Arbu
Well-known member
I spent from 1st September to 5th October in Ethiopia, using the Helm Birds of the Horn of Africa as a field guide. I had planned to join a group to go rafting down the Omo River and access some very remote areas by doing that, but the government decided that we weren’t going to be allowed to go there, so instead I flew up north, visiting Gonder, Lalibela and Axum, took a shared 4WD down south to the Rift Valley lakes and the Omo Valley, and went trekking in the Bale Mountains. The country is certainly cheap, and the number of birds you can see impressive, but against that has to be set the constant hassle from begging children, self-appointed guides, fleas, bedbugs and other insects.
Relatively rare or spectacular species, and sightings at odds with information provided in Helm included:
1. Rouget’s Rails in the Addis Botanical Gardens (Bihere Tsige) on 4th September
2. An Osprey at Debre Zeit on 5th September, well before the season given by Helm
3. An Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle over Addis Ababa on 3rd September
4. A Grey-headed Woodpecker seen twice at Gonder on 8th September, clearly showing the red belly, but well out of the range shown in Helm.
5. A Great Sparrowhawk on a nest at Fasilidas’s Baths, Gonder.
6. A cuckoo in a tree with some Eurasian Golden Oriole at Axum on 11th September. It seemed to show a lot of yellow on the base of its bill and have a well barred tail, so I think African. But it seemed odd that it was with the golden orioles. Would a cuckoo migrate with its foster parents? If so, that would suggest this was a Common Cuckoo.
7. A Cinereous Bunting near Debre Damos on 12th September
8. A Red-throated Wryneck and four White-backed Duck at Lake Awasa on 16th September
9. A party of Wood-hoopoes at Dimeka on 19th September. They all had completely red bills so would seem to have been Violet Wood-hoopoes which is just shown as a question mark on the range map in Helm.
10. Nightjars at Nechisar National Park near the campsite two miles south of the park entrance. I saw one flying and there were a lot calling around the hillside. I saw square white corners on the tail of the one that flew past, and the call sounded like a yelp, repeated three times over, so I think Star-spotted Nightjar. But Helm says that this is uncommon and favours bare stony areas with little ground cover. Where I encountered them was on a dry hillside with a lot of bush cover so that doesn’t quite fit.
11. At Wondo Genet on 24th September a local guide found me a Spotted Creeper and a Half-collared Kingfisher.
12. In the Bale Mountains, two sightings of Cape Eagle Owls (see photo), quite a few Verreaux’s Eagles and a pair of Wattled Cranes.
13. A lot of birds at much higher altitude in the Bale Mountains than Helm would suggest they occur. On the plateau at around 4000m I saw: Groundscraper Thrush (at Rafu, Helm maximum is 3400m), Red-knobbed Coot (Garba Guracha Lake, Helm max. 3300m), Ruff (Helm max. 2900m), Common Sandpiper (Helm 2900m), Marsh Sandpiper (Helm 2900m), Little Stint (Helm 2900m) and Black-tailed Godwit (Helm 2900m).
14. A pair of Saddle-billed Storks flying over at dusk at Lake Ziway on 2nd October.
15. At Lake Ziway on 3rd October a Slender-billed Gull (see photo). This would seem to be only the fifth record of this species in the Rift Valley on the basis of Helm.
16. A Eurasian Wryneck at the Addis Ababa museum on 4th October.
Notable by their absence were:
