Cataloguing the Lubango Bird Skin Collection: towards an atlas of Angolan bird distributions Michael S. L. Mills'1', Ursula Frank?, GrantJoseph', Francisco Miato'1 Suzanne Milton1’, , Ara Monadjerri, Dieter OschadleuJand W. RichardJ. Deanb Cataloguer la collection de peaux d oiseaux de Lubango : vers un atlas des repartitions des oiseaux angolais. La collection de peaux d oiseaux logee a Lubango, Angola, comprend plus de 40.000 specimens, lepiesentant plus de 850 taxons. En juin 2008, nous avons travaille sur la collection pendant deux semaines, a de collecter des donnees concernant la distribution des especes. Ces travaux font partie d un projet atlas pour les oiseaux de 1 Angola. La collection est toujours en bon etat et le «Instituto Superior da Ciencias e Educaqao)) (ISCED), qui abrite la collection, doit en etre felicite. Les donnees mentionnees sur les etiquettes de 15.000 peaux, dont celles de tous les specimens des especes moins connues, ont ete saisies dans une base de donnees informatisee. Les 25.000 enregistrements restants sont faits sur la base de photos des «fiches de — catalogue». Les specimens les plus interessants sont ceux de quatreAigrettesvineuses Egretta vinaceigula les premieres donnees pour 1 Angola de cette espece cataloguee mondialement «Vulnerable». D’autres exemples de peaux interessantes sont illustres par des photos et attirent l’attention sur l’importance de la collection pour des etudes systematiques. La collection de mammiferes est aussi mentionnee brievement. Enfin, des recommandations sont faites pour la gestion future de la collection. Summary. The bird collection housed in Lubango, Angola, contains more than 40,000 skins, representing more than 850 taxa. As part ofan atlas project for Angolan birds, we visited rhe skin collection for two weeks in June 2008, to extract distributional information from the specimens. The skin collection is still in good condition, and the Instituto Superior da Ciencias e Educa^ao (ISCED), which houses the collection, is to be commended for this. Data from labels of 15,000 skins were entered into an electronic database, including all specimens of lesser known species. The remaining 25,000 entries are being made from photographs of‘catalogue’ cards. The most interesting specimens are four Slaty Egrets Egretta vinaceigula, the first records of this globally Vulnerable species in Angola. Other examples of interesting skins are illustrated in various photographs, drawing attention to the importance of the collection for systematic studies. A briefmention is also made ofthe mammal collection. Finally, a list ofrecommendations is given for the future management ofthe collection. W ith the sixth-longest bird list ofany African country, Angola harbours an exceptionally rich biodiversity. Add to this one ofAfrica’s highest — bird conservation priorities the Western Angola Endemic Bird Area (Stattersfield et al. 1998) and — its biologically important scarp forests and the biological importance of the country becomes unquestionable. During the 1960s and 1970s the country’s biodiversity was investigated, plant and animal collections established, and several reserves were appropriately managed (Huntley 1974), but 30 years of civil unrest have left conservation and research in Angola well behind that of other southern African countries. Basic information on species distributions is poor, and the network of Figure 1. The team working on the skin collection, reserves is dysfunctional. entering details from bird labels into a database Recent peace and stability have provided new (Michael Mills) opportunities for improving the situation. As a L’equipe travaillant sur la collection de peaux, saisissant first step, old reserves need to be re-established, par ordinateur les donnees mentionnees sur les etiquettes knowledge of species distributions updated and (Michael Mills) Cataloguing the Lubango BirdSkin Collection: Mills etal. BullABC Vol 17No 1 (2010) -43 refined, key gaps in the conservation network Department at the Instituto de Investigaqao identified and remedied, and links built with Cientifica de Angola (IICA). In 1963 Dr Pinto Angolan counterparts. Whilst available data was appointed leader of the Centre for Studies at on Angolan bird distributions were recently the IICA in Lubango. He subsequently managed summarised (Dean 2000), the contents of the to gather a very competent group of collectors largest collection of Angolan bird skins, referred and taxidermists, most ofthem Angolans, familiar to here as the Lubango Bird Skin Collection with the birds and the countryside. This group, (LBSC), were largely unknown. Summaries based usually a team of six men but