News

The following largely unconfirmed records are taken from Bulletins of the African Bird Club and are for information only.

Records of the following species from the Koubia area, in the northern Fouta Djalon, in June–August 2006, represent slight range extensions compared to the maps in Borrow & Demey (2004. Field Guide to the Birds of Western Africa): Tambourine Dove Turtur tympanistria, Shining-blue Kingfisher Alcedo quadribrachys, Spotted Honeyguide Indicator maculatus, Little Green Woodpecker Campethera maculosa and Grey-winged Robin Chat Cossypha polioptera (all observed in gallery forest), Turati’s Boubou Laniarius turatii (frequently seen in Koubia), Heuglin’s Masked Weaver Ploceus heuglini, Black-winged Bishop Euplectes hordeaceus and Cabanis’s Bunting Emberiza cabanisi. Yellow-mantled Widowbirds Euplectes macroura seen near Labe airport also represent an extension of their known range.

During a waterbird census held in January 2006 in Guinea's coastal wetlands, four species were added to the country list: Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia (an adult with a group of nine African Spoonbills P. alba in Sangareya Bay, Dubréka, on 17th), Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna (five on the Khoni Benki mudflats, Boffa, on 23rd), Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus (an adult with four Grey-headed Gulls L. cirrocephalus on Kindiadi beach, Koba, Boffa, on 20th, and another on the beach of Khoni Benki, Boffa, with 16 Lesser Black-backed Gulls L. fuscus, on 23rd), and Winding Cisticola Cisticola galactotes (ten in the Koba ricefields, Boffa, on 19th).

Other interesting records from the same period include the following. A Dwarf Bittern Ixobrychus sturmii was seen on the Bokaria Plain, Boké, on 22nd. Yellow-billed Storks Mycteria ibis were observed in Sangareya Bay, Dubréka (12 on 18th), at Khoni Benki, Boffa (ten on 23rd), and at Yongo Salé, Boké (60 on 2rd); these records show that the species occurs along the entire Guinean coast. Three Fulvous Whistling Ducks Dendrocygna bicolor were in a flock of 3,000 White-faced D. viduata at Yongo Salé, Boké, on 23rd; this is a rare species in Guinea. Sixteen Northern Shovelers Anas clypeata at Khoni Benki, Boffa, on 23rd, constitute the first coastal record. A Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus was seen near Wassou on 19th, and an African Crake Crex egregia in the Koba ricefields, Boffa, on 19th.

A pair of Black Crowned Cranes Balearica pavonina with a juvenile was observed in the Monchon Plain, Boffa, on 21st. In the Koba ricefields, Boffa, 985 Collared Pratincoles Glareola pratincola were counted on 20th; this species occurs along the entire Guinean coast. A total of 2,295 Pied Avocets Recurvirostra avosetta, counted on 16th and 26th is a high number so far south.

Six Black-billed Wood Doves Turtur abyssinicus at the Grandes Chutes, Kindia, on 27th, are an addition to the site list. Twenty-five White-rumped Swifts Apus caffer flew over Sangareya Bay, Dubréka, on 18th. Mottled Swifts Tachymarptis aequatorialis were seen over the Monchon Plain, Boffa (50 on 21st) and at the Grandes Chutes, Kindia (50 on 27th). Also at the latter site were 25 Rufous-chested Swallows Hirundo semirufa. In the Koba ricefields, Boffa, two Black-backed Cisticolas C. eximius were seen on 20th and a Black-faced Quailfinch Ortygospiza atricollis the day before.

^top

A Yellow-casqued Hornbill Ceratogymna elata was seen in Conakry’s botanic garden on 15 March 2005; a rather surprise find of this species in a very small patch of forest in the centre of a busy city.

During field work in Boké Prefecture in April-May 2005, some 50 species were recorded for the first time in the Kamsar and Sangarédi areas and their records represent more or less significant range extensions. Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio was found near Kamsar; this is a new species for the country list, although there is an unpublished sighting from Gaoual, c300 km inland, in 1992. Two Ovambo Sparrowhawks Accipiter ovampensis were seen near Sangarédi on 8 May; the species was previously known only from Haut Niger NP (=National Park) Two Marsh Owls Asio capensis were flushed from the edge of harvested rice fields near Kamsar on 27 April; there is only one previous record from Guinea, also from the Kamsar area. An African Broadbill Smithornis capensis was heard displaying near Sangarédi on 6 May; this is the westernmost record to date of a species which was previously known to occur only as far west as Sierra Leone. Baumann’s Greenbul Phyllastrephus baumanni, currently listed as Data Deficient, was found to be locally common in farmbush near Kamsar; the species was previously only known in Guinea from the extreme south-east of the country and its known range extended westwards to north-central Sierra Leone. The present records are thus the westernmost to date and a range extension of c300 km. Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina, observed near Sangarédi on 9 May, is an addition to the country's list. Black-backed Cisticola Cisticola eximius was found to be locally common in dry rice fields and partially burnt open plains near Kamsar. Two pairs of Velvet-mantled Drongo Dicrurus modestus were found at two localities near Kamsar; this species was previously known to occur only as far west as the Kounounkan area, near the border with Sierra Leone.