1. Erlanger’s Lark. I looked everywhere in the highlands but could not find this. Does it really exist?
2. Mosque Swallow
3. Abyssinian Roller
4. Moorland Francolin. No sign of these in Bale
5. Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
6. African Hawk-Eagle.
Here’s a full list of what I saw:
Ostrich
Helmeted Guineafowl
Coqui Francolin
Crested Francolin
Erckel's Francolin
Chestnut-naped Francolin
Fulvous Whistling-duck
White-faced Whistling-duck
White-backed Duck
Spur-winged Goose
Comb Duck
Blue-winged Goose
Egyptian Goose
Ruddy Shelduck
African Pygmy-goose
Yellow-billed Duck
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Hottentot Teal
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Lesser Flamingo
Yellow-billed Stork
Woolly-necked Stork
Saddle-billed Stork
Marabou Stork
African Sacred Ibis
Hadada Ibis
Wattled Ibis
Glossy Ibis
African Spoonbill
Black-crowned Night-heron
Striated Heron
Squacco Heron
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Black-headed Heron
Goliath Heron
Purple Heron
Great Egret
Intermediate Egret
Black Heron
Little Egret
Hamerkop
Great White Pelican
Pink-backed Pelican
Reed Cormorant
Great Cormorant
African Darter
Common Kestrel
Grey Kestrel
African Hobby
Lanner Falcon
Barbary Falcon
Osprey
European Honey-buzzard
Black-winged Kite
Black Kite
African Fish-eagle
Lammergeier
Hooded Vulture
White-backed Vulture
Rueppell's Vulture
Black-chested Snake-eagle
Banded Snake-eagle
Bateleur
Western Marsh-harrier
African Marsh-harrier
Pallid Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
African Harrier-hawk
Dark Chanting-goshawk
Eastern Chanting-goshawk
Shikra
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk
Black Goshawk
Mountain Buzzard
Augur Buzzard
Tawny Eagle
Golden Eagle
Verreaux's Eagle
Ayres's Hawk-eagle
Long-crested Eagle
Kori Bustard
Buff-crested Bustard
Rouget's Rail
Black Crake
Purple Swamphen
Common Moorhen
Lesser Moorhen
Red-knobbed Coot
Wattled Crane
Senegal Thick-knee
Black-winged Stilt
Spur-winged Lapwing
Spot-breasted Lapwing
Wattled Lapwing
Crowned Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Three-banded Plover
African Jacana
African Snipe
Black-tailed Godwit
Marsh Sandpiper
Common Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Little Stint
Ruff
Grey-headed Gull
Black-headed Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
Yellow-throated Sandgrouse
Black-faced Sandgrouse
Rock Pigeon
Speckled Pigeon
White-collared Pigeon
Lemon Dove
Dusky Turtle-dove
Mourning Collared-dove
Red-eyed Dove
Laughing Dove
Emerald-spotted Wood-dove
Blue-spotted Wood-dove
Tambourine Dove
Namaqua Dove
Bruce's Green-pigeon
Black-winged Lovebird
Yellow-fronted Parrot
Red-bellied Parrot
White-cheeked Turaco
White-bellied Go-away-bird
Pied Cuckoo
African Cuckoo
Cape Eagle-owl
Montane Nightjar
Star-spotted Nightjar
Alpine Swift
Mottled Swift
Nyanza Swift
Little Swift
White-rumped Swift
Speckled Mousebird
Lilac-breasted Roller
Rufous-crowned Roller
Grey-headed Kingfisher
Woodland Kingfisher
Striped Kingfisher
Half-collared Kingfisher
Malachite Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Blue-breasted Bee-eater
Little Bee-eater
European Bee-eater
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Violet Woodhoopoe
Black-billed Woodhoopoe
Red-billed Hornbill
Von der Decken's Hornbill
Hemprich's Hornbill
African Grey Hornbill
Silvery-cheeked Hornbill
Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
Red-fronted Tinkerbird
Red-fronted Barbet
Banded Barbet
Black-billed Barbet
Double-toothed Barbet
Red-and-yellow Barbet
D'Arnaud's Barbet
Eurasian Wryneck
Rufous-necked Wryneck
Nubian Woodpecker
Abyssinian Woodpecker
Cardinal Woodpecker
Bearded Woodpecker
Grey Woodpecker
Grey-headed Batis
Black-headed Batis
Brown-throated Wattle-eye
White Helmet-shrike
Sulphur-breasted Bush-shrike
Grey-headed Bush-shrike
Brown-crowned Tchagra
Northern Puffback
Pringle's Puffback
Brubru
Grey Cuckooshrike
Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike
White-rumped Shrike
Grey-backed Fiscal
Common Fiscal
Eurasian Golden Oriole
Dark-headed Oriole
African Black-headed Oriole
Fork-tailed Drongo
African Paradise-flycatcher
Red-billed Chough
Cape Crow
Pied Crow
Fan-tailed Raven
Thick-billed Raven
White-backed Tit
Blue Saw-wing
Sand Martin
Plain Martin
Rock Martin
Barn Swallow
Ethiopian Swallow
Wire-tailed Swallow
Lesser Striped-swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Northern House-martin
Red-capped Lark
Thekla Lark
Red-faced Cisticola
Singing Cisticola
Rattling Cisticola