involving over 60 on some information contained in the LBSC were different personnel over the years, served the IICA published by Pinto (1970, 1972, 1973, 1983), well by establishing a collection of over 40,000 but the collection ofmore than 40,000 specimens specimens, representing almost all of the avian must be considered the largest untapped source of taxa known to occur in Angola. The collection is information on Angola bird distributions, and a currently housed at the the Instituto Superior da primary source for systematic research. A sizeable Ciencias e Educaqao (ISCED), whose staff is to collection of mammal skins and skulls is also be commended for maintaining the collection in housed here. excellent condition. The aim of our visit to Lubango was four- Although the collection at Lubango contains fold: (1) to report on the condition ol the very little ‘old’ material, there is a long history of LBSC and make recommendations for its future collecting natural history specimens in Angola. management, (2) to garner valuable distributional Bird collections had commenced by the 1850s, information from the LBSC on birds (and to with visits by Dr Francisco Welwitsch, a botanist a lesser degree bats), (3) to draw attention to who collected some birds between 1853 and 1860, the value of the collection for study purposes, and Joaquim Monteiro, a mining engineer who and (4) to build links for future research and collected birds in 1858-67. Collecting activity at capacity building in Angola, centred on the about this time was stimulated by requests for bird collection. Here we report on the condition of specimens from Prof. V. du Bocage in Portugal, J. the LBSC and make recommendations for its who requested that military and administrative future management and use, draw attention to officers in Angola collect birds for him. Also, in the importance ol the collection by highlighting 1864, Jose Alberto D’Oliviera Anchieta went to its contents, and provide a progress report on Angola to collect birds for Prof. Bocage. His first the cataloguing of the skin collection. Links with collection, said to be ‘rich’, was lost in a shipwreck Angolan counterparts are being developed on (Pinto 1983). Anchieta returned to Angola in several fronts, most notably through the work of 1866, and remained in the country until his death Brian Huntley and colleagues ofthe South African in 1897. He worked mostly in central and western National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), but are Angola, collecting almost 4,400 specimens of460 not reported on here. species of birds, of which 46 were new species to science. Short history of the skin collection and A number of collectors of many different collecting in Angola nationalities followed Anchieta in the late 1800s; The LBSC is one ofthe largest collections of bird O. Sala (Dutch), C. J. Andersson (Dean et al. specimens in south-central Africa and contains 2006; Swedish), A. W. Eriksson (Swedish), C. many well-prepared specimens, comparable in Hamilton (British), J. Falkenstein (German), L. quality to any collection in Africa. The collection Petit and A. Lucan (French), O. Schiitt and F. is a tribute to the late Dr Antonio da Rosa Pinto, W. von Mechow (Steinheimer & Dean 2007; who, in 1958, began the nucleus ofthe collection German), P. van der Kellen (Dutch) and J. by leading a collecting trip to Moxico Province, the Valdivia Expedition. Many of these are in the east of the country. At the time, Dr Pinto remembered in the names of Angolan birds. was a teacher at Salazar High School in Lourenqo With interest growing in the natural history Marques (now Maputo) in Mozambique, and ol Angola, expeditions sponsored by museums was in Angola on an official ‘temporary’ mission began to visit the country in the early 1900s: the with the objective of establishing an Ornithology French mission of Rohan-Cabot (Menegaux & 44-BullABC Vol 17No 1 (2010) Cataloguing the Lubango BirdSkin Collection: Mills etal. 0 Berlioz 1923), the Swiss scientific expedition to Angola and sent to Portugal in the late 1800s Angola in 1928-29 (Monard 1934), the Phipps- and early 1900s were destroyed in a fire at the Biadley expedition (with Rudyerd Boulton as University of Lisbon in 1978 (Mearns & Mearns collector), the Vernay-Angola expedition and 1998), and many other specimens have not been collecting trips by Hubert Lynes and Jack Vincent traced. Fortunately the bird collection at Lubango & (Lynes Sclater 1933, 1934), and the Pulitzer- remains intact and is an extremely important Angola expedition, again with Rudyerd Boulton source of reference material for ongoing research as collector. Boulton subsequently collected