Participants: Bill Bouton, Joseph Brooks, Garry George, Tony Morris, David Powell, Adam Winer.  Private group organized by David Powell.

Guide: Pete Morris for BirdQuest http://www.birdquest.co.uk

References:

Pete Morris & Frank Hawkins, Birds of Madagascar, A Photographic Guide, 1998, Pica Press (UK), Yale University Press (US)
Ian Sinclair and Olivier Langrand, Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands, 1998, Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa
Bird Life International, Threatened Birds of the World, 2000, Lynx Edicions
Taxonomy: Clements, Dr. James, BIRDS OF THE WORLD: A CHECKLIST,
Nick Garbutt, Mammals of Madgascar, 1999, Pica Press, (UK), Yale University Press (US)

Itinerary:
Day 1-Fly to Antananarivo from Los Angeles via Paris (30 hours)
Day 2-Arrive Antananarivo
Day 3-Fly Majunga,drive Amboromalandy Lake & marshes (1.5 hours)
Day 4-Drive to Ampijoroa Forest(3.5 hours,Lac Ravelabe,Amboromalanday Lake & marshes
Day 5-Boat to Betsiboka Estuary(3 hours,Majunga
Day 6-Lac Amboromalandy & marshes,Lakes by airport,Majunga,Fly Antananarivo
Day 7-Drive Antananarivo to Ranomafana (9 hrs,Marsh 10 k. N. of Vohiparara
Day 8-Ranomfana National Park
Day 9-Ranomafana National Park,Vohiparara
Day 10-Vohiparara,Drive to Isalo Massif stopping at marshes (10 hrs)
Day 11-Isalo Massif, Zombitse Forest,Tulear,Coral rag scrub 20 k NE of Tulear
Day 12-Tulear,Boat to Nosy Ve (1.5 hours),Anakao Island (add.5 hours),Dry lakebed and mudflats near coast, Tulear
Day 13-Drive to Ifaty Spiny Forest (2.5 hours),Ifaty Spiny Forest
Day 14-Ifaty Spiny Forest
Day 15-Drive Ifaty to Tulear (2.5 hours), fly Antananarivo,Zoo in Antananarivo
Day 16-Lac Alarobia, Tana,Fly Maroantsetra (2.5 hours)
Day 17-Boat to Masaola National Park (3 hours) passing Nosy Mangabe
Day 18-Masaola National Park
Day 19-Masaola National Park
Day 20-Masaola National Park
Day 21-Boat to Maroantsetra (3 hours), Fly to Antananarivo (2.5 hours)
Day 22-Fly to Fort Dauphin  (1.5 hours),Travel to Berenty Reserve (3.5 hours)
Day 23-Berenty Reserve
Day 24-Travel to Andohahela National Park (2 hours),Travel to Ft. Dauphin (1.5 hours,Fly Antananarivo
Day 25-Drive to Perinet Reserve (2.5 hours),Marshes 10 km toward Moramanga
Day 26-Mantadia National Park (1 hour,)Night in Perinet Reserve
Day 27-Travel to Antananarivo (2.5 hours),Fly Los Angeles via Paris (30 hours)

Background and Overview:

Madgascar first came up as a real possibility three years ago in Mexico.  I was relaxing after a day of Military Macaws and Lesser Ground-Cuckoos on the Mirador near San Blas talking with a fellow traveler named Jim Hully who had just come from seeing Tufted Jays in Durango. As birders always do, we traded maps and sites and began talking of trips we wanted to take.  The conversation, as it always does, came to Madagascar. Jim had a friend who was organizing a private trip with the author of a new field guide as leader and a few emails later we were signed on.

Now I find myself back in Los Angeles after a month long adventure through the fourth largest island in the world and I'm trying to sift through the experiences and present them in some way to others who might have an interest in going to Madagascar or at least hearing about it.  All of my trips have been greatly enhanced by the information and excitement generously shared by other adventurers who have gone before me.  In the case of critically endangered habitat such as the island of Madagascar my hope is that this report will inspire even one other person to spend eco-tourism dollars and show some enthusiasm for the wild life thereby encouraging the government and people of Madagascar to save their amazing natural heritage from imminent disaster.

Geological History and Evolution

Madagascar nestled between Africa and the Indian subcontinent in one big chunk that broke off from the super-continent of Godwanaland over 200 million years ago.  Around 160 million years ago around the end of the Jurassic Period and the age of dinosaurs, Madagascar and the Indian subcontinent broke from Africa and began drifting eastward.  80 million years later Madagascar was in position and the Indian subcontinent broke away along a fault line that forms much of Madagascar's remarkedly straight east coast. It headed northeast for around 40 million years until it collided with southern Asia and formed the Himalayas.

Evolution of life on the tropical island of Madagascar in those millions of years is a fascinating puzzle. There is no evidence that there were any early ancestors of Madgascar's present-day mammal fauna on the landmass when it became an island, although fossil deposits certify the presence of dinosaurs.  Well before the appearance of most modern birds, the mammals had to get to the island somehow.  But how?  In his recent fascinating Mammals of Madgascar (Yale University Press and available almost everywhere) Nick Garbutt articulates the theory that Madagascar's mammal ancestors arrived on rafts broken from the continent of Africa during storms, flooding or erosion-a dispersal lottery.  There is geological evidence of land bridges to the African continent until around 45 million years ago, but the carnivores and ungulates so widespread in the continent of Africa never colonized the island. There is sub fossil evidence of five species of ungulates including three dwarf hippopotamuses and two false aardvarks but they are suspected to be relatively recent arrivals after the land bridges had submerged, and possibly introduced by man.  Garbutt theorizes that small mammal species would be favored in a raft dispersal lottery due to their ability to become dormant lowering their metabolism during periods of low food availability and their ability to store fat.  The odds against a raft with living creatures on it surviving the crossing of the Mozambique Channel are millions to one, but in the course of a hundred million years such possibilities become reality.   Only five orders of non-introduced mammals colonized Madgascar: Chioptera (bats) with seven families; Insectivora with two endemic families of tenrecs; Rodentia with one endemic family; Carnivora with two endemic families of Civets and Mongooses; and Primates represented by five endemic families of lemurs, the prehistoric ancestors of apes that exist now only on Madagascar.  There are no other native mammals. No monkeys, no lions, no zebra, no gazelle, no giraffe, no cheetah, no lions, no hyena, no hippos, none of the mammals you would see on the continent. Only introduced pigs, goats and cattle (zebu).

(from Mammals of Madgascar, 1999, Nick Garbutt, Yale University Press)

Not only Madagascar's mammals and birds but also the poorly known families of reptiles, plants, insects, fish and invertebrates have the highest rate of endemism in the world (98% for reptiles and plants) and a great biodiversity, all of which present more evolutionary questions than answers.   Why are there no poisonous snakes on Madagascar? Why are boas found only there and in South America? Why is there only one large civet-like predator (fossa) ? Why is there only one predator with retractable claws?

Birds, being more mobile, show a lower degree of endemism but one that is unique in the world. There is an unprecedented level of higher-order endemism. Depending on the taxonomy, there are anywhere from four to six endemic families of birds on Madagascar and the neighboring Comoros Islands.  These include such taxonomic oddities as the mesites (variously considered rails, cranes, pigeons and passerines), the enigmatic  monotypical Cuckoo-Roller, the elusive four species of Ground-rollers and the 15 species of Vanga, 14 of which are endemic (Blue Vanga occurs on other islands near Madagascar).  There are 37 regionally endemic genera, many of which are monospecific. Of the total of 204 breeding species, 120 are endemic (including those in the Comoros Islands). A very striking aspect of the specialization of these endemic species is their dependence on forest. Eight of the 120 endemic species and 33 of the 37 endemic genera are found only in forest.  Of the 88 forest-limited species, 80 (91%) are endemic.

