Table Of ContentRufous Fishing Owl: how to see one - maybe!
S ofewbirdershaveseentheRufousFishingOwl crested Tiger Heron Tigriomisleucolophus is seen
in the wild that it is impossible to identify any regularlyenoughtorewardyourearlystart.Youwill
particularlocalitywhereyou would have anymore alsobeabletoseethelastmentionedspeciesatdusk.
than an outside chance of finding one. One place, Lamto(shownonMichelinmap975ofCoted’Ivoire)
however, where it has been recorded recently is is some 180km north ofAbidjan, an easy, two-hour
Lamtoinsouthern-centralCote d'Ivoire. The Station drivenearlyallofwhichisovertarmac.Theroadfrom
Ecologique de Lamto is a 2500ha field station and Abidjan is the country’s main north-south axis so
naturereservebelongingtotheUniversityofAbidjan, many buses and taxis pass the turn-offto the field
situatedalongtheeasternbankoftheBandamariver. station. Trafficalong the final 15kmmurrainroadis
Thisis inthetransitionzonebetweentherainforest infrequentsothosewithouttransportcanhavealong
and southern Guinea savanna, and the vegetation wait - or a long walk. You can usually find good,
comprisesamixtureofwoodedsavanna,inwhichthe cheap accommodation and food at the Ecological
BorassusPalmBorassusaethiopiumisaconspicuous Station(nottheGeophysicalStationwhichonereaches
feature, intersected by gallery forest. Beside the first). However,thisdoesnotapplyifyourvisitcoin-
Bandamathereisawiderribbonofriverineforest. cides with a university field course! It is therefore
Thefieldstation’sbuildingsarefiveminuteswalk sensible,aswellasbeingcommoncourtesy,toseek
downaroughtrackfromtheriver’sedge.Here,there permissiontovisitLamto in advance. As a research
is a small landing area for fishermens’ dugouts that station,Lamtohasdutiesotherthantoaccommodate
providesapointofvantageovertheriver.Arrivalhere itinerant birders! Write to: The Director, Station
beforedawncanberewarding!EvenifRufousFishing EcologiquedeLamto,B.P.28,N’Douci,Coted’Ivoire.
Owl does not co-operate (the only record is of an Staffthereare,however,verywelcomingandusedto
immatureinDecember1-onChristmasDay!)thereis peopleturningup periodicallyunannounced.®
thepossibilityofPel’sFishing-OwlandWhite-backed 1Malimbusl991 12: 61-86
Night Heron Gorsachius leuconotus, while White- Lincoln Fishpool
Finding fishing owls in southern Cameroon
BothPel’sandVermiculatedFishingOwloccurin frequentlyburnalongtheopenfloodplainandocca-
Cameroon but are rarely observed by birders. sionally enter the swamp forest. During the major
Howeverin1989asiteinsouthernCameroonproved rainyseasontheNyongriverrisesby6-7m, inundat-
reliableforPel’s,andprovidedtantalisingglimpsesof ingthefloodplainandfloodingtheadjacentforest.
Vermiculated. Theowlswereeasiesttoobserveduringthedry
Bothwere observedalongtheNyongriverwest season, when the river was confined to the river-
ofthetownofAkonolingaandadjacenttothevillage channel. The owls could then be watched hunting
ofNdibiwhichliesonapeninsulaonthesouthbank where the forest came down to the river bank and
ofthe river. Akonolinga can easilybe reachedfrom treesoverhungthewater.Activitycommencedsoon
Yaoundebybush-taxiinacoupleofhours, andhas afterdarkandgoodviewscouldbeobtainedbysitting
plentyofbasicaccommodation.Ndibicanbereached quietly and occasionally illuminating the birds by
eitherbywalkingacrosstheNyongriverroad-bridge torchlight fora fewseconds. Pel’s Fishing Owls are
thenturningrightandwalkingforseveralhoursalong extremelyvocal and can be located by listeningfor
dirttrackstothevillage,orbyrentingapiroguefrom the characteristic low grunting hoot, or by a high-
a fisherman below the road-bridge and gently pad- pitched screaming wail which appears to be
dling downstream. There is no accommodation in associated with the soliciting offood. Although no
Ndibi,butcampingiseasy. actual catches were observed, birds could be seen
Theareainwhichtheowlswereobservedwason ‘mantling’freshlycaughtfishonbranchesoverhang-
thesouthbankofthe Nyongriverbelowthevillage ing the water. The best views, however, were
andcouldbeaccessedbya foresttrack. The habitat obtained when birds were occasionally discovered
consistsofa2km-widefloodplainandfloatinggrass by day, roosting in the crowns offorest trees up to
community,backedbyseasonallyinundatedswamp lkmawayfromtheriver,whenthetruebeautyofthe
forest. The area experiences considerable seasonal speciescouldbe appreciated. ®
change. In the main dry season (January-May) fires Duncan McNiven
Rufous Fishing Owl: Fishpool / Pel’s Fishing Owl: McNiven BullABC Vol 1 No2-75
RufousFishingOwlScotopeliaussheri.
Liberia,1988.(KevinCarlson/Windrush
Photos)
Chouette-pecheuseadosrouxScotopelia
ussheri.Liberia,1988.(KevinCarlson/
WindmshPhotos)
Schlegel’sAsityPhilepittaschlegelimaleandfemale.Ampijoroa,Madagascar,December1993.(SimonHarrap)
PhilepittedeScWege/Philepittaschlegelimaleetfemelle.Ampijoroa,Madagascar,December1993-(SimonHarrap)
76-BullABC Vol 1 No2 Schlegel’s Asity. Hawkins