on the birds ofAngola. and described a new endemic species, Pulitzer’s Longbill Macrosphenus pulitzeri (Boulton 1931). Methods In 1929-30, the Gray African Expedition of For two weeks in June 2008 the authors worked the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, at the LBSC. Bird specimens were removed collected birds and mammals in central-western from drawers and information displayed on their Angola (Bowen 1931, 1932), and an Italian labels transcribed into an electronic database expedition in 1930 collected the holotype of on laptop computers (Fig. 1). The following an endemic subspecies of Liihder’s Bushshrike information was captured for each specimen: Laniarius luehderi amboinensis (Moltoni 1932). specimen number, species name, subspecies, sex, Individuals, some sponsored by museums and age, weight, collection date and locality, and owners of private collections, were also active collector’s name. In addition, photographs were in Angola during the early 1900s. Dr William taken of many skins, including representatives Ansorge made several trips to Angola between of all of the rarer specimens. Lesser known 1903 and 1909, collecting r.8,000 bird specimens species were generally processed first. During the (and many previously undescribed freshwater available time, data from 15,000 specimens were fish). The Portuguese naturalist Francisco Newton captured into the database, covering all of the visited Angola at about the same time (de Seabra rarer species. Handwriting on the labels was often 1903), C. H. Pemberton collected in 1901-02 hard to read, requiring substantial cleaning of the and Willoughby Lowe collected some material database, to correct names of collection localities in the Luanda area in 1910-11 (Bannerman and collectors. This work is ongoing. 1912). Important collections in the 1930s were Inadditiontoenteringdatafromlabels,specimen made by Jean Bodaly who collected birds at ‘catalogue’ cards (cf Fig. 2) were photographed for Chitau, Bie, and by H. K. Prior at Dondi, the entire collection. Each card represents a single Huambo. During a similar period, Rudolf Braun, species and subspecies, and contains the following who was resident in Angola, collected some information on specimens belonging to the taxon: material, most ofwhich is now in the Zoological Museum in Berlin. The last collections of birds INSTfTUTO DE INVESTIGA^AO CIENTIFICA DE ANGOLA in Angola before the Ornithology Department S*cc*od* Ornilologi* of the IICA was established were made by H. A. ESPECIE Franco1i_nus .JJr-:t Beatty, who collected for the Field Museum in |28b ^/^^ q ls»* Chicago. In two separate major collecting trips 1[32280611 yy'• aq in 1954-55 and 1957, Gerd Heinrich collected W V btihredsFiefolrd tMhueseZouomlogainsdchetsheInPsetiatbuot,dyHaMmubsuerugm, I2~3,)5(FGVT'?'p*' 'r-’v.M?' .V,,,j 0" 6- o' at Yale University. The Transvaal Museum and O652.V ?. J&i,f£ VyxSjt',,g the British Museum sponsored expeditions in the 1950s, and both expeditions obtained very Figure 2. An example ofthe bird ‘catalogue’ cards, for useful study material. With the exception ofsome Grey-striped Francolin Francolinusgriseostriatus, giving the specimen number, date and location ofcollection, birds donated to the IICA by Heinrich and the and sex (Michael Mills) British Museum, most of the specimens collected Un exemple d une «fiche de catalogue», pour le between 1850 and 1960 in Angola are scattered in Francolin a bandes grises Francolinusgriseostriatus, avec museums in Europe, the UK and North America. le numero du specimen, date et localite de collection, et However, many of the specimens collected in sexe (Michael Mills) Cataloguing the Lubango BirdSkin Collection: Mills etal. BullABC Vol 17No 1 (2010)- 45 46-BullABC Vol 17No 1 (2010) Cataloguing the Lubango BirdSkin Collection: Mills etal. Legend to figures on opposite page Un exemple du remarquable male en plumage nuptial Figure 3. i wo ofthe four specimens ofSlaty Egret de l’endemique Euplecte dore Euplectes aureus (en Egretta vinaceigula in the collection: (a) adult, (b) haut), a cote de I’Euplecte a croupion jaune E. capensis immature. 