(from Birds of Madagascar, A Photographic Guide, 1998,  Pete Morris and Frank Hawkins, Yale University Press)

Trip Logistics

Our trip was planned to maximize sighting of endemic species with the exception of Sakalava Rail, Slender-billed Flufftail and Amber Mountain Rock Thrush, which were out of our range of exploration, and Madagascar Pochard and Alaotra Grebe which are considered extinct. Pete Morris' co-author Frank Hawkins apparently rescued the last male Madagascar Pochard from fishing nets in 1986 and sheltered it in his bathtub in the hopes that a female could be found. It is the last sighting. We also did not see Dusky Greenbul, and much discussion centered around this species. Pete feels that the bird, which shows up on many trip lists, is generally a misidentified Spectacled Greenbul or juvenile White-throated Oxylabes.  In the Masaola we saw and videotaped a strange dark Greenbul with an unusual alarm call.  We were thinking it might be Dusky Greenbul.  We met with Frank Hawkins, co-author of the field guide with Pete, during one of our stopovers in Antananarivo, the capitol where Frank lives and bases his research. Frank has seen Dusky Greenbul in the far North - once. We showed him the videotape of the dark Greenbul we had seen in Masaola, but he identified the bird as a dark Northern subspecies of Spectacled Greenbul, pointing out that the tail was not short enough. Later, Pete sent us photos of the skins at the British Museum of Dusky Greenbul next to skins of Spectacled Greenbul. The tail of Dusky Greenbul is considerably shorter, almost stubby, and cannot be mistaken in the field. The illustration in Sinclair and Langrand's Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands of a Dusky Greenbul is most certainly a Spectacled Greenbul, adding confusion. Compounding the problem are the local guides who point out and identify Dusky Greenbul to eager birders. Both Hawkins and Morris believe that Dusky Greenbul is rare and exists, but not in any of the traditional birding destinations. Also confusing were identification of male Madagascar Sparrowhawk and male Frances' Goshawk.  Females are hard enough to tell apart although the slate-gray barring on the Madagascar is distinct from the more reddish barring of the Frances'. Males are virtually indistinguishable in the field. We missed Madagascar Serpent-Eagle and Madagascar Red Owl especially at Masaola. There was an active nest of the Serpent-Eagle studied by the Peregrine Fund, seen by previous groups according to the local workers, but we could not get access to it. The study of the Red Owl by Peregine Fund is finished and there are no radio collared individuals left.

Most of our time was spent in the forests of national parks or in small patches of forest that hoped to be designated national parks. Our tour guides used local guides and we always purchased local goods when they were available. Local guides were outstanding especially Moosa at Ifaty, Patrice at Perinet and Fidy at Ranomafana. The success of the local guides in the growing eco-tourism economy is causing serious problems with other locals. A particularly talented and therefore resented guide was murdered a few years ago (see David Quammen's fine book SONG OF THE DODO. When we were in Ifaty in the spiny forest, Moosa spent the day finding a pair of Banded Kestrel on a nest, which he showed to us and the next tour group.We heard two days later that the Kestrels had been killed. It was rumored that the local people still mistakently believed that the Kestrels eat their chickens, but later we were told that an envious guide had killed the pair in order to compete with Moosa. In any case, we had a tough time justifying exposing these endangered birds to harm just so we could tick them and spent the long drive from Ifaty to Tulear in silence. Vehicles and drivers were outstanding on the long trips on bad roads. We observed a moment of silence when we passed the spot where Phoebe died and another when we saw Red-Shouldered Vanga, her last life bird.

The accommodations ranged from luxurious (Isalo Massif)to basic camping (Masaola)and mostly simple "motels" with a bed and a door. We brought mosquito netting and used it nightly. Food was minimal - usually French bread of various ages at every meal, and sometimes only French bread for breakfast with jam or mustard, and especially minimal (tongue, beef and rice) while camping in Masaola. Seafood especially shellfish was fresh and delicious on the the West Coast.  Everyone had stomach upset for at least a couple of days from the food, and some brought back parasites.  Some took Larium as a malarial preventative and we took Doxycycline. Mosquitos were not very present so I stopped taking Doxycycline two days before the trip ended.  That was a mistake, as I contracted a vicious species of malaria (plasmodium farciparum) during the last two days at Perinet, and spent a miserable week before Christmas in the hospital recovering from the disease. Luckily I escaped serious harm and am in complete recovery. Weather was cooperative and we only lost one morning in the Masaola to rain.

We saw 200 species (more for those who used Sibley & Monore taxonomy instead of Clements). Bird sighting highlights included 65 Bernier's Teal and 6 Madagascar Sacred Ibis on a mangrove mudflat 3 hours boat ride from Majunga (never before seen by a group); Red-tailed Newtonia by a stream and waterfall on a special expedition early one morning (never before seen by a group), and nesting Red-tailed Tropicbirds on the island of Nosy Ve.

As for mammals, we saw 18 species of lemur, 2 of which are ripe for splits (Ruffed Lemur to Red Ruffed and Black-and-White Ruffed; and Brown Lemur to Red-fronted and White-fronted), and 7 other species of mammals including Commerson's Leaf-nosed Bat flushed by Pete, Madagascar Flying Fox (endangered from hunting), Greater Hedgehog Tenrec  (and two other species of dead tenrec sold roadside for food), Fanaloka (Striped Civet) and Ring-tailed Mongoose. We never saw the large predatory civet/weasal with retractable claws called fossa but heard from Nick Garbutt that the best time is October at Kirindy on the West Coast when the females are in estrus and call from the tops of bare trees, generating a group of noisy, competing males beneath.

Herps are fantastic on Madagascar especially the true chameleons and geckos. There are no poisonous snakes and mostly boas, which exist only in Madagascar and South America. How did that happen? We saw 17 species of herps including the rare Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus).

Day 1 - After the long flight from Los Angeles-Paris-Antanananarivo (32 hours total) we landed 1 a.m.  The rest of the group and our guide connecting from London had missed the flight and we weren't sure what would happen. Sure enough, Rivo, our local guide, met us and the three of us flew out the next morning on schedule without our group to Majunga on the Northwest coast.

We arrived Majunga  and drove 1.5 hours to very dry Lac Amboromalandy and hiked to the edge to scan with a scope. Humans had created a small village of wooden shacks by the lake and they gathered under the only and biggest tree in the area to dry grain and distribute and sell goods. There were trails worn in the dry lakebed.  The bright blue and orange colors of the Malagasy Kingfisher stood out like a jewel in the dry brown landscape. We drove to the nearby marshes and birded from the levee where there were lots of humans bathing, planting rice and hunting. 

Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Striated Heron (Butorides striatus) common
Black Heron (Egretta ardesiaca) doing the umbrella fishing display
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) aka Dimorphic Egret (white form)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)  
Humblot's Heron (Ardea humbloti) one seen each day-VULNERABLE
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)   
White-faced Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos) a flock of 20 flew over
African Pygmy-goose (Nettapus auritus)
Red-billed Duck (Anas erythrorhyncha) aka Red-billed Teal
Hottentot Teal (Anas hottentota)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans) common almost everyday
E-Madagascar Buzzard (Buteo brachypterus)
Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
Sooty Falcon (Falco concolor)
Baillon's Crake (Porzana pusilla) flushed by a woman planting rice
Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) scarce
Allen's Gallinule (Porphyrio alleni) only one showed itself
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) abundant
E-Madagascar Jacana (Actophilornis albinucha) scarce
Greater Painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis)
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
Madagascar Pratincole (Glareola ocularis ) 3 on an island in lake
Kittlitz's Plover (Charadrius pecuarius)
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) Most common
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybridus)
White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)
Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou) common and calling
Madagascar Nightjar (Caprimulgus madagascariensis) evening flyby
Madagascar Swift (Apus balstoni) aka African Black Swift
Malagasy Kingfisher (Alcedo vintsioides) aka Mad Malachite K.
Madagascar Bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)
E-Madagascar Lark (Mirafra hova) aka Mad Bush Lark
Mascarene Martin (Phedina borbonica)
Plain Martin (Riparia paludicola)aka Brown-throated Sand Martin
E-Madagascar Wagtail (Motacilla flaviventris)
Madagascar Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
Madagascar Cisticola (Cisticola cherinus)
E-Madagascar Munia (Lonchura nana)aka Mad Mannikin
E-Sakalava Weaver (Ploceus sakalava)
Red Fody (Foudia madagascariensis) aka Mad Red Fody
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)

52 Species 6 Endemics

Day 2 - The next morning we met up with the others. They had driven from Antananarivo for 12 hours and then camped exhausted at Ampijoroa Forest, a three hour drive East and inland from Majunga. They had managed to see Reunion Harrier and Eleonora's Falcon on the way.  Introductions were difficult as flocks of noisy Sickle-billed Vangas and a family of Verreaux's Sifaka kept distracting us.

