Little-known African Birds Somali Starling Onychognathus blythii in south-central Ethiopia PeterG. Ryan andIanSinclair DesnouvellesobservationsdeOnychognathusblythiienprovenanced'Ethiopiesontpresentees,ycompris des regions montagneuses du sue! et du centre qui indiquent que l’espece pourrait etre commune dans celles-ci. Desdonneesadditionnellessurla physionomie, lesvocalisationsetlesfaqonsdesenourirsont egalementpresentees. T ieSomaliStarlingOnychognathusblythii,alsocalled species has been overlooked by the many birders the Somali Chestnut-winged Starling, is a little- visiting the Bale Mountains during the austral winter. knownspecies restrictedtoEritrea, northernSomalia, We also encountered two pairs ofSomali Starling on Socotra and north-east Ethiopia-. Despite being listed the cliffs north of Ankober, in the central-western as“Frequenttocommon” insouth-eastandnorth-east highlands, on 26June 1997. This is well south of the Ethiopia", we know ofonlyone recent sighting ofthe reported range in the western highlands, but is rela- species by the increasing numbers ofbirders visiting tivelyclosetoFantale,whereBillandSueSmithreported Ethiopia: one at the summit of Mt Fantale, Awash a bird in May 1996b It may be that birds move to National Park, on 25 May 1996'. Weassumed that this highlandareassouthandwestoftheusualrangeduring wasbecausemostofthespecies’ range inEthiopia lies the northern summer. This coincides with the start of to the north and east of the area generally visited by themainrainyseasoninEthiopia, butitisunclearhow most birders. However, our recent observations sug- it relatesto the species’breedingseason. gestthatthespeciesiscommoninthesouthandcentral Little has been published on the behaviour and highlands during the austral summer. This note seeks appearance ofthe species, with the exception ofthe to clarify its status in this region ofthe country and to population onSocotra’. Theabsolutesize washardto present newbehaviourial informationonthespecies. judge, butitisslenderrelativetootherOnychognathus SomaliStarlingswerefirstencounteredonthehigh species. Wefound thebestidentificationfeature tobe plateauxofthe BaleMountains, south-easthighlands, the peculiartailshape; roughlydiamond-shapedwith on 16 May 1997. Flocks of up to 50 birds were elongated central tail feathers. The broadest point of encounteredabove3,800m, bothalongthemainroad the tail was only a third to halfway along the tail, west of Dinsho and on the Sanetti Plateau south of unliketheSlender-billedStarlingO. tenuirostris,where Goba. The birds were feeding on large stands ofred- it isatleasttwo-thirdsofthewaytothetail-tip. At rest, hot pokersKnipofiasp. floweringatthistime, andthe the male appears uniform black with a glossy sheen towering flowerheads of giant lobelias Lobelia spp. on the headandback. The adultfemale hasa uniform Many birds had substantial amounts of pollen accu- greyheadandneck, becomingscalyasitextendsonto mulating on their heads. Flocks were encountered the breast and upper belly (scaling visible only at repeatedly in these areas during 6-8 and 20-23June close range). The female also is characterised by a 1997. All, with the exception of one female which narrow, palemaskextendingfromthelorestoslightly alighted briefly in natural woodland south ofGoba at behind the eye. On Socotra this is apparently less m c3,200 on 21 June 1997, were recorded above the extensive, forminga ring around the eye’. treeline. We found the flocks to be somewhat skittish, Urban& Brown’listthesouth-easthighlandsasan flying long distances when disturbed, and often re- area where the species may occur; this is now con- treating to the sanctuary oflarge cliffs. They were not firmed. It is probable that the species is a seasonal very vocal, occasionally uttering a ratherweak, high- visitortothearea, exploitingtheabundanceofnectar pitched tink-ink-inkcall. Ours appears to be the first duringthepeak floweringperiod. Itisunlikelythatthe record of the species feeding extensively on nectar 56 - BullABC Vol 5 No 1 Little-knownAfrican Birds . andpollen; previousobservershaveonlyrecordedfruit 2. Mackworth-Praed, C.W. and Grant, C.H.B. 1955. and insectsinthediet1 Theyforagedfromtheflowers Birds ofEastern and North Eastern Africa. Vol 2. by clinging to the stems beneath inflorescences and London: Longmans, Green & Co. probing individual flowers in the manner of giant 3. Porter, R.F. and Martins, R.P. 1996. The Socotra sunbirds.TheysharedthisfoodresourcewithTacazze StarlingOnychognathus/raterandSomaliStarling0. blythii.Sandgrouse17: 151-154. NectariniatacazzeandMalachiteSunbirdsN.famosa, 4. Smith, P.W. and Smith, S.A. 1996. Ethiopia 19May- but were not seen to interact with other species. The 9June 1996. Unpublished trip report. lonefemale in thewoodlandaboveGoba wasseen in 5. Urban, E.K. and Brown. L.H. 1971 A Checklistofthe . the same vicinity as a pair of Red-winged Starling O. BirdsofEthiopia.AddisAbaba:HaileSelassieUniver- morio, but the twospeciesdid not associate, f sity. References FitzPatnckInstitute, UniversityofCapeTown.Rondebosch 7701, South Africa. 1 Archer, G. andGodman, E. 1961. TheBirdsofBritish SomalilandandtheGulfofAden. Vol 4. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd. Are you a day-dreamer or a sleep-walker? Wake up and subscribe to Alula now - a high quality birding magazine for every awakened birdwatcher! Extra price FIM 160 for ABC OBC members. To subscribe and/or receive a free sample issue please write to: Alula P.O.Box 85, 02271 Espoo Finland +358-9-8036330 fax: email: m antero topp(« nte nok a co . . i . Little-knownAfrican Birds BullABC Vol 5 No 1 - 57