1 hese are the first published records ofthe (en bas). La population de l’Euplecte dore a Sao Tome species in Angola (Michael Mills) est supposee avoir ete introduite (Fry &c Keith 2004) (Michael Mills) Deux des quatre specimens de l’Aigrette vineuse Egretta vinaceigula de le collection : (a) adulte, (b) immature. II Figure 7. The near-endemic Bocage’s Sunbird Nectarinia s’agit des premieres donnees publiees de l’espece pour bocagii (second, fourth and sixth) alongside the 1’Angola (Michael Mills) distinctive, endemicgadowisubspecies ofBronzy Sunbird Figure 4. A comparison ofBlack-chinned Quailfinch wNh.erkielaismenBsrios.nzByocSaugneb’isrdSuinsbgirredeniissdhabrrkopnuzreplaendanhdasblaack, Ortygospizagabonensis (top) and African Quailfinch O. longer, more curved bill (Michael Mills) fiiscocrissa (bottom), from Angola. The latter species has a white chin and spectacles, but overall the species are Le quasi endemique Souimanga de Bocage Nectarinia very similar and may belong to a single species (Payne & bocagii (deuxieme, quatrieme et sixieme specimens) Sorenson 2007). Skins from the Lubango museum come a cote de la sous-espece endemique distinctegadowi from a contact zone ofthe two taxa and could be used du Souimanga bronze N. kilimensis. Le Souimanga de as part ofa detailed phylogenetic study using multiple Bocage est violet fonce et noir, tandis que le Souimanga representatives from each quailfinch form, required to bronze est bronze verdatre et a un bee plus long et plus arque (Michael Mills) properly test whether the three detected genetic lineages exhibit consistent plumage differences (Fry & Keith Figure 8. The very similar Bates’s Sunbird Cinnyris 2004, Payne & Sorenson 2007) (Michael Mills) batesi (top) and Little Green Sunbird Anthreptesseimundi Une comparaison entre l’Astrild-caille a face noire (bottom). The latter is overall brighter green, with a Ortygospizagabonensis (en haut) et l’Astrild-caille a shorter, straighter bill; Bates’s Sunbird is greyer below, lunettes O.fiiscocrissa (en bas) de 1’Angola. La derniere and has a black tail, which is hard to see in the field (Michael Mills) espece a le menton blanc et des lunettes blanches, mais pour le reste les deux especes sont tres semblables et Les tres semblables Souimanga de Bates Cinnyris batesi pourraient comprendre une seule espece (Payne & (en haut) et Souimanga de SeimundAnthreptesseimundi Sorenson 2007). Les specimens du musee de Lubango (en bas). Ce dernier a le plumage vert plus vif, avec un proviennent d une zone de contact des deux taxons et bee plus court et plus droit ; le Souimanga de Bates est pourraient servir pour une etude phylogenetique detaillee. plus gris dessous et a une queue noire, ce qui est difficile Une telle etude devrait utiliser plusieurs representants de a voir sur le terrain (Michael Mills) chaque forme d’astrild-caille pour pouvoir examiner si les trois lignees detectees ont des differences de plumage & & consistantes (Fry Keith 2004, Payne Sorenson specimen number, collection date and locality, and 2007) (Michael Mills) sex for each example in the collection. Photographs Figure 5. Male (top) and female (bottom) specimens of of these cards (4,661 in total, representing 859 Black-chinned Weaver Ploceus nigrimentus, collected in species) have now been labelled and ordered Huambo town (previously Nova Lisboa) in March 1966 by family. Data entry is continuing using these probably the most recent ot this rare species in Angola. Only two other specimens are listed in Dean (2000), with photographs, but is expected to take at least the only other localities being Galanga (the type locality) another 18 months to complete. and Mombolo (Michael Mills) A small amount of time was dedicated to Specimens male (en haut) et femelle (en bas) du Tisserin comparingspecimens ofsimilar species, and taking a menton noir Ploceus nigrimentus, collectes a Huambo side-by-side photographs, as well as inspecting the (auparavant Nova Lisboa) en mars 1966 probablement mammal collection. les mentions les plus recentes de cette espece rare en Angola. Seulement deux autres specimens, de Galanga Findings (la localite type) et Mombolo, sont mentionnes par Broadly, the collection remains in excellent Dean (2000) (Michael Mills) condition, free of insect damage. Specimens are Figure 6. An example ol the striking endemic male housed in wooden drawers lined using paper, Golden-backed Bishop Euplectes aureus in breeding plumage (top), alongside Yellow Bishop E. capensis in 28 large wooden cupboards. All specimens (bottom). A population ofGolden-backed Bishop on Sao are labelled and the complete collection of field Tome is believed to have been introduced (Fry & Keith journals remains with the skins. However, the 2004) (Michael Mills) room in which the collection is kept is incredibly dusty, the field journals are unordered and poorly Cataloguing the Lubango BirdSkin Collection: Mills etal. BullABC Vol 17No 1 (2010) - 47 Table 1. Details of the four specimens of Slaty Egret Egretta vinaceigula in the Lubango Bird Skin Collection. Tableau 1. Donnees sur quatre specimens de I’Aigrette vineuse Egretta vinaceigula loges dans la collection de peaux d'oiseaux de Lubango. Specimen details Collection details