Madagasikara | Madagascar

SUB-REGION
Malagasy

SIZE
Sometimes called the “eighth continent”, Madagascar is the largest island in the Indian Ocean and ABC region, and the fourth largest in the world, covering a total area of 587,041 km²

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
A highly distinctive avifauna, with four surviving endemic families (Mesites, Ground Rollers, Asities and Tetrakas & Allies), a family with only one species (Cuckoo-roller) shared with the Comoros and around 40 endemic genera
Until recently considered an endemic family, the vangas of Madagascar are an excellent example of adaptive radiation
Approximately 310 recorded species, including vagrants, about one third of which are found nowhere else

Birds best found in Madagascar but occurring more widely (BT), including ESS
Dimorphic Egret
Malagasy Pond Heron
Mascarene Martin (ESS madagascariensis)

Proposed new species or splits not yet accepted by IOC
Madagascar Swift (E)
Chestnut-vented Coua (E)
Madagascar Turtle Dove (E)
Madagascar White-throated Rail (E)
Madagascar Three-banded Plover (E)
Madagascar Gull (E)
Madagascar Cuckoo-roller (NE)
Eastern Tylas Vanga | Eduard’s Vanga (E)
Western Tylas Vanga | White-throated Vanga (E)
Pale Bernieria (E)
Subdesert Jery (E)
Madagascar White-eye (NE)
Benson’s Rock Thrush (E)
Black-bellied Magpie-Robin (E)
White-winged Magpie-Robin | Pelzeln’s Magpie-Robin (E)
Madagascar Green Sunbird (E)

Other taxa of interest, including more ESS
White-faced Whistling Duck
Fulvous Whistling Duck
White-backed Duck (ESS insularis)
Knob-billed Duck
African Pygmy Goose
Blue-billed Teal
Red-billed Teal
Common Quail (africana)
Harlequin Quail
Alpine Swift (ESS willsi)
Little Swift
Thick-billed Cuckoo (ESS audeberti)
Namaqua Dove (ESS aliena)
Common Moorhen | Eurasian Moorhen (pyrrhorrhoa)
Red-knobbed Coot
Allen’s Gallinule
African Swamphen
Baillon’s Crake (intermedia)
Little Grebe (capensis)
Greater Flamingo
Lesser Flamingo
Black-winged Stilt
Three-banded Plover (ESS bifrontatus)
Kittlitz’s Plover
White-fronted Plover (ESS tenellus)
Greater Painted-snipe
Crab-plover
Brown Noddy
Sooty Tern (nubilosus)
Caspian Tern
Whiskered Tern (delalandii)
Roseate Tern (arideensis)
Greater Crested Tern (thalassinus)
Grey-headed Gull | Gray-hooded Gull
Kelp Gull (ESS melisandae)
Red-tailed Tropicbird
White-tailed Tropicbird
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Yellow-billed Stork
African Openbill | African Open-billed Stork (ESS madagascariensis)
Great Frigatebird
Lesser Frigatebird
Red-footed Booby
Brown Booby
African Darter (ESS vulsini)
Reed Cormorant | Long-tailed Cormorant (ESS pictilis)
Glossy Ibis
African Spoonbill
Little Bittern (ESS podiceps)
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black Heron
Striated Heron (rutenbergi)
Squacco Heron
Great Egret (melanorhynchos)
Western Cattle Egret
Grey Heron (firasa)
Purple Heron (ESS madagascariensis)
Hamerkop
Bat Hawk
Yellow-billed Kite (parasitus)
Western Barn Owl (hypermetra)
Marsh Owl (ESS hova)
Broad-billed Roller (ESS glaucurus)
Olive Bee-eater | Madagascar Bee-eater
Eleonora’s Falcon
Sooty Falcon
Peregrine Falcon (radama)
Pied Crow

Introduced species
Helmeted Guineafowl
Rock Dove
House Crow
Common Myna
House Sparrow
Common Waxbill

MAIN HABITATS
Moist eastern rainforest, dry western deciduous forest, arid southern spiny forest, grassland, wetlands, mangroves, islets

BIRD AREAS
East Malagasy wet forests Endemic Bird Area (EBA)
East Malagasy wetlands EBA
South Malagasy spiny forests EBA
West Malagasy dry forests EBA
West Malagasy wetlands EBA
Ile Sainte-Marie/Nosy Boraha Secondary Area (SA) is no longer valid since Snail-eating Coua is extinct
Isalo massif SA is also no longer valid since Benson’s Rock Thrush has been lumped
84 Important Bird Areas

