Number 3 -
October 1998
A little beyond the outskirts of the township, near a swamp with second growth adjacent, and in a patch of stony earth supporting a fine curved almost leafless cane-like vegetation, were 12-15 individuals in a small flock of Sylvietta-type birds. The birds were hopping around on the cane-like vegetation some 50 to 150 cm off the ground. By shape, behaviour, and general appearance they were Crombecs, Sylvietta sp.
Description: olive above, pale olive-green below; black bill, eyes and feet, black streak through eye, black extremely short tail; grey wings with greenish edging to primaries; bright yellow gape was very noticeable.
Size: approximately as for other Crombecs.
I have studied with great care all descriptions of all stages and subspecies of the entire Sylvietta genus as described in Mackworth-Praed and Grant (all three series), and in other books dealing with African birds, and have found nothing to fit the above description.
I wrote to M.Wille (co-author of Les Oiseaux du Zaïre); his response suggested that they might be the young of a known crombec species since young crombecs tend to have yellow gapes.
I consider this unlikely, since the birds at no time exhibited juvenile behaviour, and the flock was uniform in appearance (if the description were of a juvenile, in a flock this size I would expect at least 1 or 2 adults among them). Since I was unable to obtain any specimens, definitive description will have to await further investigation.STRIPED PIPIT Anthus lineiventris - A NEW SPECIES FOR THE EASTERN D.R.C.
By Tommy Pedersen and Paul Herroelen Striped Pipit Anthus lineiventris is mainly found in south-eastern Africa. In the Democratic Republic of Congo it is only known from the south-east in the Upemba National Park in the Katanga province. It is widely distributed in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and central Tanzania. Small populations are known from Kibondo in western Tanzania and Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda. (S.Keith, E.Urban, C.H.Fry; Birds of Africa Vol. V). An unpublished record of an adult male Anthus lineiventris collected on July 1st 1950 at the Kamaniola escarpment, in the Ruzizi valley south of Lake Kivu (02° 45'49"S, 29° 0'7"E) is a new species for the Kivu province. Striped Pipit is previously collected in the D.R.C. in Upemba N.P., appx. 700 km. to the south-west of Lake Kivu. There are three records from Rwanda in the Akagera N.P. in 1970 and 1971, appx. 240 km. to the east of the Kivu record. (Vande weghe J.P. 1974. Additions et corrections l'avifaune du Rwanda. Rev. Zool. Afr. 88: 81-98). In addition to this record at the Kamaniola escarpment, there is apparently yet another record from the same general area in February 1996 (I.Omari, J.A.Hart, T.M.Butynski; draft for Oryx 07/1998). In Annex 3, Anthus lineiventris is noted from the Lake Tanganyika escarpment in miombo woodland between 900 - 1500 m. More information is needed concerning this interesting observation.
Collared Pratincoles G.
pratincola, a total of 2000 birds seen on the Rwindi plains, south Lake Edward, July
12th 1992.
Photo: Tommy Pedersen
The Democratic Republic of Congo Birding Association
c/o Tommy Pedersen - Smedgaten 33 N-0651 Oslo - Norway