No. Sex Age Mass(g) Locality Date Collector 23532 F Imm. 300 RioCunene(Quiteve) 27June68 A. R. Pereira 23257 F Ad. 245 Luamucua (Quiteve) 19June68 D. Mumputu 23259 F Ad. 175 Luamucua (Quiteve) 19June68 A. R. Pereira 23432 F Imm. 300 RioCunene(Quiteve) 24June68 D. Mumputu kept, and a large number of mounted specimens cards, but it was not found. While the collection are clumsily arranged, making for poor working generally contains few types, it does house the type conditions. Although the collection has been kept series of the subspecies of Scaly-fronted Weaver in good condition by Prof. Jose Luis Alexandre Sporopipes squamifronspallidus described by Pinto and his staffat ISCED, there is no official curator (1967). Several rare or uncommon weavers are or ornithologist at the collection. The current represented: Black-chinned Weaver P. nigrimentus ‘caretaker’ of the collection has no training in (2), Loango Weaver P. subpersonatus (2), Brown- biology or taxidermy, and the collection remains capped Weaver P. insignis (5), Black Bishop largely unused. There is not yet an official Euplectesgierowii (1 from Tanzania) and Golden- protocol for access, although permission to work backed Bishop E. aureus (47). Three specimens on the collection can be granted by the Dean of Southern Masked Weaver Ploceus velatus were of ISCED, Prof. Matondo Tomalela. Francisco collected by Pinto from the isolated Lake Dilolo Miata is employed and trained to maintain and during August 1958 (Pinto 1965, Dean 1996), care for the herbarium collection housed here, with further specimens from this expedition and a counterpart in the bird collection is urgently housed at the Lisbon Museum (Louette 1984). needed. It has been suggested that these birds belong The LBSC is significant for both the number of to the reichardi-ruweti species complex (Dean specimensitcontains(>40,000)andthegreatvariety 2000). The LBSC specimens are dull-plumaged, oftaxa presented (>850), including numerous rarer but one is a male starting to moult: there are a species. More than 1,600 photographs of skins few orange feathers on the upper throat. Other were taken, representing >400 species, and have than this orange plumage anomaly (the throat been databased. The most interesting discovery should be turning black), the weavers appear to was the presence of four specimens of Slaty Egret match nominate Southern Masked Weaver found Egretta vinaceigula erroneously labelled as Black further south in Angola. The nearest locality for , Herons E. ardesiaca (Fig. 3). These specimens Southern Masked Weaver is in north-west Zambia (Table 1; Fig. 1) were all collected during a trip (Dowsett et al. 2008). to Quiteve, Huila Province, on the banks of the Cunene River (16°02’S 15°lTE), on 19-27 Mammals June 1968, and constitute the first records of this The mammal collection at Lubango consists Vulnerable species for Angola (Dean 2000). of skins and skulls of a variety of species. The Some other specimens of interest are aim of this expedition was to catalogue the bird summarised in Table 2 and species and species collection, thus therewas onlylimited time forAM comparisons are illustrated in Figs. 4-12. to examine the mammals, which numbered more DO worked exclusively on the Ploceidae. Most than 3,000 specimens of at least 123 species. The Angolan Ploceidaeare represented in thecollection, bats were examined in greatest detail and included notable exceptions being Orange Weaver Ploceus 211 specimens of 23 species. This represents aurantius and Slender-billed P. pelzelni. Pinto about one third of the 63 species known to occur (1972) listed a specimen of P. pelzelni collected in Angola. With respect to collecting sites, there is in Cabinda that should have been present in a geographical bias towards the south-east of the the museum and is listed on the ‘catalogue’ country, which is unsurprising since that is where 48-BullABC Vo! 17No 1 (2010) Cataloguing the Lubango BirdSkin Collection: Mills etal. Table 2. Summary of some of the more interesting specimens contained in the Lubango Bird Skin Collection, with the number of specimens for each species (No.). Tableau 2. Apergu d un nombre de specimens interessants dans la collection de peaux d’oiseaux de Lubango, avec I indication du nombre de specimens pour chaque espece (No.). Common Name ScientificName No. Notes Rufous-chested SparrowhawkAccipiterrufiventris 3 RareinAngola Swierstra’s Francolin Francolinusswierstrai 6 Vulnerableendemic Grey-striped Francolin Francolinusgriseostriatus 12 Near-Threatenedendemic White-throated Francolin Francolinusalbogularis 6 RareinAngola HorusSwiftApushorus 12 Formtoulsoni,oftentreated specificallyasLoandaSwift