We entered the sandy soil incline of the dry, deciduous forest and all of the exhaustion from the travel began to leave our bodies. We covered two locations in Ampijoroa Forest, one for the Schlegel's Asity.

Birds

E-Madagascar Ibis (Lophotibis cristata) aka Mad Crested Ibis, on a nest-NEAR THREATENED
Sooty Falcon (Falco concolor)
E-White-breasted Mesite (Mesitornis variegata)a pair-VULNERABLE 
Madagascar Buttonquail (Turnix nigricollis)
Madagascar Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia picturata)
Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)
Madagascar Green-Pigeon (Treron australis)
Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa) aka Greater Vasa Parrot
Black Parrot (Coracopsis nigra) aka Lesser Vasa Parrot
E-Coquerel's Coua (Coua coquereli)
E-Red-capped Coua (Coua ruficeps)
E-Crested Coua (Coua cristata)
Madagascar Nightjar (Caprimulgus madagascariensis)
E-Madagascar Pygmy-Kingfisher (Ispidina madagascariensis)
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
Cuckoo Roller (Leptosomus discolor)
E-Madagascar Hoopoe (Upupa marginata)
E-Schlegel's Asity (Philepitta schlegeli) male! NEAR THREATENED
Ashy Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina cinerea)
Madagascar Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
E-Long-billed Greenbul (Phyllastrephus madagascariensis)
E-Rufous Vanga (Schetba rufa) on nest
E-Hook-billed Vanga (Vanga curvirostris)
E-Van Dam's Vanga (Xenopirostris damii) male and female- VULNERABLE
E-Sickle-billed Vanga (Falculea palliata)
E-White-headed Vanga (Artamella viridis)
E-Chabert Vanga (Leptopterus chabert)
E-Blue Vanga (Cyanolanius madagascarinus)
E-Madagascar Magpie-Robin (Copsychus albospecularis)
E-Common Newtonia (Newtonia brunneicauda)
E-Common Jery (Neomixis tenella)
Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata) rufus tailed form
Souimanga Sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga)
Crested Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus)
Pied Crow (Corvus albus)

35 Species, 20 Endemics

Mammals:
Commerson's Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros commersoni)
Common Tenrec (Tenrec ecaudatus) dead for sale on the road
Milne-Edward's Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur edwardsi)
Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz) asleep in a tree
Brown Lemur (Lemur fulvus)
Western Avahi aka W. Woolly Lemur (Avahi occidentalis)
Verreaux's Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)

Reptiles:

Oustalet's Chameleon (Furcifer oustaleti)
Hog nose Snake
Madgascar Day Gecko (Phelsuma madagascarensis)
Spiny-tailed Lizard (Oplurus curvieri) several of them

After the morning in the forest and lunch, we walked the banks of nearby Lac Ravelobe stopping to look at species in the scope. Three Mad. Fish-Eagle were perched in a dead tree and to our delight one flew down into the marsh and actually walked around.  We heard stories of crocodiles eating children at the edge of the lake, and spotted a Nile Crocodile in the middle of the lake. There were children and adults cautiously bathing at the edge of the lake but no harm came of them.

Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) sometimes split as African Darter
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)
E-Madagascar Pond-Heron (Ardeola idea)-NEAR THREATENED
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Striated Heron (Butorides striatus)
Black Heron (Egretta ardesiaca)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Humblot's Heron (Ardea humbloti)-VULNERABLE
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
White-faced Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
E-Madagascar Fish-Eagle (Haliaeetus vociferoides) 3 indiv-CRITICAL
E-Madagascar Buzzard (Buteo brachypterus)
Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybridus)
African Palm-Swift (Cypsiurus parvus)
Malagasy Kingfisher (Alcedo vintsioides)aka Mad Malachite Kingfisher

22 Species, 3 Endemic

After the three hour drive back to Majunga, the other five participants were delighted to see a shower, a bed and a restaurant with fresh seafood.

Majunga

Day 3 - We started the day wading to a chartered motorboat with a canopy for the four hour trip to mudflats and mangroves along a river estuary feeding into the Bay at Majunga.  It took time to maneuver the boat in the shallow water to get close enough to the mudflats to get good looks at the birds, and some participants waded into the water for closer looks. We put the scope in the water outside the boat for stabilization and got close looks at the rarely seen Bernier's Teal dabbling in the mud at the edge of the mangroves. There was a population of about 65 teal at this site. We also got good looks at an endemic subspecies of Sacred Ibis that is morphologically different from the Sacred Ibis on the continent (a light eye, white wing tips) and also has a very restricted habitat unlike it's continental cousin.  Some taxonomists have elevated this subspecies to Madagascar White Ibis (Threskiornis bernieri) or Madagascar Sacred Ibis. Three Saunder's terns in winter plumage flew next to our boat giving us a real challenge of identification from sometimes conspecific Little Tern, which might occur in Madagascar in austral summer. But the dark on the outer primaries and the lack of any recorded sightings of Little Tern in Madgascar much less in winter led us confidently to our ID.

Striated Heron (Butorides striatus)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)
ESSP-Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus bernieri) aka White Ibis aka Mad. Sacred Ibis
African Spoonbill (Platalea alba)
White-faced Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
E-Bernier's Teal (Anas bernieri) aka Madagascar Teal-ENDANGERED
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
Lesser Crested Tern (Sterna bengalensis)
Saunders' Tern (Sterna saundersi)

12 species, 1 Endemic species, 1 Endemic subspecies

More coastal mudflats in Majunga and birding around the hotel in the afternoon gave us some more species.
Striated Heron (Butorides striatus)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
Crab Plover (Dromas ardeola)-monospecific family!
White-fronted Plover (Charadrius marginatus)
Greater Sandplover (Charadrius leschenaultii)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
Gray-headed Lovebird (Agapornis canus)
African Palm-Swift (Cypsiurus parvus)
E-Madagascar Wagtail (Motacilla flaviventris)
Red Fody (Foudia madagascariensis)

Day 4 - We stopped by a lake near the airport in Majunga in the hopes of finding a Madagascar Little Grebe but no luck. We flew back to Antananarivo for an overnight to prepare for the long drive to Ranomafana the next morning.

Days 5-8 - It took us 9 hours of driving to reach Ranomafana National Park, the last three hours in a bad road. But stops along the way at marshes and small lakes gave us some new and expected species.

E-Madagascar Grebe  (Tachybaptus pelzelnii) aka Mad Little Grebe-VULNERABLE
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Striated Heron (Butorides striatus)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)
Red-billed Duck (Anas erythrorhyncha)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
E-Madagascar Snipe (Gallinago macrodactyla)
Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou)
Madagascar Swift (Apus balstoni)
Plain Martin (Riparia paludicola)
E-Madagascar Wagtail (Motacilla flaviventris)
Ashy Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina cinerea)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Pied Crow (Corvus albus)
 
We went to a marsh 10 km from Ranomafana near Vohiparar which is a traditional site for Reunion Harrier. Unfortunately, the marsh had been drained to make rice paddies and the fields had been burned. The Harrier is no longer seen there, although we did find the Grey Emu-tail in a small patch of high grass which remains.
 