Winding Cisticola
Stout Cisticola
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Pale Prinia
Buff-bellied Warbler
Yellow-breasted Apalis
Green-backed Camaroptera
Grey Wren-warbler
Common Bulbul
Northern Brownbul
Bracken Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Lesser Swamp-warbler
Icterine Warbler
Brown Woodland-warbler
Common Chiffchaff
Northern Crombec
Red-faced Crombec
Brown Warbler
Blackcap
African Hill Babbler
Rufous Chatterer
White-rumped Babbler
Abyssinian Catbird
Montane White-eye
White-breasted White-eye
Spotted Treecreeper
Wattled Starling
Greater Blue-eared Glossy-starling
Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-starling
Rueppell's Glossy-starling
Superb Starling
Shelley's Starling
Golden-breasted Starling
Violet-backed Starling
Red-winged Starling
Slender-billed Starling
White-billed Starling
Red-billed Oxpecker
Groundscraper Thrush
African Thrush
Olive Thrush
Rueppell's Robin-chat
White-browed Robin-chat
Spotted Morning-thrush
Red-backed Scrub-robin
Common Redstart
Common Stonechat
Northern Wheatear
Mourning Wheatear
Pied Wheatear
Isabelline Wheatear
Botta's Wheatear
Moorland Chat
Rueppell's Chat
White-fronted Black-chat
Mocking Cliff-chat
White-winged Cliff-chat
Little Rock-thrush
Southern Black Flycatcher
Abyssinian Slaty Flycatcher
Spotted Flycatcher
African Dusky Flycatcher
Grey Tit-flycatcher
Kenya Violet-backed Sunbird
Scarlet-chested Sunbird
Hunter's Sunbird
Variable Sunbird
Shining Sunbird
Tacazze Sunbird
Mariqua Sunbird
Beautiful Sunbird
White-browed Sparrow-weaver
Swainson's Sparrow
Yellow-spotted Petronia
Red-billed Buffalo-weaver
White-headed Buffalo-weaver
Grosbeak Weaver
Baglafecht Weaver
Little Weaver
Lesser Masked Weaver
Spectacled Weaver
Vitelline Masked-weaver
Village Weaver
Red-headed Weaver
Red-billed Quelea
Yellow-crowned Bishop
Black-winged Bishop
Orange Bishop
Yellow Bishop
Red-collared Widowbird
Green-winged Pytilia
Cut-throat
Red-billed Firefinch
Red-cheeked Cordonbleu
Swee Waxbill
Crimson-rumped Waxbill
Bronze Munia
Black-and-white Munia
Village Indigobird
Pin-tailed Whydah
Steel-blue Whydah
Straw-tailed Whydah
Eastern Paradise-whydah
Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Mountain Wagtail
Abyssinian Longclaw
Richard's Pipit
Tawny Pipit
Long-billed Pipit
Cape Canary
Ethiopian Siskin
Abyssinian Citril
Black-throated Seedeater
Yellow-fronted Canary
White-bellied Canary
Brown-rumped Seedeater
Streaky Seedeater
Cinereous Bunting
House Bunting
Cinnamon-breasted Bunting
White-throated Seedeater
Relatively rare or spectacular species, and sightings at odds with information provided in Helm included:
1. Rouget’s Rails in the Addis Botanical Gardens (Bihere Tsige) on 4th September
2. An Osprey at Debre Zeit on 5th September, well before the season given by Helm
3. An Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle over Addis Ababa on 3rd September
4. A Grey-headed Woodpecker seen twice at Gonder on 8th September, clearly showing the red belly, but well out of the range shown in Helm.
5. A Great Sparrowhawk on a nest at Fasilidas’s Baths, Gonder.
6. A cuckoo in a tree with some Eurasian Golden Oriole at Axum on 11th September. It seemed to show a lot of yellow on the base of its bill and have a well barred tail, so I think African. But it seemed odd that it was with the golden orioles. Would a cuckoo migrate with its foster parents? If so, that would suggest this was a Common Cuckoo.
7. A Cinereous Bunting near Debre Damos on 12th September
8. A Red-throated Wryneck and four White-backed Duck at Lake Awasa on 16th September
9. A party of Wood-hoopoes at Dimeka on 19th September. They all had completely red bills so would seem to have been Violet Wood-hoopoes which is just shown as a question mark on the range map in Helm.
10. Nightjars at Nechisar National Park near the campsite two miles south of the park entrance. I saw one flying and there were a lot calling around the hillside. I saw square white corners on the tail of the one that flew past, and the call sounded like a yelp, repeated three times over, so I think Star-spotted Nightjar. But Helm says that this is uncommon and favours bare stony areas with little ground cover. Where I encountered them was on a dry hillside with a lot of bush cover so that doesn’t quite fit.
11. At Wondo Genet on 24th September a local guide found me a Spotted Creeper and a Half-collared Kingfisher.
12. In the Bale Mountains, two sightings of Cape Eagle Owls (see photo), quite a few Verreaux’s Eagles and a pair of Wattled Cranes.
