In response to your appeal in Afropavo nr. 2 to submit recent observations, we report on our observations of the Congo Peacock Afropavo congensis during our recent stay at the campsite Iyema in the Lomako forest, Equateur province, north-west D.R.C.

This forest is situated between the Lokomo and the Tolende affluents of the Lomako river at 00°55’N - 21°06’E. These observations were registered between August 9^th 1998 and August 19^th 1998 and between October 6^th 1998 and November 16^th 1998. We were then conducting research for the bonobo-in-situ project of the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, in cooperation with the Antwerp University and the authorities of the D.R.C. We emphasise that the Congo Peacock was not the focus of attention, it was merely looked for during the regular work on the bonobo or pygmy chimpanzee Pan paniscus. Previous observations of the Congo Peacock while working on this project between May 1994 and February 1996 were reported earlier (Dupain, J. & Van Krunkelsven, E. 1996. Recent observations of the Congo Peacock Afropavo congensis in the Equateur Province, Zaire. Ostrich 67:94-95).

During the period mentioned above, 17 observations were reported by team members and workers. On the first occasion, on August 9^th 1998, we heard vocalisations at about 100m from our campsite at 10:15 hours. We went closer and tried a playback experiment with calls recorded in captivity, but we didn’t notice any response. We heard more vocalisations from our campsite on 10/8, 23/10, 25/10, 27/10, 2/11 and 14/11. From other locations in our study area of about 20 kmē, observations were reported on 27/10, 4/11, 6/11 (from 2 different points), 12/11, 13/11 and 15/11 (from 3 different points). Most of the observations occurred after 17:00 hours, during or after sunset. Considering the shy nature of this species and the increased activity in our study area as a consequence of the resumption of the fieldwork after an involuntary break, these regular observations seem to indicate that Congo Peacock are still abundantly present in this part of the forest. Hopefully project members will be able to return soon (the local circumstances forced us to return on November 17^th 1998) to confirm this preliminary conclusion and to gather more detailed data on the status and biology of the Congo Peacock in the Lomako forest.

Marc Pierard - Jef Dupain - Linda Van Elsacker

Bonobo-in-situ project

Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp

Koningin Astridplein 26

B-2018 Antwerp, Belgium

During the summer we paid a visit to the area on August 21^st and 22^nd 1993, but no Little Terns were present then.

One year later, on April 30^th 1994 a total of 30 Little Terns were counted in the Katanda lagoon.

Before October 1992 we made several trips to the Katanda lagoon, namely in March, April and May 1992. No Little Terns were present. Unfortunately we did not have the opportunity of visiting the site in the summer of 1994, nor in 1995 - 96 due to the unstable military situation in the area.

Little Terns breed on N and W African coasts north of the equator, and inland in W African major rivers. It is a vagrant to Burundi at Lake Tanganyika and Kenya at Lake Naivasha. Birds at Lake Turkana in Kenya enigmatic; hundreds of albifrons-like terns are sometimes present. Unidentified Little- / Saunder’s Terns have also occasionally been noted in the spring on lakes in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, e.g. 4-5 birds at Lake Ziwai on May 9^th 1993 (P.O. Syvertsen pers comm.). No known records from Uganda.

Zimmerman, D. A., Turner, D. A. & Pearson, J. P. 1996. Birds of Kenya and northern Tanzania. Christopher Helm, London.

Lewis, A. & Pomeroy, D. 1989. A bird atlas of Kenya. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.