Bradfield's Hornbill Tockusbradfieldi 16 Scarcespecies White-headed BarbetLybiusleucocephalus 37 Endemicanddistinctivessp. leucogaster Benguela Long-billed Lark Cedhilaudabenguelensis 55 Near-endemic Grimwood’s LongclawMacronyxgrimwoodi 38 Data Deficient AngolaCaveChatXenocopsychusansorgei 31 Endemic Black-necked Eremomela Eremomelaatricollis 65 Localisedspecies CongoMoorChatMyrmecocichlatholloni 29 Near-endemic GabelaAkalatSheppardiagabela 7 Endangeredendemic Pulitzer's Longbill Macrosphenuspulitzeri 4 Endangeredendemic Laura'sWoodlandWarblerPhylloscopuslaurae 1 Endemicssp. laurae;rareinAngola Rock-loving Cisticola Cisticolaaberrans 6 Endemicssp.bailunduensis AngolaSlatyFlycatcherMelaenornisbrunneus 32 Endemic Margaret’s Batis Batismargaritae 1 RareinAngola;endemicssp. margaritae White-frontedWattle-eyePlatysteiraalbifrons 4 Near-Threatened near-endemic Bare-cheeked Babbler Turdoidesgymnogenys 15 Near-endemic Black-faced Babbler Turdoidesmelanops 21 Near-endemic RockrunnerChaetopspycnopygius 22 Near-endemic Bannerman'sSunbird Cyanomitrabannermani 13 Near-endemic Bocage’sSunbirdNectariniabocagii 11 Near-endemic Ludwig’s Double-collaredSunbird Cinnyrisludovicensis 76 Endemic Oustalet’sSunbird Cinnyrisoustaleti 31 Localisedspecies GabelaHelmetshrike Prionopsgabela 3 Endangeredendemic Chestnut-backedSparrowWeaverPlocepasserrufoscapulatus 82 Near-endemic Bar-wingedWeaverPloceusangolensis 11 Near-endemic :Black-chinnedWeaverPloceusnigrimentus 2 Near-endemic .Golden-backed BishopEuplectesaureus 47 Endemic DuskyTwinspotEuschistospizacinereovinacea 29 Endemicssp. cinereovinacea Lubango is situated. The collection includes a (dassies) (Heterohyrax and Procavia) and at least number of interesting bat specimens such as two 33 genera of rodents. Primates are particularly D’Anchieta’s Fruit Bat Plerotes anchietae, a species poorly represented with skins of just six species. known from just 11 specimens (Bergmans 1989, Kock et al. 1998); 21 specimens of Angolan Habitats: erosion of biodiversity in the Epauletted Fruit Bat Epomophorus angolensis, an environs of Lubango Angolan near-endemic; and African Sheath-tailed The habitats in which birds were collected Bat Coleura afra, a widespread species but in between 1958 and 1974 ranged from coastal desert southern Africa known from just three specimens through palm and baobab savanna on lowland (Monadjem et al. in press). Non-chiropteran alluvium along the Cunene River, to grassland mammals well represented in the collection and sclerophyllous shrubland on the sandstones include genets (Genetta), hares (Lepus), hyraxes of the high-altitude tableland that surrounds Cataloguingthe Lubango BirdSkin Collection: Mills etal. BullABC Vol 17No 1 (2010) -49 diversity ofshrubs including Protea welwitschi and grass trees Xeris sp. Closed Afromontane forest patches occurred in deep, well-watered gorges on the escarpment. When the bird collection was constituted, in 1958-74, the human population of Angola was sparse and most ofthewoodland in the southern part ofAngola was intact. Tall woodland that included large specimens ol such hardwoods as Pterocarpus angolensis (kiaat), Combretum (bush willow) and Baikiaea plurijuga (teak) extended from the Namibian border to Lubango. Human population growth over the past four decades has changed the face(s) of the landscape. Lubango, to escarpment forest along the ‘Scarp’ Within a 50-km radius of Lubango miombo and equatorial gallery forest along various rivers. woodlands have been cleared and replaced with Travelling from northern Namibia to Lubango subsistence agriculture based on grain crops, goats we passed successively through palm savanna and and cattle, with charcoal made from large miombo mopaneveld, baobab savanna, Baikiaea (teak) trees as a cash supplement. Further from the city woodland on yellow sand, mixed woodland of Lubango bags of charcoal and honey for sale with Combretum, Terminalia, Commiphora and at roadside markets are witness to the continued Albizia set among spectacular granite hills, and erosion of the woodland, as trees make way for then, at higher altitudes on red sands, miombo more subsistence crops, cut to raid bee hives, woodland. The sandstone plateau above the town ringbarked for materials used in medicine or to of Lubango supports stunted miombo and a high construct bark hives, and converted to charcoal 50-BullABC Vol 17No 1 (2010) Cataloguingthe Lubango BirdSkin Collection: Mills etal. Legend to figures on opposite page for hearing and cooking in the ever-growing Figure 9. I he endemic Monteiro’s Bushshrike urban centres. Large trees are disappearing in even Malaconotus monteiri (second and fourth) alongside its quite remote