13. A lot of birds at much higher altitude in the Bale Mountains than Helm would suggest they occur. On the plateau at around 4000m I saw: Groundscraper Thrush (at Rafu, Helm maximum is 3400m), Red-knobbed Coot (Garba Guracha Lake, Helm max. 3300m), Ruff (Helm max. 2900m), Common Sandpiper (Helm 2900m), Marsh Sandpiper (Helm 2900m), Little Stint (Helm 2900m) and Black-tailed Godwit (Helm 2900m).
14. A pair of Saddle-billed Storks flying over at dusk at Lake Ziway on 2nd October.
15. At Lake Ziway on 3rd October a Slender-billed Gull (see photo). This would seem to be only the fifth record of this species in the Rift Valley on the basis of Helm.
16. A Eurasian Wryneck at the Addis Ababa museum on 4th October.
Notable by their absence were:
1. Erlanger’s Lark. I looked everywhere in the highlands but could not find this. Does it really exist?
2. Mosque Swallow
3. Abyssinian Roller
4. Moorland Francolin. No sign of these in Bale
5. Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
6. African Hawk-Eagle.
Here’s a full list of what I saw:
Ostrich
Helmeted Guineafowl
Coqui Francolin
Crested Francolin
Erckel's Francolin
Chestnut-naped Francolin
Fulvous Whistling-duck
White-faced Whistling-duck
White-backed Duck
Spur-winged Goose
Comb Duck
Blue-winged Goose
Egyptian Goose
Ruddy Shelduck
African Pygmy-goose
Yellow-billed Duck
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Hottentot Teal
Little Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Lesser Flamingo
Yellow-billed Stork
Woolly-necked Stork
Saddle-billed Stork
Marabou Stork
African Sacred Ibis
Hadada Ibis
Wattled Ibis
Glossy Ibis
African Spoonbill
Black-crowned Night-heron
Striated Heron
Squacco Heron
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Black-headed Heron
Goliath Heron
Purple Heron
Great Egret
Intermediate Egret
Black Heron
Little Egret
Hamerkop
Great White Pelican
Pink-backed Pelican
Reed Cormorant
Great Cormorant
African Darter
Common Kestrel
Grey Kestrel
African Hobby
Lanner Falcon
Barbary Falcon
Osprey
European Honey-buzzard
Black-winged Kite
Black Kite
African Fish-eagle
Lammergeier
Hooded Vulture
White-backed Vulture
Rueppell's Vulture
Black-chested Snake-eagle
Banded Snake-eagle
Bateleur
Western Marsh-harrier
African Marsh-harrier
Pallid Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
African Harrier-hawk
Dark Chanting-goshawk
Eastern Chanting-goshawk
Shikra
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk
Black Goshawk
Mountain Buzzard
Augur Buzzard
Tawny Eagle
Golden Eagle
Verreaux's Eagle
Ayres's Hawk-eagle
Long-crested Eagle
Kori Bustard
Buff-crested Bustard
Rouget's Rail
Black Crake
Purple Swamphen
Common Moorhen
Lesser Moorhen
Red-knobbed Coot
Wattled Crane
Senegal Thick-knee
Black-winged Stilt
Spur-winged Lapwing
Spot-breasted Lapwing
Wattled Lapwing
Crowned Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Three-banded Plover
African Jacana
African Snipe
Black-tailed Godwit
Marsh Sandpiper
Common Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Little Stint
Ruff
Grey-headed Gull
Black-headed Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
Yellow-throated Sandgrouse
Black-faced Sandgrouse
Rock Pigeon
Speckled Pigeon
White-collared Pigeon
Lemon Dove
Dusky Turtle-dove
Mourning Collared-dove
Red-eyed Dove
Laughing Dove
Emerald-spotted Wood-dove
Blue-spotted Wood-dove
Tambourine Dove
Namaqua Dove
Bruce's Green-pigeon
Black-winged Lovebird
Yellow-fronted Parrot
Red-bellied Parrot
White-cheeked Turaco
White-bellied Go-away-bird
Pied Cuckoo
African Cuckoo
Cape Eagle-owl
Montane Nightjar
Star-spotted Nightjar
Alpine Swift
Mottled Swift
Nyanza Swift
Little Swift
White-rumped Swift
Speckled Mousebird
Lilac-breasted Roller
Rufous-crowned Roller
Grey-headed Kingfisher
Woodland Kingfisher
Striped Kingfisher
Half-collared Kingfisher
Malachite Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Blue-breasted Bee-eater
Little Bee-eater
European Bee-eater