Madagascar Grebe (Tachybaptus pelzelnii)-VULNERABLE
Striated Heron (Butorides striatus)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)
Red-billed Duck (Anas erythrorhyncha)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
Three-banded Plover (Charadrius tricollaris)
Malagasy Kingfisher (Alcedo vintsioides)
African Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)
E-Gray Emu-tail (Dromaeocercus seebohmi)
Madagascar Brush-Warbler (Nesillas typical)
E-Madagascar Swamp-Warbler (Acrocephalus newtoni)
Madagascar Cisticola (Cisticola cherinus)
Madagascar Sunbird (Cinnyris notatus)
Red Fody (Foudia madagascariensis)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Pied Crow (Corvus albus)

18 Species, 2 Endemics

Ranomafana National Park was established in 1986 when primatologists discovered the Golden Bamboo Lemur in that forest. It is one of the best models of eco-tourism in action, as the local Malagasy were have been involved in the economic benefits of the park by sharing in the entrance fees, acting as paid guides and researchers, and benefiting from the improvements. One of the primatologists who discovered the Golden Bamboo Lemur is Patricia C. Wright of SUNY, who we were lucky to meet there on our first morning in the park. She had just returned from the Santa Barbara Film Festival where Michael Apted's newest documentary "Isaac Newton and Me" was screened. The film features seven scientists including Dr. Wright who are on the scientific edge. She had just read Pete's book and ordered 20 copies for her research staff, so the two of them had a lot to say about taxonomy. We spent the afternoon studying a family of Diademed Sifaka with her and her researchers. We asked her our favorite question: "Have you ever seen fossa?" "They are eating my lemurs," she replied with a laugh, knowing that they had been committing that crime for millions of years.  She explained to us that  Diademed Sifaka are particularly vulnerable to predators with a 70% loss rate mainly to fossa and Henst's Goshawk. Fossa apparently follows a family for months, climbs a tree silently at night, grabs an individual by the throat in it's mouth, then drops to the ground immediately to eat the heart and internal organs. The remainder of the carcass is consumed over the next few days.  This is a well-studied location where it is easy to see some species that are almost impossible in other rainforests in Madagascar, and the birds and mammals are exceptional not only here but in Vohiparara just down the road.

 
E-Meller's Duck (Anas melleri) one on the river-VULNERABLE
E-Henst's Goshawk (Accipiter henstii) great looks at female-NEAR THREATENED
E-Madagascar Buzzard (Buteo brachypterus)
Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
E-Madagascar Flufftail (Sarothrura insularis) Vohiparara, great looks at male
E-Brown Mesite (Mesitornis unicolor) pair herded by guides-VULNERABLE
E-Madagascar Wood-Rail (Canirallus kioloides) pair visible from the trail
Madagascar Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia picturata)
E-Red-fronted Coua (Coua reynaudii)
E-Blue Coua (Coua caerulea)
Madagascar Swift (Apus balstoni)
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
E-Pitta-like Ground-Roller (Atelornis pittoides) perched, calling- NEAR THREATENED
E-Rufous-headed Ground-Roller (Atelornis crossleyi) perched, calling- VULNERABLE
Cuckoo Roller (Leptosomus discolor) calling and flying overhead
E-Velvet Asity (Philepitta castanea) female
E-Yellow-bellied Asity (Neodrepanis hypoxanthus) pair just above us-ENDANGERED
Mascarene Martin (Phedina borbonica)
E-Madagascar Wagtail (Motacilla flaviventris)
Ashy Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina cinerea)
Madagascar Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
E-Long-billed Greenbul (Phyllastrephus madagascariensis)
E-Spectacled Greenbul (Phyllastrephus zosterops)
E-Gray-crowned Greenbul (Phyllastrephus cinereiceps)- VULNERABLE
E-Red-tailed Vanga (Calicalicus madagascariensis)
E-Pollen's Vanga (Xenopirostris polleni) associating with Tylas Vangas-VULNERABLE
E-Chabert Vanga (Leptopterus chabert)
Blue Vanga (Cyanolanius madagascarinus)
E-Tylas Vanga (Tylas eduardi)
E-Forest Rock-Thrush (Pseudocossyphus sharpie)- NEAR THREATENED
E-Madagascar Magpie-Robin (Copsychus albospecularis)
African Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)
E-White-throated Oxylabes (Oxylabes madagascariensis)
E-Yellow-browed Oxylabes (Crossleyia xanthophrys)-VULNERABLE
E-Crossley's Babbler (Mystacornis crossleyi)
E-Brown Emu-tail (Dromaeocercus brunneus)- NEAR THREATENED
Madagascar Brush-Warbler (Nesillas typical)
E-Rand's Warbler (Randia pseudozosterops)- NEAR THREATENED
E-Common Newtonia (Newtonia brunneicauda)
E-Dark Newtonia (Newtonia amphichroa)
E-Green Jery (Neomixis viridis)
E-Stripe-throated Jery (Neomixis striatigula)
E-Cryptic Warbler (Cryptosylvicola randriansoloi)-took a while to find this recently discovered species described by Brett Whitney
E-Wedge-tailed Jery (Hartertula flavoviridis)- NEAR THREATENED
E-Ward's Flycatcher (Pseudobias wardi)- NEAR THREATENED
Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata)
Souimanga Sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga)
Madagascar Sunbird (Cinnyris notatus) aka Long-billed Green Sunbird
Madagascar White-eye (Zosterops maderaspatanus)
E-Nelicourvi Weaver (Ploceus nelicourvi)
Red Fody (Foudia madagascariensis)
E-Forest Fody (Foudia omissa)
E-Madagascar Starling (Saroglossa aurata)
Crested Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus)
 
54 Species, 36 Endemics
 
MAMMALS
Greater Hedgehog Tenrec (Setifer setosus)-dead and headless
Eastern Red Forest Rat (Nesomys rufus)
Fanaloka (Striped Civet)
Ring-tailed Mongoose (Galidia elegans)
Brown Mouse Lemur (Microcebus rufus)
Golden Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur aureus)
Greater Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur simus)
Red-bellied Lemur (Lemu rubriverter)
Brown Lemur (Lemur fulvus)-red-fronted form
Eastern Avahi (E.Woolly Lemur)(Avahi laniger)
Diademed Sifaka (Propithecus diadema)-we studied a family group

HERPS
Madagascar Tree Boa (Sanzinia madagarensis)
 
Days 9-11
 
After the three hour rocky road exit from Ranomafana to the highway, we drove South all day through the center of the country through panoramas of termite mounds, blue skies and red sandy roads.  We were headed to the Isalo Massif, the lunar looking rock outcroppings situated in dry, grassy plains. But on the way, we would pass through a two month old town of wooden storefronts on either side of the only road, hastily built shacks for human habitation behind to a depth of half a mile. This instant town of 30,000 inhabitants sprang up after the discovery of sapphires in a riverbed. The Sapphire Rush of Madgascar was on, and new arrivals who had sold all their belongings in their hometowns were fair game in this lawless frontier in the middle of no where. This Sapphire Fever was affecting the entire country.  We saw miners with plastic bags full of sapphires negotiating with Chinese and Korean buyers in the hotel lobby in Antananarivo, met tribesmen in Berenty who were selling their silver arm jewelry to buy a ticket to the Sapphire riverbed. The entire country was under the spell, much like the California gold rush.
 
During the drive we saw nothing new except at one marsh where we stopped and managed to flush a pair of
 
Harlequin Quail (Coturnix delegorguei)
 
We arrived at our fancy hotel Relais de la Reine carved out of the rock outcroppings in the late afternoon and immediately set out in the nearby grasslands to find birds, waking early the next morning to a breakfast outdoors and a search for Benson's Rock-Thrush. Most memorable was our first sighting at dawn of three Ring-tailed Lemurs walking across the rocks, sitting on their haunches with their front paws on their knees like meditators, taking in the sun on their skin.
 
Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
E-Madagascar Buzzard (Buteo brachypterus)
Sooty Falcon (Falco concolor)
Madagascar Partridge (Margaroperdix madagascarensis) male flushed
Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris)
Madagascar Buttonquail (Turnix nigricollis)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Madagascar Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia picturata)
Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)
Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa)
Black Parrot (Coracopsis nigra)
E-Crested Coua (Coua cristata)
Madagascar Bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)
E-Madagascar Lark (Mirafra hova)
Mascarene Martin (Phedina borbonica)
Madagascar Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
E-Hook-billed Vanga (Vanga curvirostris)
African Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)
E-Benson's Rock-Thrush (Pseudocossyphus bensoni)- VULNERABLE
E-Common Newtonia (Newtonia brunneicauda)
Madagascar Cisticola (Cisticola cherinus)
Souimanga Sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga)
E-Madagascar Munia (Lonchura nana)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
 
24 Species, 7 Endemics
 
In the late morning we drove to Zombitze Forest, the only site for the critically endangered Appert's Greenbul, several of which were seen easily.
 