areas such as the slopes above the closest relative, Grey-headed Bushshrike M. blanchoti, precipitous cliffs ofthe escarpment at Leba. Smoke which differs in lacking the pale ring around the eye, in rising from the woodland, cut stumps, charcoal MhaovnitnegiraoyeslBluowsihsshh,rinkoetigsrseuyipsphoseeyde,lyanledssaolreasnsgreobbuesltobwill. pits, paths made by ox-drawn sleds, and feathers (Fry & Keith 2000, Sinclair & Ryan 2003), but these ofwild birds used to sustain the woodcutters bear two specimens contradict this (Michael Mills) silent witness to the ongoing erosion ofthe natural L endemique Gladiateur de Monteiro Malaconotus capital ofthis beautiful land. monteiri (deuxieme et quatrieme specimens) a cote de son parent le plus proche, le Gladiateur de Blanchot Towards an atlas M. blanchoti qui differe par l’absence du cercle oculaire One ofthe objectives ofcompiling a catalogue and , pale et par son oeil jaunatre, non pas grisatre, et son database of the bird specimens in the Lubango betereemmooiinnssfoorrta.ngLeedGelsasdoiuaste(uFrryde&MKoenittehir2o00e0s,t sSuinpcploasier collection is to build a georeferenced database of & Ryan 2003), mais ceci est contredit par ces deux bird specimen records for Angola. These data will specimens (Michael Mills) be merged with another database, containing data on distributions taken from Traylor (1963), Pinto F(isegcuorned1a0n.dRofosuyr-tthh)roaaltoendgsLidoengecxlaamwplMeascorfontyhexDamaetlaiae (1983), Dean (2000) and Mills & Dean (2007), Deficient Grimwood’s Longclaw, well represented in the dataon bird specimens in othercollections and sight collection by 38 specimens oftwo subspecies, grimwoodi records of birds contributed by visitors to Angola. and cuandocubangensis, the latter not mentioned in Keith These data will then be mapped, probably at a 15’ etal. (1992) (Michael Mills) x 15’ scale. The maps will provide guidelines for the La Sentinelle a gorge rose Macronyxameliae (deuxieme recommendation of protected areas and will also et quatrieme specimens) a cote d’exemplaires de la provide some basic distribution patterns, useful for Sentinelle de Grimwood, espece «Insuffisamment modelling effects of climate change and potential documente» bien representee dans la collection par 38 specimens de deux sous-especes, grimwoodi et environmental disasters (e.g. oil spills from offshore cuandocubangensis. Cette derniere n’est pas mentionnee wells along the northern coast). Gap analyses par Keith etal. (1992) (Michael Mills) using these data will establish priorities for future Figure 11 The Endangered, endemic Gabela ornithological field work in Angola. . Helmetshrike Prionopsgabela (first and third) alongside Birdatlasstudiesnotonlyshowbirddistribution its closest relative, the widespread Retz’s Helmetshrike P. patterns, but more importantly also identify areas retzii, illustrating the latter species’ larger size and darker for which there are no data. Globally, bird atlases plumage (Michael Mills) have made a key contribution to conservation, Le Bagadais de Gabela Prionopsgabela (premier et through highlighting the conservation priorities troisieme specimens), espece endemique «Menacee of species (providing fundamental data for Red d’extinction», et son parent le plus proche a large Data listing) and habitats (e.g. Fishpool & Evans distribution, le Bagadais de Retz P. retzii, illustrant la 2001). Angola, emerging from decades ofpolitical taille plus grande et le plumage plus fonce de ce dernier (Michael Mills) instability, is a country where knowledge of bird Figure 12. Two subspecies ofMeves’s Starling distributions is particularly poor, although the Lamprotornis mevesii found in Angola; the more glossy avifauna is diverse. Most surveys and collecting mevesii (top and third) alongside the duller benguelensis, have been conducted in western and north-central endemic to the southern escarpment zone, that may Angola, and along the coastal areas and parts deserve specific status (Hall I960). Specimens from the of the Mayombe in Cabinda. We do not know Lubango Bird Skin Collection could help unravel the whether gaps in the distribution ofcertain species 'systematics ofthis species (Michael Mills) are ’real’ or artefacts ofsurveys. An atlas will help Deux sous-especes du Choucador de Meves Lamprotornis close these gaps or show whether they are real. mevesii representees en Angola; mevesii, plus brillant (en This has important implications for conservation haut et troisieme), et benguelensis, endemique de la zone in Angola in that attention will then be drawn to australe de fescarpement, plus terne. Les deux formes pourraient etre des especes a part entiere (Hall 1960); areas of