Other noteworthy recent and not-so-recent records include the following. Little Grebes Tachybaptis ruficollis were observed at Dalaba on 22 February 2001, 18 km south-east of Coyah on 3 May 2003 (five) and at Conakry on 26 October 2004; there are few records in Guinea. An Ovambo Sparrowhawk Accipiter ovampensis was photographed south-east of Coyah on 8 May 2005. Also there on the same day was a Lesser Jacana Microparra capensis, with four there on 22nd; this is a new species for the Guinea list. More than 60 Preuss's Cliff Swallows Hirundo preussi were counted near Coyah on 22 May. A Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus was found in Haut Niger NP on 28 February; there is only one previous record for Guinea.

Records from Dalaba, in the Fouta Djalon, from 10 to 13 February 2004, represent a new locality for Brown-crowned Tchagra Tchagra australis, Heuglin's Masked Weaver Ploceus heuglini (common), Dybowski's Twinspot Euschistospiza dybowskii and Cabanis’s Bunting Emberiza cabanisi.

Surveys carried out in November–December 2003 in Déré, Diécké and Mont Béro Forest Reserves in the extreme south-east, produced ten additions to the country list: Sandy Scops Owl Otus icterorhynchus, Red-chested Owlet Glaucidium tephronotum, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill Bycanistes subcylindricus (at all three sites), Bristle-nosed Barbet Gymnobucco peli, Rufous-sided Broadbill Smithornis rufolateralis (at all three sites), Grey-throated Tit-Flycatcher Myioparus griseigularis, Bioko Batis Batis poensis, Tiny Sunbird Cinnyris minullus, Narrow-tailed Starling Poeoptera lugubris and, most importantly, the endangered Gola Malimbe Malimbus ballmanni, which appeared to be relatively common in mixed bird parties in Diécké forest.

^top

New data on the distribution and status of a range of species were collected during training in field ornithology organised for Guinean and Liberian nationals by Guinée-Ecologie, a local non-governmental organisation, from February to April 2003. A surprising discovery was that of White-necked Picathartes Picathartes gymnocephalus in a small patch of gallery forest at the 'Grandes Chutes' south of Kindia; this constitutes the most western site to date for this threatened species. Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus, found at the same locality on 4 April (three males together), was an addition to the Guinean list.

A primary feather picked up at the Chutes de la Sâla, near Labé, in the Fouta Djalon, on 15 March 2003, proved to be of Red-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus ruficollis, a species not previously recorded from Guinea.

During fieldwork in south-western Mali, at the confluence of the Bafing and Balé Rivers, on the border with north-eastern Guinea, in mid February 2002, Adamawa Turtle Dove Streptopelia hypopyrrha, Dorst's Cisticola Cisticola dorsti and Swamp Flycatcher Muscicapa aquatica were seen on the Guinea side, and added to this country's list.

During a preliminary survey of the Pic de Fon Forest Reserve, in the south-eastern Simandou Range, organised by Conservation International in November and December 2002, 233 bird species were recorded, of which six were new for the country: Fraser's Eagle Owl Bubo poensis, Cassin's Spinetail Neafrapus cassini, Willcocks's Honeyguide Indicator willcocksi, African Broadbill Smithornis capensis, Baumann's Greenbul Phyllastrephus baumanni, Forest Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas leucosticta and Cameroon Indigobird Vidua camerunensis. In addition, a number of species were observed which are rare or poorly known in either Guinea or West Africa, including Blue-headed Bee-eater Merops muelleri, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide Melichneutes robustus, Western Wattled Cuckoo-Shrike Lobotos lobatus, Yellow-bearded Greenbul Criniger olivaceus, Grey-winged Robin Chat Cossypha polioptera, Black-headed Rufous Warbler Bathmocercus cerviniventris, Sierra Leone Prinia Prinia leontica, Dusky Tit Parus funereus, Emerald Starling Lamprotornis iris and Dybowski's Twinspot Euschistospiza dybowskii.

A report of Sierra Leone Prinia Prinia leontica, observed near Dalaba in early 2001, confirms the occurrence of the species in the area, discovered in October 1999.

A Grey-winged Robin Chat Cossypha polioptera was found in the Fouta Djalon, near Daralabé, on 13 December 2000; this is the westernmost record of this species to date.

Records from October 1999 representing new localities include a Golden-tailed Woodpecker Campethera abingoni excavating into tree termitaria near Dalaba on 16th and Grey-rumped Swallow Pseudhirundo griseopyga near Labe on 23rd. The record of a Sierra Leone Prinia Prinia leontica carrying food to its nest and singing near Petel, Dalaba, would constitute the westernmost locality for this species, if confirmed.

Last page update 14th July 2007

^top