BIRDING SITES
Ranomafana National Park (NP), Analamazaotra NP and Mantadia NP, Anjozorobe Angavo Corridor and Masoala NP for Brown Mesite, Red-breasted Coua, Madagascar Blue Pigeon, Madagascar Forest Rail, Henst’s Goshawk, Rainforest Scops Owl, Short-legged Ground Roller, Scaly Ground Roller, Pitta-like Ground Roller, Rufous-headed Ground Roller, Velvet Asity, Common Sunbird-Asity, Yellow-bellied Sunbird-Asity, Bernier’s Vanga, Pollen’s Vanga, Helmet Vanga, Tylas (Eduard’s) Vanga, Nuthatch Vanga, Dark Newtonia, Ward’s Flycatcher, Crossley’s Vanga, White-throated Oxylabes, Long-billed Bernieria, Cryptic Warbler, Wedge-tailed Jery, Spectacled Tetraka, Grey-crowned Tetraka, Madagascar Yellowbrow, Rand’s Warbler, Green Jery, Forest Rock Thrush and Forest Fody among other moist rainforest species
Montagne d’Ambre NP for Amber Mountain Rock Thrush
Bemanevika Wetland Complex for Meller’s Duck, Madagascar Pochard, Slender-billed Flufftail, Madagascar Rail, Madagascar Grebe, Madagascar Snipe, Madagascar Serpent Eagle, Malagasy Harrier and Red Owl
Ankarafantsika NP for White-breasted Mesite, Schlegel’s Asity and Van Dam’s Vanga among other dry deciduous forest species, including Red-capped Coua, Coquerel’s Coua and Long-billed (Pale) Bernieria, as well as Madagascar Fish Eagle and waterbirds including African Darter
Betsiboka Estuary and Bombetoka Bay for Bernier’s Teal, Malagasy Sacred Ibis and Humblot’s Heron as well as Lesser Flamingo and waders/shorebirds including Tibetan Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover and Terek Sandpiper
Mahavavy Kinkony Wetland Complex for Sakalava Rail and Madagascar Jacana
Tsingy de Bemaraha NP for Tsingy Forest Rail
Isalo NP for Forest (Benson’s) Rock Thrush
Zombitse Vohibatsia NP for Appert’s Tetraka
Ifaty (Reniala Reserve and salt flats) to Anakoa, Nosy Ve and Tsimanampetsotse NP for spiny forest and arid scrub birds including Subdesert Mesite, Long-tailed Ground Roller, Red-shouldered Vanga and Lafresnaye’s Vanga as well as Crested (Chestnut-vented) Coua, Verreaux’s Coua, Olive-capped Coua, Running Coua, Archbold’s Newtonia, Subdesert Brush Warbler, Thamnornis, Stripe-throated (Subdesert) Jery and Littoral Rock Thrush, also waterbirds including Madagascar Plover, Crab-plover, Kelp (Madagascar) Gull and Red-tailed Tropicbird
Andohahela NP for Red-tailed Newtonia
Indian Ocean for seabirds including Lesser Noddy, Bridled Tern (antarcticus), Saunders’s Tern, Common Tern, Lesser Crested Tern (bengalensis), Brown Skua, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, White-faced Storm Petrel, Black-bellied Storm Petrel, Snowy Albatross, Amsterdam Albatross, Shy Albatross (steadi), Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Southern Giant Petrel, Pintado Petrel, Great-winged Petrel, Soft-plumaged Petrel, Kermadec Petrel, Herald Petrel, Trindade Petrel, Barau’s Petrel, Mascarene Petrel, White-chinned Petrel, Cory’s Shearwater, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Tropical Shearwater, Bulwer’s Petrel, Jouanin’s Petrel and Masked Booby
Also Parc de Tsarasaotra in Antananarivo, V.O.I.M.M.A. Community Reserve, Iaroka Forest and Maromizaha Forest, Berenty Private Reserve, Kirindy Private Reserve, Anjajavy Private Reserve, Lokobe NP on Nosy Be, Ankarana NP, Anja Community Reserve, Andringitra NP, Befotaka Midongy NP, Mikea NP, Kirindy Mité NP, Baie de Baly NP, Sahamalaza Iles Radama NP, Analamerana Reserve, Marojejy NP and Zahamena NP

TIMING (Sep–Nov)
Best at the start of the rains, when birds breed and it is not too wet
For more remote areas, go before the rains (Aug–Sep)
Avoid cyclone season (Jan–Apr)

RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa

Field guides
Ny Vorontsika eto Madagasikara (Our Birds in Madagascar) by Hajanirina F Rakotomanana & Bruno A Raveloson (2019) is the first field guide to the birds of Madagascar written entirely in Malagasy
Birds of Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands by Frank Hawkins, Roger Safford & Adrian Skerrett (2015)
Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands: Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Seychelles, Comoros by Ian Sinclair & Olivier Langrand (2013), which is also available in French as Oiseaux des Îles de l’Océan Indien: Madagascar, Maurice, Réunion, Rodrigues, Seychelles, Comores (2014)
Ny Vorona Malagasy by Satoshi Yamagishi, Tomohisa Masuda & Hajanirina Rakotomanana (1997) is a field guide to the birds of Madagascar in Malagasy and Japanese
Guide des Oiseaux de Madagascar by Olivier Langrand (1995), which is also available in English as A Field Guide to the Birds of Madagascar
A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands/Guide Photographique des Oiseaux des Îles de l’Océan Indien by Ian Sinclair, Olivier Langrand & Fanja Andriamialisoa (2006)
Birds of Madagascar: a Photographic Guide by Pete Morris & Frank Hawkins (2000)
Wildlife of Madagascar by Ken Behrens & Keith Barnes (2016) is a photographic guide covering the birds as well as mammals, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies most likely to be seen on the island