high avian species richness, which might des specimens de la collection de Lubango pourraient also prove to be areas of high species richness servir a elucider leur taxonomie (Michael Mills) amongst other taxa. Identifying focal areas will Cataloguingthe Lubango BirdSkin Collection: Mills etal. BullABC Vol 17 No 1 (2010) -51 also lead to an evaluation of land use practices in initiatives to provide alternative sources ofincome these areas and an assessment oftheir impacts; for for the local inhabitants, it is unlikely that the next example, charcoal burning using native woodland generation of Angolans will be able to enjoy the (miombo species complex) trees. beauty of the country and the biological diversity experienced by their grandparents, to taste wild Recommendations for the collection honey, see Giant Sable Hippotragus niger variani Although the collection is being kept in reasonable in the wild, or even to simply find sufficient wood condition, conditions can be greatly improved and or charcoal for their daily needs. We the collection should be put to practical use. recommend that the following steps be taken: Acknowledgements • Produce an electronic database of the bird Funding for this research came from the generous skin collection, which work is in progress, contributions of Ursula Franke, the African Bird Club and once the ciatabase is complete, copies Conservation Fund, Tony Dowd and Robert Angiers. will be provided to colleagues in Angola and Brian Huntley assisted tremendously with organising worldwide, to promote work using the skins. access to the collection, and with logistical support. Data will start to be made available online Many thanks to Yudo Borges and especially Eduardo & via the website of Natural World (www.nat- Tanya Traguedo for their help during our visit, and for world.org) within the next 12 months. being such hospitable hosts. Prof. Matondo Tomalela, Dr Fernanda Lages, Prof. Jose Luis Mateus Alexandre • Trainingof(a) youngAngolan ornithologist(s), and other staffat ISCED were incredibly supportive of to act as curator for the collection. our work, and this project would have been impossible • Possible 'adoption’ ofthe collection bya foreign without them. Dr Michel Louette, Robert Dowsett, J. museum to assist with training and to improve Ron Demey and Guy Kirwan commented on an earlier the conditions in which skins are kept. version ofthis paper. • Cleaning ofthe entire room in which the skins are housed. References • Properly organising all documents pertaining Bannerman, D. A. 1912. On a collection ofbirds made to the collection. by Mr Willoughby P. Lowe on the West Coast of • Cleaning and cataloguing the valuable collec- Africa and outlying islands; with field notes by the tion ofbooks associated with the collection. collectors. Ibis 9(6): 219-268. Bergmans, W. 1989. Taxonomy and biogeography of • Encouraging collaboration between Angolan African fruit bats (Mammalia, Megachiroptera). and foreign researchers, using the skin collec- 2. The genera Micropteropus Matschie, 1899, tion as a point ofcontact. Epomops Gray, 1870, Hypsignatus H. Allen, 1861, • Stimulate interest in Angolan birds by incor- NanonycterisMatschie, 1899 and PlerotesAndersen, porating informative visits to the collection 1910. Beaufortia 39: 89-153. in standard biology courses at the institute Boulton, R. 1931. New species and subspecies of and making use of the specimens for student African birds. Ann. Carneg. Mus. 21: 43-56. projects. Bowen, W. W. 1931. Angolan birds collected during the GrayAfrican expedition, 1929. Proc. Acad. Nat. Conclusions Sci. Phil. 83: 263-299. Given the threats to biodiversity in Angola, Bowen, W. W. 1932. Angolan birds collected during it is important that some of the plant and the second Gray African expedition, 1930. Proc. animal collections from the 1970s remain in the Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 84: 281-289. country to guide and inspire a new generation Dean, W. R. J. 1996. The distribution of the Masked of Angolan scientists. With the help of SANBI, Weaver Ploceus velatusin Angola. Bull. Br. Ornithol. Cl. 116: 254-256. other biodiversity experts in the South African Development Community and assistance from Dean, W. R. J. 2000. The Birds ofAngola:AnAnnotated BOU outside the region there may still be time to Check-list. Checklist No. 18. Tring: British Ornithologists’ Union. fwpiallualnnar.eataWpiirntohtaleolcutvteedgpeltaaarnteniaionnnge,ttywpaeocstrikavenfdoprrtohAtenecgatosislooanciatathneaddt Dean2,006W..ThRe. bJi.,rdScaonldlwecittiho,ns Mo.f C.&J.MAilntdoenr,ssoSn. iJn. 52-BullABC Vol 17No 1 (2010) Cataloguingthe Lubango BirdSkin Collection: Mills etal.