An observation of Slender-billed Gull Larus genei in Uganda

1 Pages·2000·0.6 MB·

by  Adriaan J Dijksen

Short Notes
An observation of Slender-billed Gull Larus genei in Uganda
AdriaanJ. Dijksen andGerardL. Ouweneel
Le8fevrier1999lesauteurs,accompagnesdesixautresobservateurs,ontobserveunGoelandrailleur
Larusgenei au Lac Katwe, Queen Elizabeth NT. dans l’ouest de l’Ouganda. Les caracteristiques de
l’oiseau ont pu etre examinees dans d’excellentes conditions et des photos ont etc prises. Dans la
recentecheck-listedupays,leGoelandrailleurnest mentionnequepourlelacVictoria2. En Ethiopie
etau Kenya, ils’agftd’uneespecerare, quel’onretrouvesurleslacssalesdelaValleeduRift3,5.
n the late afternoon of8 February 1999. together
I
with Ian Davidson. Paul Goldring and four Dutch
birders, the authors visited Lake Katwe, Queen
Elizabeth National Park (QENP) in western Uganda.
Somemaps indicatethat LikeKatweisconnected to
Lake Munyanyange. which is considered to be a
potentially internationally important waterfowl area,
due to the large numbers of wintering Gull-billed
Tern Gelochelidon nilotica’. Both lakes are saline.
During our visit, c550 Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larusfuscus with some (possible) Heuglin’s Gull
Larusfuscusheugliniwere restingon thenorth-west
bankofLakeKatwe,aswasa flockofc60Gull-billed
Tern.Grey-headedGullLaruscirrocephaluswasalso
present. At 16.00 hrs, GLO directed his fellow AdultwinterSlender-billedGullLarusgenei, LakeKatwe,
observers' attention to the presence of a Slender- Uganda, 8 February 1999 (Gerald L. Ouweneel)
billed Gull L. genei among the Gull-billed Terns.
Whentheflockflew,theSlender-billedGulllandedin Kampalaroad,on28June 1997andsubsequently,on
the water clO m offshore. Subsequently it swam 25 June 1999, a single roosting flock of c200 was
towardthebankandjoinedsomeGrey-headedGulls. observed, and 15-20 photographed, in the same
We were able observe the bird, an adult in winter place 0 Linsdell in litt to G Kirwan, May and July
plumage, under excellent conditions. AJD and GLO
1999).
took a number of photographs, one of which is
presented here to document the occurrence. References
Larusgeneiisrelativelycommononthecoastsof 1. Dodman,T. andTaylorV. 1996.African Waterfowl
North and West Africa. Urban etal4 mention it as a Census1996.Wageningen:WetlandsInternational.
vagrant in Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia. For 2. Rossouw J. and Sacchi M. 1998. Where to Watch
Ethiopia, Urban & Brown3 reportSlender-billedGull Birdsin Uganda. Kampala: UgandaTouristBoard.
asraretoscarceonthecoastandatRiftValleysalines. 3. Urban,E.K. andBrownL.H. 1971.AChecklistofthe
Zimmermann etaT mention Larusgenei as a scarce Birds of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa
PalearcticmigranttoKenyawithregularobservations University Press.
onLakeTurkanaandLakeNakuai.Rossouw&Sacchi2 4. Urban,E.K.,FryC.H.andKeithS. 1986. TheBirdsof
mentionthatthespecieshasbeenobservedon Lake Africa.Vol2. London, UK: AcademicPress.
Victoria nearKampala: birds were firstfound in this 5. Z19i9m6m.erBmiardnsn,ofD.KA.e,nyTaurnaenrdD.nAo.rtahnedrnPeTaarnszoannDi.aJ..
area,byJuliusAranitweandAchillesByaruhanga(of London, UK:A. &C. Black.
NatureUganda)whileundertakingwaterbirdsurveys,
in 1997. A flock of c55 birds, some in breeding Lijster17, 3299BTMaasdam, TheNetherlands.
plumage,waspresentatLutembeBay,bytheEntebbe-
ShortNotes BullABC Vol7No 1-55