join
our 2004 tour:
Preliminary dates 28 September to 5 October 2004
Contact: angola@birdingafrica.com
for more info
Cohen, C., Mills, M., Ryan, P., Sinclair, I., Vaz Pinto, P. and Spottiswoode,
C. 2004. Angola's neglected mountain endemics. World Birdwatch.
In press
Mills, M., Cohen, C. and Spottiswoode, C. 2004. Little-know African Birds:
Gabela Akalat. Bulletin of the African Bird Club. In press.
Ryan, P.G., Sinclair, I., Cohen, C., Mills, M.S.L., Spottiswoode, C.N.
and Cassidy, R. 2004. The conservation status and vocalisations of threatened
birds from the scarp forests of the Western Angola Endemic Bird Area.
Bird Conservation International. In press.
Sinclair, I., Spottiswoode, C., Cohen, C. Mills, M., Cassidy, R., vaz
Pinto, P. and Ryan, P. 2004. Birding western Angola. Bulletin of the
African Bird Club. In press.
Callan Cohen, Claire Spottiswoode and Michael Mills