E-Madagascar Harrier-Hawk (Polyboroides radiatus)-NEAR THREATENED
E-Crested Coua (Coua cristata)
Malagasy Spinetail (Zoonavena grandidieri)
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
E-Appert's Greenbul (Phyllastrephus apperti)- VULNERABLE
Alpine Swift (Tachymarptis melba)
6 Species, 3 Endemics

In the afternoon we drove toward Tulear, passing the site where Phoebe Snetzinger lost her life, and we observed a moment of silence. We headed to the coral rag scrub 20 km NE of Tulear opposite La Table to see Red-Shouldered Vanga, Phoebe's last life bird.

Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
Madagascar Buttonquail (Turnix nigricollis) female seen well
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Madagascar Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia picturata)
Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)
E-Red-capped Coua (Coua ruficeps) the sub-species Olivaceous with an olive cap
E-Verreaux's Coua (Coua verreauxi)- NEAR THREATENED
Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou)
Madagascar Bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)
E-Red-shouldered Vanga (Calicalicus rufocarpalis) pair seen well
10 Species, 3 Endemics

Day 12 - Tulear

We spent the day in this Southern seaside town birding the road to the mangroves, took a boat to Nosy Ve and Anakao Islands, both offshore about 2 hours, and had to transfer to oxcarts in low tide to get to shore where the local townspeople waited with their rickshaws instead of taxis, laughing at us. We spent time birding the dry lake bed nearby where we found Madagascar Plover and the adjacent coastal mudflats. Tricky to get to but the effort paid off when we saw two species of Flamingo next to each other.  An early morning visit to small dry water pools gave us the Sandgrouse.
Hot and sweaty all day, we swam in the Mozambique Channel at sunset, surrounded by turquoise blue water like the turquoise skin patches on the Couas we had seen, calm on this side of the reef. A sting on the shoulder by a jellyfish ended one night's swim. Open air restaurant of fresh seafood at the hotel was particularly delicious and we looked forward to dinner there.

Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda)
Striated Heron (Butorides striatus)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus rubber)
Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor)-NEAR THREATENED
Red-billed Duck (Anas erythrorhyncha)
Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
E-Madagascar Plover (Charadrius thoracicus)-VULNERABLE
Common Ringed Plover  (Charadrius hiaticula)
Kittlitz's Plover (Charadrius pecuarius)
Three-banded Plover (Charadrius tricollaris)
White-fronted Plover  (Charadrius marginatus)
Greater Sandplover (Charadrius leschenaultii)
Black-bellied Plover  (Pluvialis squatarola)
Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)
Whimbrel  (Numenius phaeopus)
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
Lesser Crested Tern (Sterna bengalensis)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Saunders' Tern (Sterna saundersi)
E-Madagascar Sandgrouse  (Pterocles personatus)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)
Gray-headed Lovebird (Agapornis canus)
Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou)
Madagascar Bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)
E-Madagascar Lark (Mirafra hova)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Madagascar Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
E-Littoral Rock-Thrush (Pseudocossyphus imerinus)
Madagascar Brush-Warbler (Nesillas typical)
E-Madagascar Swamp-Warbler (Acrocephalus newtoni)
E-Sakalava Weaver (Ploceus sakalava)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Crested Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus)
Pied Crow (Corvus albus)

44 Species, 6 Endemic

Days 14-15 - Ifaty Spiny Fores

We drove three hours in coastal sand in four-wheel drive vehicles from Tulear past seaside shacks, pigs, goats and zebu to Ifaty and a seaside motel with fresh seafood in the restaurant and cold beer to fight the intense heat.  Thirty minutes up the road was the most amazing habitat I have ever walked through: spiny forest. Full of gigantic baobab trees and octotillo-like octopus trees reaching toward the sky, cactus and scrub, the forest is the most endangered forest habitat on the earth. The vegetation is a favorite for production of charcoal, and the land is being purchased by Sapphire Rush newly rich and burned before it can be declared a nature reserve or national park.

It was here that we got our first taste of the competitiveness and envy of the guides. Moosa, our guide who looked like Jimi Hendrix and is well known throughout the world, found us a pair of Banded Kestrel on a nest one afternoon after a great deal of searching. After we left, the Field Guides tour also saw the birds. After that, the birds were found dead. It was initially suspected that the locals, who still believe that the Banded Kestrels eat their chickens, had killed them. We felt guilty that we had exposed their location. Later we found that a waiter in our hotel had actually killed them, jealous of Moosa and his status as the lead guide and moneymaker in the area.

Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
E-Madagascar Harrier-Hawk  (Polyboroides radiatus)-NEAR THREATENED
E-Madagascar Buzzard  (Buteo brachypterus)
Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
E-Banded Kestrel (Falco zoniventris)
Sooty Falcon (Falco concolor)
E-Subdesert Mesite (Monias benschi)-VULNERABLE
Madagascar Buttonquail (Turnix nigricollis)
Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)
Madagascar Green-Pigeon (Treron australis)
Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa)
Black Parrot (Coracopsis nigra)
Gray-headed Lovebird (Agapornis canus)
Madagascar Cuckoo (Cuculus rochii)
E-Running Coua (Coua cursor)
E-Red-capped Coua (Coua ruficeps)
E-Crested Coua (Coua cristata)
Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou)
Madagascar Nightjar (Caprimulgus madagascariensis)
Madagascar Bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)
E-Long-tailed Ground-Roller (Uratelornis chimaera)-VULNERABLE
E-Madagascar Hoopoe (Upupa marginata)
E-Red-tailed Vanga (Calicalicus madagascariensis)
E-Hook-billed Vanga (Vanga curvirostris)
E-Lafresnaye's Vanga (Xenopirostris xenopirostris)
E-Sickle-billed Vanga  (Falculea palliata)
E-White-headed Vanga (Artamella viridis)
E-Chabert Vanga (Leptopterus chabert)
E-Madagascar Magpie-Robin (Copsychus albospecularis)
E-Thamnornis (Thamnornis chloropetoides)
E-Archbold's Newtonia (Newtonia archboldi)
E-Common Jery (Neomixis tenella)
E-Stripe-throated Jery (Neomixis striatigula)
Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata)
Souimanga Sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga)
E-Madagascar Munia (Lonchura nana)
E-Sakalava Weaver (Ploceus sakalava)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Crested Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus)
Pied Crow  (Corvus albus)

40 Species, 22 Endemic

HERPS
Three-eyed Lizard (Chalarodon madagascarensis)
Warty Chameleon (Furcifer verucosus)

We flew back to Antananarivo airport and as we scanned the skies around the airport found
Eleonora's Falcon (Falco eleonorae)
Sooty Falcon (Falco concolor)

2 Species

Day 16

Back in the capitol we spent the morning before our flight North at Lac Alarobia hidden in the middle of Tana, a refuge mostly for Cattle Egrets and a ruined summer house of royalty long deposed. We searched in vain for a Madagascar Hawk-Cukoo rumored to be in this area, but no luck.  We did, however, add a Whistling-Duck to our growing list.

Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)
E-Madagascar Pond-Heron (Ardeola idea)-NEAR THREATENED
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Striated Heron (Butorides striatus)
Black Heron (Egretta ardesiaca)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)
Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)
White-faced Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos)
Red-billed Duck (Anas erythrorhyncha)
Hottentot Teal (Anas hottentota)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou)
Madagascar Swift (Apus balstoni)
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
Mascarene Martin (Phedina borbonica)
E-Madagascar Swamp-Warbler (Acrocephalus newtoni)
E-Common Jery (Neomixis tenella)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Pied Crow (Corvus albus)

25 Species, 2 Endemic

A two hour flight to the town of Maronsetra was our gateway to the largest parcel of unbroken forest in Madagascar - the newly set aside Masoala National Park on a peninsula in the Northeast.  We would wait overnight in Maronsetra before our three hour boat ride to the camp in Masoala. The boats only leave in the morning while the bay is calm and before the winds come up. Our six passenger vessel dwarfed the dugout canoes we passed with one or two fishermen and a pile of nets onboard and our trip took us past Nosy Mangabe, an island in the Bay currently serving as a refuge for introduced endangered species, most notably Aye-aye, the strange nocturnal grub-eating lemur that looks like a cross between Edward Scissorhands and an opossum. We debated camping on the island for a night, but recent reports had indicated that the small population had moved inland from the camp since the cyclone two years ago and haven't been seen since. This was verified by the Italian film crew who spent three weeks on the island hoping to film an aye-aye with no luck.
Our boat trip yielded 

Long-tailed Cormorant (Phalacrocorax africanus)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
White-throated Rail (Dryolimnas cuvieri)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
Lesser Crested Tern (Sterna bengalensis)
Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Madagascar Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia picturata)
Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa)
Black Parrot (Coracopsis nigra)
Red-footed Booby (Sula sula)

Day 17-22

We camped at Ambanizana village on a beach, four in tents and two in thatch huts with concrete floors. The envy of the tent people toward the hut people subsided with the daily reports of nightly attacks by rats on suitcases, toothpaste and clothing buttons by rats in one hut and an attack on our leader by a centipede in another. We bathed in the river nearby along with the village citizens, and finally understood the laughter when we realized that we had been bathing in the area usually reserved for women. A tin shack with a fire pit served as the kitchen and dining room, and one latrine with a particularly large spider in residence served all of us. After two weeks of Madgascar food consisting primarily of French bread of various ages flavored with either mustard or jelly depending on the hours, mostly beef including tongue and bulimic chicken, there wasn't a solid stool in the group.

Most days we waded to our boat for the one hour ride to Andronobe Camp, where the Peregrine Fund has set up camp in the six bungalows to study the rare endemic Madagascar Serpent-Eagle. There was an active nest and other birdwatchers before us had been taken to see the nest by local researchers, but we had no such luck or permission, and try as we might we could not get any information about a nest from any of the researchers, our local guide, or the French film team who kept telling us they were studying plants while building a canopy platform for a film camera. I am convinced they were filming the nest.
A short ride in a dugout from our vessel to shore and a long hike up a steep trail into a healthy montane humid forest brought us all back to life. It was here and on the trail through clove plantations behind the village of Amabanizana that we would see some of our rarest endemic birds including the mythic Helmet Vanga.

E-Madagascar Harrier-Hawk (Polyboroides radiatus)-NEAR THREATENED
Frances' Goshawk (Accipiter francesii)
E-Madagascar Buzzard (Buteo brachypterus)
Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
E-Brown Mesite (Mesitornis unicolor) VULNERABLE
E-Madagascar Wood-Rail (Canirallus kioloides)
Madagascar Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia picturata)
Madagascar Green-Pigeon (Treron australis)
E-Madagascar Blue-Pigeon (Alectroenas madagascariensis)
Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa)
Black Parrot (Coracopsis nigra)
E-Red-breasted Coua (Coua serriana)
E-Blue Coua (Coua caerulea)
Malagasy Spinetail (Zoonavena grandidieri)
African Palm-Swift (Cypsiurus parvus)
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
E-Short-legged Ground-Roller (Brachypteracias leptosomus)-VULNERABLE
E-Madagascar Wagtail (Motacilla flaviventris)
Ashy Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina cinere)
Madagascar Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
E-Long-billed Greenbul (Phyllastrephus madagascariensis)
E-Spectacled Greenbul (Phyllastrephus zosterops)
Souimanga Sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga)
Madagascar Sunbird (Cinnyris notatus)
Madagascar White-eye (Zosterops maderaspatanus)
E-Red-tailed Vanga (Calicalicus madagascariensis)
E-Rufous Vanga (Schetba rufa)
E-White-headed Vanga  (Artamella viridis)
E-Chabert Vanga (Leptopterus chabert)
Blue Vanga (Cyanolanius madagascarinus)
E-Helmet Vanga (Euryceros prevostii)- NEAR THREATENED
E-Tylas Vanga (ylas eduardi)
E-Coral-billed Nuthatch (Hypositta corallirostris) aka Nuthatch Vanga
Crested Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus)
E-Madagascar Magpie-Robin (Copsychus albospecularis) (black ssp. ripe for split)
Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata)
E-Common Jery (Neomixis tenella)
E-Green Jery (Neomixis viridis)
E-Nelicourvi Weaver  (Ploceus nelicourvi)
Red Fody (Foudia madagascariensis)
E-Forest Fody (Foudia omissa)

41 Species, 23 Endemic

MAMMALS
Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus) nightly visitor to our hut
Ruffed Lemur (Lemur variegates) red-ruffed form and my favorite of the trip
Brown Lemur (Lemur fulvus) white-fronted form
Bottle-nosed Dolphin (Tursiops truncates)

HERPS
Madagascar Day Gecko (Phelsuma madagascarensis)
Lined Day Gecko (Phelsuma lineata)
Panther Chameleon (Furcifer pardalis)
Cucullatus Chameleon (Furcifer cucullatus)
Tamatave Airport
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Days  23-26

Port Dauphin is a crowded noisy coastal city in the South with rusted shipwrecked freighters and tankers lining the beautiful turquoise beaches. From here it is a three hour drive through cactus forest and agave fields to Berenty Reserve, a private reserve established some years ago and famous for the Ring-tailed Lemurs. It is a small piece of property on a river with little habitat overrun with species of lemurs and birds looking for refuge from the agricultural fields surrounding.  Two years ago a cyclone heavily damaged the vegetation, and it has had an impact on the species. I found Berenty somewhat pathetic. The Ring-tailed Lemurs did not look healthy-thin and patches of fur had fallen out-compared to the healthy ones I had seen at Isalo Massif in the wild. The Verreaux's Sifakas, famous for those pictures of them dancing across the red dirt trails, do so because there is so little habitat for them to jump from tree to tree like they would like to. Birds are so dense that there must have been a roosting Malagasy Scops or White-browed Owl every twenty feet.

Still the accommodations were comfortable and there were some species we wouldn't see elsewhere so I was glad we went here, and glad we didn't spend too much time.

One night after searching in vain for a Gray Mouse Lemur in the forest near Berenty we exited the trail to find a man and a woman on the ground playing musical instruments. One was a box with a hole cut out and steel strings on either side, and the other a shaker. On this dry, moon lit night with all of the stars of the galaxy shining overhead, I was transported to hear the circular rhythms this duo were playing, surely for our benefit. It is one of my favorite moments in birding.

Port Dauphin
Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) - possible impending split

MAMMALS
Humpback Whale with tail in air

Berenty Reserve

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
E-Madagascar Cuckoo-Hawk-on nest (Aviceda madagascariensis)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
E-Madagascar Sparrowhawk (Accipiter madagascariensis)-on nest, NEAR THREATENED
E-Madagascar Buzzard (Buteo brachypterus)
Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris)
Madagascar Turtle-Dove  (Streptopelia picturata)
Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)
Black Parrot (Coracopsis nigra)
E-Giant Coua (Coua gigas)
E-Crested Coua (Coua cristata)
Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou)
Malagasy Scops-Owl (Otus rutilus)-potential split to Torotoroka Scops-Owl
E-White-browed Owl (Ninox superciliaris)
Madagascar Nightjar (Caprimulgus madagascariensis)
Madagascar Swift (Apus balstoni)
Madagascar Bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
Madagascar Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
E-Long-billed Greenbul (Phyllastrephus madagascariensis)
Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata)
Crested Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus)
Pied Crow (Corvus albus)
24 Species, 8 Endemic

MAMMALS
Madagascar Flying Fox (Pteropus rufus)
White-footed Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur leucopus)
Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)
Brown Lemur (Lemur fulvus)-introduced by the owner of the reserve
Verreaux's Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)
Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec (Echinops telfairi)

HERPS
Warty Chameleon (Furcifer verucosus)
Dumeril's Boa (Acronthophis dumerili)

Day 27
We awoke at 2 a.m. and left Berenty for a three hour journey through the cactus desert to arrive at the junction to Andohahela National Park where we switched to four wheel drive vehicles. Then two hours up the road to rice paddies, and a two hour hike through the paddies into the forest up the mountain crossing waterfalls and streams until Pete found a Red-tailed Newtonia calling away and we all had incredible looks - the first time a group has ever seen this species.

Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
Frances' Goshawk (Accipiter francesii)
Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
Madagascar Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia picturata)
E-Madagascar Blue-Pigeon (Alectroenas madagascariensis)
Black Parrot (Coracopsis nigra)
E-Blue Coua (Coua caerulea)-our best look in the light at this incredible beauty
Madagascar Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
E-Long-billed Greenbul (Phyllastrephus madagascariensis)
E-Spectacled Greenbul (Phyllastrephus zosterops)
E-Madagascar Magpie-Robin (Copsychus albospecularis)
E-Rand's Warbler (Randia pseudozosterops)
E-Red-tailed Newtonia (Newtonia fanovanae)-great looks
E-Common Jery (Neomixis tenella)
E-Stripe-throated Jery (Neomixis striatigula)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
E-Madagascar Starling (Saroglossa aurata)
Crested Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus)
Pied Crow (Corvus albus)

19 Species, 10 Endemic

After resting by the waterfall, we hiked out and drove in our vehicles back to Port Dauphin to celebrate with a leisurely lunch at a great hotel overlooking the ocean while we trained our scopes on a Humpback Whale again in position upside down with his tail in the air. What was it doing?
Our flight took us back to Antananarivo, now a familiar destination.

Day 28
We drove three hours at night to Perinet to arrive very late and hike up to our chalet. It was not difficult to sleep and we were awaken by the gibbon-like sounds of Indri in the distance. It was a joy to lie in bed and listen for twenty minutes before arising.
Perinet is well-known as it is the closest reserve to Antananarivo and most tourists find their way here on any trip to Madagascar.  It was here we would meet well-known guide Patrice and spend dinners with Nick Garbutt, author of MAMMALS OF MADAGASCAR and his group of mammal people. We were the bird people.
We went to a marsh about 10 km toward Moramanga near a railroad station.

Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus)
Red-billed Duck (Anas erythrorhyncha)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
E-Madagascar Rail (Rallus madagascariensis)-two seen several times at our feet
Baillon's Crake (Porzana pusilla)-one flushed well
E-Madagascar Snipe (Gallinago macrodactyla)

6 Species, 2 Endemic

We spent a great deal of time in Perinet Reserve itself and also did night walks. This was the best location for the most amazing true chameleons and the very strange Leaf-tailed Geckos. The super rare Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko was unbelievable.

E-Madagascar Ibis (Lophotibis cristata) aka Mad. Crested Ibis, one walking on the path seen well-NEAR THREATENED
E-Madagascar Grebe (Tachybaptus pelzelnii) aka Mad. Little Grebe-VULNERABLE
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Madagascar Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia picturata)
E-Red-fronted Coua (Coua reynaudii)
E-Blue Coua (Coua caerulea)
Malagasy Scops-Owl (Otus rutilus)-darker, grayer, potential split to Rainforest Scops-Owl
E-Collared Nightjar (Caprimulgus enarratus)
Malagasy Spinetail  (Zoonavena grandidieri)
Madagascar Swift (Apus balstoni)
African Palm-Swift  (Cypsiurus parvus)
Madagascar Bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
E-Pitta-like Ground-Roller (Atelornis pittoides)-NEAR THREATENED
Mascarene Martin (Phedina borbonica)
Plain Martin (Riparia paludicola)
E-Madagascar Wagtail (Motacilla flaviventris)
Madagascar Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
E-Hook-billed Vanga (Vanga curvirostris)
E-Chabert Vanga (Leptopterus chabert)
Blue Vanga (Cyanolanius madagascarinus)
E-Coral-billed Nuthatch (Hypositta corallirostris) aka Nuthatch Vanga
E-Tylas Vanga (Tylas eduardi)
E-Madagascar Magpie-Robin (Copsychus albospecularis)
African Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)
E-Rand's Warbler (Randia pseudozosterops)
White-throated Rail (Dryolimnas cuvieri)
E-Madagascar Long-eared Owl (Asio madagascariensis)-two fuzzy chicks
28 Species, 14 Endemic

MAMMALS
Eastern Red Forest Rat (Nesomys rufus)
Greater Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus major)
Small-toothed Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur microdon)
Gray Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur griseus)
Indri (Indri indri)-family of three with hyperactive juvenile

HERPS
Parson's Chameleon (Calumna parsoni)
Lined Day Gecko (Phelsuma lineata)
Madagascar Tree Boa (Sanzinia madagascarensis)
Nose-horned Chameleon (Calumna nasutus)
Short-horned (elephant-eared) Chameleon (Calumna brevicornis)
Mossy Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus sikorae)
Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus)

AMPHIBS
Mantella Frog (Mantella madagascarensis)

About one hour drive from Perinet is an expanse of humid forest  which is being groomed as Mantadia National Park. Here we found our last Ground-Roller with great looks.  High in the canopy I discovered an Angraecoma orchid that I had been looking for the entire trip. I've grown this orchid at home and didn't realize it came from Madagascar. This species is white with long spurs on the bloom, and when Darwin studied a specimen brought to him, he hypothesized that there must be a moth with a 9" proboscis to pollinate this orchid. Not only did we spot the orchid high in the tree, but someone else spotted the very comet moth that pollinates this orchid elsewhere in this forest and we all had a great look, hoping that the moth might actually pollinate an orchid, but no luck.  This was the most exciting botanical experience for me to study this orchid in the wild.

Madagascar Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia picturata)
Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa)
Black Parrot (Coracopsis nigra)
E-Blue Coua (Coua caerulea)
Malagasy Spinetail (Zoonavena grandidieri)
E-Scaly Ground-Roller (Brachypteracias squamigera)-one perched, calling, one running across log over river VULNERABLE
Cuckoo Roller (Leptosomus discolor)
E-Velvet Asity (Philepitta castanea)
E-Sunbird Asity (Neodrepanis coruscans)
E-Madagascar Wagtail (Motacilla flaviventris)
Madagascar Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
E-Spectacled Greenbul (Phyllastrephus zosterops)
E-Long-billed Greenbul (Phyllastrephus madagascariensis)
E-Chabert Vanga (Leptopterus chabert)
Blue Vanga (Cyanolanius madagascarinus)
E-Madagascar Magpie-Robin (Copsychus albospecularis)
E-White-throated Oxylabes (Oxylabes madagascariensis)
Madagascar Brush-Warbler (Nesillas typical)
E-Dark Newtonia (Newtonia amphichroa)
E-Common Jery (Neomixis tenella)
E-Stripe-throated Jery (Neomixis striatigula)
E-Wedge-tailed Jery (Hartertula flavoviridis)-NEAR THREATENED
Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata)
Souimanga Sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga)
E-Nelicourvi Weaver (Ploceus nelicourvi)
Red Fody (Foudia madagascariensis)
E-Forest Fody (Foudia omissa)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
E-Madagascar Starling (Saroglossa aurata)
28 Species, 17 Endemic

MAMMALS
Ruffed Lemur (Lemur variegates)-black and white form
Eastern Avahi (E. Woolly Lemur) (Avahi laniger)