Sounds
Bird Sounds of Madagascar: an Audio Guide to the Island’s Unique Birds by Frank Hawkins & Richard Ranft
Bird Sounds of Madagascar, Mayotte, Comoros, Seychelles, Reunion, Mauritius/Oiseaux de Madagascar, Mayotte, Comores, Seychelles, Reunion, Maurice by Pierre Huget & Claude Chappuis
Madagascar Soundscapes by Victor Randrianary, Sylvie Rifflet & Jean C Roche

DVDs
The Endemic Birds of Madagascar is a 4-DVD set featuring 130 Malagasy endemic species produced and published by Guy Eldridge

Site guides
Southern African Birdfinder: Where to Find 1,400 Bird Species in Southern Africa and Madagascar by Callan Cohen, Claire Spottiswoode & Jonathan Rossouw (2006)
How to See Madagascar Pochard, the World’s Rarest Duck by Michael S L Mills & Michael Rogerson (2013)
Lake Bedo: a Little-Known Wetland Hotspot in Madagascar by H Glyn Young & Felix Razafindrajao (2006)
A Birder’s Guide to Travel in Madagascar by Nick Gardner (1992)

Atlases
Atlas d’une Selection de Vertebres Terrestres de Madagascar/Atlas of Selected Land Vertebrates of Madagascar edited by Steven M Goodman & Marie Jeanne Raherilalao (2014)

Further reading
The State of Madagascar’s Birds: Indicators of Environmental Change compiled and edited by Rado Andriamasimanana, Roger Safford, Lucy Haskell & Tris Allinson for Asity Madagascar and BirdLife International (2021)
The Birds of Africa Volume VIII: the Malagasy Region by Roger Safford & Frank Hawkins (2013)
The New Natural History of Madagascar edited by Steven M Goodman (2022)
Les Aires Protégées Terrestres de Magagascar: Leur Histoire, Description et Biote/The Terrestrial Protected Areas of Madagascar: Their History, Description, and Biota edited by Steven M Goodman, Marie Jeanne Raherilalao & Sébastien Wohlhauser (2019)
Histoire Naturelle des Familles et Sous-familles Endémiques d’Oiseaux de Madagascar by Marie Jeanne Raherilalao & Steven M Goodman (2011)
Madagascar by Project ZICOMA in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
Les Zones d’Importance pour la Conservation des Oiseaux à Madagascar by Project ZICOMA (1999)
Birds of the Indian Ocean/Les Oiseaux de l’Océan Indien by Narainsamy Ramen (2022)
Madagascar: un Paradis aux Abois/a Paradise in Distress by Lorraine Bennery & Olivier Hirschy (2019)
Extinct Madagascar: Picturing the Island’s Past by Steven M Goodman & William L Jungers (2014)
Social Organisation of the Rufous Vanga edited by Satoshi Yamagishi (2005)
The Birds of Southeastern Madagascar by Steven M Goodman, Mark Pidgeon, A F A Hawkins & Thomas S Schulenberg (1997)
Composition and Characteristics of Bird Communities in Madagascar by Lucienne Wilmé (1996)
The Endemic Birds of Madagascar by T J Dee (1986)
Endemics, Anyone? Madagascar’s Birds by Martin Benadie (2018)
Articles in Scopus, Bull. ABC, Malagasy Nature, Madagascar Conservation & Development, Working Group on Birds in the Madagascar Region Newsletter, etc.

Websites
Birds & Birding Madagascar
WildMadagascar.org
UNESCO World Heritage List: Rainforests of the Atsinanana and Andrefana Dry Forests

Facebook groups
Madagascar Pochard Conservation
Madagascar Birding Tours
Birding Madagascar

ORGANISATIONS

Asity Madagascar is the BirdLife Partner in Madagascar and the Velvet Asity is its flagship species

Other bird or conservation organisations active in Madagascar include –
Madagascar Birding Association
Association Vahatra
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT)
Madagascar Institut pour la Conservation des Écosystèmes Tropicaux (MICET)
Mikajy Natiora
Madagasikara Voakajy
Biodiversity Conservation Madagascar (BCM)
Impact Madagascar
Fanamby
Planet Madagascar
Ny Tanintsika
SEED Madagascar (Sustainable Environment, Education & Development in Madagascar)
Eden Reforestation Projects
Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) Madagascar Research and Conservation Program
Biodiversity Inventory for Conservation (BINCO)
Seacology
Blue Ventures
L’Homme et l’Environnement
NABU
WWF Madagascar
WCS Madagascar
Conservation International Madagascar