Information needed

If you can help with information on any of the following species, please use my guestbook and I will get back to you..

Thanks to Ron Demey and Marco Sacchi for their valuable information received in mid-December 1996. Also to Paul Herroelen for the great amount of information received in 1997 and 1998.

Brown Booby Sula leucogaster
Might occur as an uncommon non-breeding visitor along the coast.

Cape Cormorant Phalacrocorax capensis
Is said to occur as a visitor to the coast at the Congo River mouth, but not yet confirmed on the D.R.C. side.

Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus
Might occur as an uncommon non-breeding visitor along the coast.

Leach’s Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa
Might occur as an uncommon non-breeding visitor along the coast.

Short-toed Snake-Eagle Circaetus gallicus gallicus
One bird was seen in Garamba N.P. in February 1994 (T.Gullick in litt.). No description is available, further information is needed. Winters in northern tropical Africa, rarely to Uganda and Kenya.

Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina
Should occur as winter visitor to Katanga and north-eastern D.R.C. One observation from the Garamba N.P. in February, but details surrounding these sightings not currently available (K. Smith 1994).

Sooty Falcon Falco concolor
Possibly occurs on migration in the D.R.C, from Katanga north to Uele west to Kinshasa. One observation from the Garamba N.P. in February (K. Smith 1994) is not confirmed.

Black Crowned-Crane Balearica pavonina pavonina
Have been recorded in the Garamba N.P. in the months of March & April (K. Smith 1994). No description, further information required.

Black-headed Lapwing Vanellus tectus
Present in Murchison Falls N.P. in Uganda, and might occur in D.R.C. around the north-western shore of Lake Albert.

Siberian Gull Larus [fuscus] heuglini
One observation known from Katanda, south-east Lake Edward in May 1994 (M.Languy in litt.). Full description is needed.

Red-crested Turaco Tauraco erythrolophus
Occurs on the Angola side of the lower Congo River (Fry et al. 1988). As Bas-Congo and the coast is little known ornithologically, this species might occur on the D.R.C. side.

Purple-crested Turaco Tauraco porphyreolopha
Present in Tanzania along the D.R.C. / Tanzania border at Lake Tanganyika (Fry et al. 1988). Could occur on the D.R.C. side.

Babbling Starling Neocichla gutturalis
This aberrant and localized species is known from north-eastern Zambia in the Mporokoso and Lake Mweru districts (Benson et al. 1971) and could potentially exist in Brachystegia woodland in south-eastern D.R.C.

Red-shouldered Glossy-Starling  Lamprotornis nitens
Reported near Kinshasa (Lippens & Wille) and Kwamouth (Schouteden). Also reported by Chapin (1954) who stated: "not at all common in the lower Congo, except possibly near the sea coast … I recall seeing a single flock from the Congo railway in July, but during a whole of the next month of January spent at Boma I failed to find any more".
Recorded from the Bateke Plateau just across the border in Congo-Brazzaville (Fr. Dowsett-Lemaire in. litt.).

Northern Brownbul Phyllastrephus strepitans
Said to be uncommon in the Garamba N.P.; seen Feb. - April and Aug. - Oct. (K. Smith 1994). Details surrounding these sightings not currently available. Occurs across the border in south-estern Sudan, and evidence conflicting on occurrence in north-eastern D.R.C. (Keith et. al. 1992).

Singing Lark Mirafra cantillans marginata
Might occur in the Sahel part of north-west Lake Albert and along the Sudan border. Present across the border in south Sudan (Keith et. al. 1992).

Sabota Lark Mirafra sabota plebeja
Possibly occurs along the coast. Present in nearby Cabinda where it is local and uncommon (Keith et. al. 1992).

Bar-throated Apalis Apalis thoracica whitei
Present in Zambia along the Muchinga Escarpment and at points close to the D.R.C. border e.g. Serenje (Benson et al. 1971). Possibly occurs in the extreme south-east Katanga province.

Whyte's Barbet Stactolaema whytii buttoni
Should occur in the eastern Katanga province, along the Zambia border. Has been observed within 2 km. of the D.R.C. border (Fry et. al. 1988), who states "doubtless occurs S Zaire".

Red-fronted Barbet Tricholaema diademata diademata
Observed in Garamba N.P. in February and May (K. Smith 1994). No description available, further information required.. Occurs in nearby northern Uganda.

Mountain Pipit Anthus hoeschi
Said to be a non-breeding visitor to the south-western Katanga province at Lake Kabwe and Palenge (Keith et. al. 1992). Further studies of the occurrence of this species in the D.R.C. is needed.

Bush Pipit Anthus caffer mzimbaensis
Said to occur in the extreme south-eastern tip of the Katanga province, (Keith et. al. 1992). Occurence requires proof.

Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleschanka
Could occur along the Sudan border from Garamba N.P. to Lake Albert and Lake Edward, as it is an uncommon winter visitor across the border in south Sudan and west Uganda (Keith et. al. 1992).

