Mauritius and Rodrigues
 

News

The following largely unconfirmed records have appeared in recent Bulletins of the African Bird Club and are for information only.

Two adult and two immature White-faced Whistling Ducks Dendrocygna viduata were seen flying over Flic en Flac village in the Black River district on 13 September 2007. These birds were released from a local bird park and are frequently observed in the area; they are also breeding in the wild now and appear to have hybridised with Fulvous Whistling Ducks D. bicolor. White-faced Whistling Ducks are not known to have been native on Mauritius. Birds were introduced (from Madagascar?) in the 19th century, and prospered until well into the 20th century, but were rare by 1952 and disappeared, perhaps due to hunting, soon after.

A juvenile Shy Albatross Diomedea cauta brought in by a fisherman at Mahebourg on 19 August was the first record for Mauritius. A White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus at Terre Rouge Estuary on 16 January was the second for the island. Cyclonic weather in Jan/Feb resulted in several records of Barau’s Petrel Pterodroma baraui including 30 off Pointe aux Caves in one hour on 18 February. Biologists were able to make landings on Serpent Island in Nov 1992 and Sept 1993 and found c250,000 pairs of Sooty Terns Sterna fuscata plus Brown Anous stolidus and Lesser Noddies A. tenuirostris and a small but important number (50 pairs) of Masked Boobies Sula dactylatra.

Last page update 9th July 2008

 
Introduction
Geography
Important & Endemic Bird Areas
Species
Birding Hotspots & Sites
News
Visiting & Logisitcs
Conservation
Contacts
References


Map of Mauritius
Click to enlarge



 

 

 

 

Copyright © African Bird Club, Birding Africa and individual contributors 2005-2008. All rights reserved. The African Bird Club is a UK registered charity 1053920
Terms of Use

Birding Top 500 Counter

       
Algeria Egypt Democratic Republic of the Congo Mali Tunisia Sudan Libya Chad Central African Repulic Ethiopia Eritrea Somalia Namibia Angola Zambia Congo (Brazzaville) Cameroon Gabon Niger Uganda Kenya Tanzania Malawi Mozambique Zimbabwe Botswana South Africa Madagascar Comores Mauritania Nigeria Benin Burkina Faso Ghana Côte d'Ivoire Morocco Western Sahara Senegal Liberia Sierra Leone Guinea Guinea Bissau São Tomé & Principe Equatorial Guinea Seychelles