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Eurasian Hoopoe
Violet Woodhoopoe
Black-billed Woodhoopoe
Red-billed Hornbill
Von der Decken's Hornbill
Hemprich's Hornbill
African Grey Hornbill
Silvery-cheeked Hornbill
Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
Red-fronted Tinkerbird
Red-fronted Barbet
Banded Barbet
Black-billed Barbet
Double-toothed Barbet
Red-and-yellow Barbet
D'Arnaud's Barbet
Eurasian Wryneck
Rufous-necked Wryneck
Nubian Woodpecker
Abyssinian Woodpecker
Cardinal Woodpecker
Bearded Woodpecker
Grey Woodpecker
Grey-headed Batis
Black-headed Batis
Brown-throated Wattle-eye
White Helmet-shrike
Sulphur-breasted Bush-shrike
Grey-headed Bush-shrike
Brown-crowned Tchagra
Northern Puffback
Pringle's Puffback
Brubru
Grey Cuckooshrike
Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike
White-rumped Shrike
Grey-backed Fiscal
Common Fiscal
Eurasian Golden Oriole
Dark-headed Oriole
African Black-headed Oriole
Fork-tailed Drongo
African Paradise-flycatcher
Red-billed Chough
Cape Crow
Pied Crow
Fan-tailed Raven
Thick-billed Raven
White-backed Tit
Blue Saw-wing
Sand Martin
Plain Martin
Rock Martin
Barn Swallow
Ethiopian Swallow
Wire-tailed Swallow
Lesser Striped-swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Northern House-martin
Red-capped Lark
Thekla Lark
Red-faced Cisticola
Singing Cisticola
Rattling Cisticola
Winding Cisticola
Stout Cisticola
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Pale Prinia
Buff-bellied Warbler
Yellow-breasted Apalis
Green-backed Camaroptera
Grey Wren-warbler
Common Bulbul
Northern Brownbul
Bracken Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Lesser Swamp-warbler
Icterine Warbler
Brown Woodland-warbler
Common Chiffchaff
Northern Crombec
Red-faced Crombec
Brown Warbler
Blackcap
African Hill Babbler
Rufous Chatterer
White-rumped Babbler
Abyssinian Catbird
Montane White-eye
White-breasted White-eye
Spotted Treecreeper
Wattled Starling
Greater Blue-eared Glossy-starling
Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-starling
Rueppell's Glossy-starling
Superb Starling
Shelley's Starling
Golden-breasted Starling
Violet-backed Starling
Red-winged Starling
Slender-billed Starling
White-billed Starling
Red-billed Oxpecker
Groundscraper Thrush
African Thrush
Olive Thrush
Rueppell's Robin-chat
White-browed Robin-chat
Spotted Morning-thrush
Red-backed Scrub-robin
Common Redstart
Common Stonechat
Northern Wheatear
Mourning Wheatear
Pied Wheatear
Isabelline Wheatear
Botta's Wheatear
Moorland Chat
Rueppell's Chat
White-fronted Black-chat
Mocking Cliff-chat
White-winged Cliff-chat
Little Rock-thrush
Southern Black Flycatcher
Abyssinian Slaty Flycatcher
Spotted Flycatcher
African Dusky Flycatcher
Grey Tit-flycatcher
Kenya Violet-backed Sunbird
Scarlet-chested Sunbird
Hunter's Sunbird
Variable Sunbird
Shining Sunbird
Tacazze Sunbird
Mariqua Sunbird
Beautiful Sunbird
White-browed Sparrow-weaver
Swainson's Sparrow
Yellow-spotted Petronia
Red-billed Buffalo-weaver
White-headed Buffalo-weaver
Grosbeak Weaver
Baglafecht Weaver
Little Weaver
Lesser Masked Weaver
Spectacled Weaver
Vitelline Masked-weaver
Village Weaver
Red-headed Weaver
Red-billed Quelea
Yellow-crowned Bishop
Black-winged Bishop
Orange Bishop
Yellow Bishop
Red-collared Widowbird
Green-winged Pytilia
Cut-throat
Red-billed Firefinch
Red-cheeked Cordonbleu
Swee Waxbill
Crimson-rumped Waxbill
Bronze Munia
Black-and-white Munia
Village Indigobird
Pin-tailed Whydah
Steel-blue Whydah
Straw-tailed Whydah
Eastern Paradise-whydah
Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Mountain Wagtail
Abyssinian Longclaw
Richard's Pipit
Tawny Pipit
Long-billed Pipit
Cape Canary
Ethiopian Siskin
Abyssinian Citril
Black-throated Seedeater
Yellow-fronted Canary
White-bellied Canary
Brown-rumped Seedeater
Streaky Seedeater
Cinereous Bunting
House Bunting
Cinnamon-breasted Bunting
White-throated Seedeater
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