Red-breasted Wheatear Oenanthe bottae heuglini
Might occur along the Sudan and C.A.R. borders.

Wailing Cisticola Cisticola lais semifasciatus
Schouteden 1955: 298 mentions this subspecies to be possible in the Katanga Province. To be looked for on the Marungu Plateau.

Red-pate Cisticola Cisticola ruficeps mongalla
Occurs in north-west Uganda and south-east Sudan, should be looked for around Lake Albert in the north-eastern D.R.C.

Desert Cisticola Cisticola aridulus lobito, traylori & perplexus
C.a.lobito occurs in Angola along the Congo River, might occur on the D.R.C. side as well.
C.a.traylori occurs in north-east Angola and west Zambia, and should be looked for in the south-western Katanga province.
C.a.perplexus occurs in the Bangweulu Swamps in Zambia, and should be looked for in the south-eastern Katanga province.

Red-faced Crombec Sylvietta whytii jacksoni
Very abundant on the savannas of Burundi (Urban et. al. 1997). To be looked for along the shores of Lake Tanganyika from the Ruzizi valley south to the Marungu plateau.

White-fronted Wattle-eye Platysteira albifrons
Occurs at the Congo River mouth in Angola, should also occur on the D.R.C. side and at the Kwango river. Records from Ngombe Lutete unconfirmed (Urban et. al. 1997).

Grey-headed Batis Batis orientalis chadensis
Erroneously reported from Zaïre in "Birds of Africa, Vol. V". To be looked for occur along the Sudan border and Gbadolite.

____________________________________________

Gadwall Anas strepera
Said to occur as a vagrant to Zaïre (Brown et al. 1982). Now confirmed with one female collected at Bogula in the Mongala district, west D.R.C. on 06^th January 1957 (Ron Demey in litt. and Paul Herroelen in litt.). Originally misidentified as Northern Pintail Anas acuta in the Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika, Tevuren, and re-identified by P. Herroelen.

Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes
Status obscure in Africa. A vagrant to East Africa (Short et al.1990) and only recently confirmed from the D.R.C. with one specimen collected at Gangala-na-Bodio, near the Garamba N.P. in March 1955 (Louette 1988).

Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica
Two individuals seen on the coast between Moanda and Banana, 10^th November 1990 is the first record for the D.R.C. (Ron Demey in litt.). Has been recorded from neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville (Dowsett & Dowsett-Lemaire 1993).

Black Tern Chlidonias niger
Suspected as an uncommon passage migrant along the coast. Unequivocal evidence now available with five specimens collected at Banana, Bas-Congo between May and September pre-1876. One adult collected on 17^th September 1955 in the south-eastern part of the Tshuapa district. These specimens were misidentified as White-winged Terns Chlidonias leucopterus in the Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika, Tevuren (Paul Herroelen in litt.).

Black-chinned Weaver Ploceus nigrimentum
A little known and apparently rare weaver hitherto only known from Central Angola and the Djambala region, Congo-Brazzaville (Traylor 1963). Now confirmed in west D.R.C., with a pair observed at close range in the Bombo-Lumene Game Reserve, Bateke Plateau close to Kinshasa (Ron Demey pers. comm.).
------------------------------------------

References

Benson, C.W., Brooke, R.K., Dowsett, R.J. & Irwin, M.P.S. 1971. The Birds of Zambia. Collins, London.

Brown, L.H., Urban, E.K. & Newman, K. 1982. The Birds of Africa. Vol.1.  Academic Press, London.

Chapin, J.P. 1954. The birds of the Belgian Congo. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. His. 75B.

Dowsett, R. & Dowsett-Lemiare, F. 1993. A Contribution to the Distribution and Taxonomy of Afrotropical and Malagasy birds. Tauraco Research Report No. 5. Tauraco Press, Jupille, Belgium.

Dowsett-Lemaire, F. & Dowsett, R. 1998. Further additions to and deletions from the avifauna of Congo-Brazzaville. Malimbus 20 (1).

Forbes-Watson, A. 1994. Bird surveys of three reserves in northwestern Uganda. Scopus 17.

Fry, C.H., Keith, G.S. & Urban E.K. 1988. The Birds of Africa. Vol.3.Academic Press, London.

Keith, G.S., Urban, E.K. & Fry, C.H. 1992. The Birds of Africa. Vol.4. Academic Press, London.

Louette, M. 1988. Additions and corrections to the avifauna of Zaire (2). Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 108 (1).

Prigogine, A. 1979. Le statut de quelques sternes au Zaïre. Gerfaut 69: 503-505.

Short, L.L, Horne, J.F.M & Muringo-Gichuki, C. 1990. Annotated Check-list of the birds of East Africa. Proc. West. Foundation Vert. Zool. 4, No.3.

Traylor, M. A. 1963. Check-list of Angolan birds. Comp. Diam. Angola. Diamang, Publ. Cult. No. 61a.

Black-chinned Weaver  P.nigrimentum