TRIP LIST

MADAGASCAR SIGHTINGS, November 6-December 3, 2000

Garry George & Joseph Brooks, BirdQuest Private Group, Pete Morris, leader

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
E-Madagascar Grebe (Tachybaptus pelzelnii) aka Mad. Little Grebe-VULNERABLE
Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda)
Red-footed Booby (Sula sula)
Long-tailed Cormorant (Phalacrocorax africanus)
Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) sometimes split as African Darter
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Humblot's Heron (Ardea humbloti)-VULNERABLE
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Black Heron (Egretta ardesiaca)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)
E-Madagascar Pond-Heron (Ardeola idea)-NEAR THREATENED
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Striated Heron (Butorides striatus)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus)
Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)
ESSP-Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) aka White Ibis aka Mad. Sacred Ibis
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
E-Madagascar Ibis (Lophotibis cristata) aka Mad. Crested Ibis-NEAR THREATENED
African Spoonbill (Platalea alba)
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus rubber)
Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor)
Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)
White-faced Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos)
African Pygmy-goose (Nettapus auritus)
E-Bernier's Teal (Anas bernieri)-ENDANGERED
E-Meller's Duck (Anas melleri)-VULNERABLE
Red-billed Duck  (Anas erythrorhyncha)
Hottentot Teal (Anas hottentota)
E-Madagascar Cuckoo-Hawk (Aviceda madagascariensis)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
E-Madagascar Fish-Eagle (Haliaeetus vociferoides)-CRITICAL
E-Madagascar Harrier-Hawk (Polyboroides radiatus)-NEAR THREATENED
Frances' Goshawk (Accipiter francesii)
E-Madagascar Sparrowhawk (Accipiter madagascariensis)-NEAR THREATENED
E-Henst's Goshawk (Accipiter henstii)-NEAR THREATENED
E-Madagascar Buzzard (Buteo brachypterus)
Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
E-Banded Kestrel (Falco zoniventris)
Eleonora's Falcon (Falco eleonorae)
Sooty Falcon (Falco concolor)
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
Madagascar Partridge (Margaroperdix madagascarensis)
Harlequin Quail (Coturnix delegorguei)
Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris)
E-White-breasted Mesite (Mesitornis variegata)-VULNERABLE
E-Brown Mesite (Mesitornis unicolor)-VULNERABLE
E-Subdesert Mesite (Monias benschi)-VULNERABLE
Madagascar Buttonquail (Turnix nigricollis)
E-Madagascar Flufftail (Sarothrura insularis)
E-Madagascar Wood-Rail (Canirallus kioloides)
E-Madagascar Rail (Rallus madagascariensis)
White-throated Rail (Dryolimnas cuvieri)
Baillon's Crake (Porzana pusilla)
Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio)
Allen's Gallinule (Porphyrio alleni)
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
E-Madagascar Jacana (Actophilornis albinucha)
Greater Painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis)
Crab Plover (Dromas ardeola)
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
Madagascar Pratincole (Glareola ocularis)
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)
E-Madagascar Plover (Charadrius thoracicus)-VULNERABLE
Kittlitz's Plover (Charadrius pecuarius)
Three-banded Plover (Charadrius tricollaris)
White-fronted Plover (Charadrius marginatus)
Greater Sandplover (Charadrius leschenaultii)
E-Madagascar Snipe (Gallinago macrodactyla)
Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus)
Lesser Crested Tern (Sterna bengalensis)
Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Saunders' Tern (Sterna saundersi)
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybridus)
White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)
E-Madagascar Sandgrouse (Pterocles personatus)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Madagascar Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia picturata)
Namaqua Dove  (Oena capensis)
Madagascar Green-Pigeon (Treron australis)
E-Madagascar Blue-Pigeon (Alectroenas madagascariensis)
Gray-headed Lovebird (Agapornis canus)
Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa)
Black Parrot (Coracopsis nigra)
Madagascar Cuckoo (Cuculus rochii)
E-Giant Coua (Coua gigas)
E-Coquerel's Coua (Coua coquereli)
E-Red-breasted Coua (Coua serriana)
E-Red-fronted Coua (Coua reynaudii)
E-Red-capped Coua (Coua ruficeps)
E-Running Coua (Coua cursor)
E-Crested Coua (Coua cristata)
E-Verreaux's Coua (Coua verreauxi)- NEAR THREATENED
E-Blue Coua (Coua caerulea)
Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou)
Malagasy Scops-Owl (Otus rutilus)
E-White-browed Owl  (Ninox superciliaris)
E-Madagascar Long-eared Owl (Asio madagascariensis)
Madagascar Nightjar (Caprimulgus madagascariensis)
E-Collared Nightjar (Caprimulgus enarratus)
Malagasy Spinetail (Zoonavena grandidieri)
African Palm-Swift (Cypsiurus parvus)
Alpine Swift (Tachymarptis melba)
Madagascar Swift (Apus balstoni)
Malagasy Kingfisher (Alcedo vintsioides)
E-Madagascar Pygmy-Kingfisher (Ispidina madagascariensis)
Madagascar Bee-eater  (Merops superciliosus)
Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
E-Short-legged Ground-Roller (Brachypteracias leptosomus)-
E-Scaly Ground-Roller (Brachypteracias squamigera)-VULNERABLE
E-Pitta-like Ground-Roller (Atelornis pittoides)- NEAR THREATENED
E-Rufous-headed Ground-Roller (Atelornis crossleyi)- VULNERABLE
E-Long-tailed Ground-Roller (Uratelornis chimaera)- VULNERABLE
Cuckoo Roller (Leptosomus discolor)
E-Madagascar Hoopoe (Upupa marginata)
E-Velvet Asity (Philepitta castanea)
E-Schlegel's Asity (Philepitta schlegeli)-NEAR THREATENED
E-Sunbird Asity (Neodrepanis coruscans)
E-Yellow-bellied Asity (Neodrepanis hypoxanthus)-ENDANGERED
E-Madagascar Lark (Mirafra hova)
Plain Martin (Riparia paludicola)
Mascarene Martin (Phedina borbonica)
Barn Swallow  (Hirundo rustica)
E-Madagascar Wagtail (Motacilla flaviventris)
Ashy Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina cinerea)
E-Long-billed Greenbul (Phyllastrephus madagascariensis)
E-Spectacled Greenbul (Phyllastrephus zosterops)
E-Appert's Greenbul (Phyllastrephus apperti)
E-Gray-crowned Greenbul (Phyllastrephus cinereiceps)-VULNERABLE
Madagascar Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
E-Forest Rock-Thrush (Pseudocossyphus sharpie)-VULNERABLE
E-Benson's Rock-Thrush (Pseudocossyphus bensoni)-NEAR THREATENED
E-Littoral Rock-Thrush (Pseudocossyphus imerinus
Madagascar Cisticola (Cisticola cherinus)
E-Brown Emu-tail (Dromaeocercus brunneus)-NEAR THREATENED
E-Gray Emu-tail (Dromaeocercus seebohmi)
Madagascar Brush-Warbler (Nesillas typical)
E-Thamnornis (Thamnornis chloropetoides)
E-Madagascar Swamp-Warbler (Acrocephalus newtoni)
E-Rand's Warbler (Randia pseudozosterops)
E-Dark Newtonia (Newtonia amphichroa)
E-Common Newtonia (Newtonia brunneicauda)
E-Archbold's Newtonia (Newtonia archboldi)
E-Red-tailed Newtonia (Newtonia fanovanae)
E-Cryptic Warbler (Cryptosylvicola randriansoloi)
E-Madagascar Magpie-Robin (Copsychus albospecularis)
African Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)
E-Ward's Flycatcher (Pseudobias wardi)
Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata)
E-Common Jery (Neomixis tenella)
E-Green Jery (Neomixis viridis)
E-Stripe-throated Jery (Neomixis striatigula)
E-Wedge-tailed Jery (Hartertula flavoviridis)-NEAR THREATENED
White-throated Oxylabes (Oxylabes madagascariensis)
Yellow-browed Oxylabes (Crossleyia xanthophrys)-VULNERABLE
E-Crossley's Babbler (Mystacornis crossleyi)
Souimanga Sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga)
Madagascar Sunbird (Cinnyris notatus)
Madagascar White-eye (Zosterops maderaspatanus)
E-Red-tailed Vanga (Calicalicus madagascariensis)
E-Red-shouldered Vanga (Calicalicus rufocarpalis)
E-Rufous Vanga (Schetba rufa)
E-Hook-billed Vanga (Vanga curvirostris)
E-Lafresnaye's Vanga (Xenopirostris xenopirostris
E-Van Dam's Vanga (Xenopirostris damii)-VULNERABLE
E-Pollen's Vanga (Xenopirostris polleni)-VULNERABLE
E-Sickle-billed Vanga (Falculea palliata)
E-White-headed Vanga (Artamella viridis)
E-Chabert Vanga (Leptopterus chabert)
Blue Vanga (Cyanolanius madagascarinus)
E-Helmet Vanga (Euryceros prevostii)
E-Tylas Vanga (Tylas eduardi)
E-Coral-billed Nuthatch (Hypositta corallirostris)
Crested Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus)
Pied Crow (Corvus albus)
E-Madagascar Starling (Saroglossa aurata)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
E-Nelicourvi Weaver (Ploceus nelicourvi)
E-Sakalava Weaver (Ploceus sakalava)
Red Fody (Foudia madagascariensis)
E-Forest Fody (Foudia omissa)
E-Madagascar Munia (Lonchura nana)

199 SPECIES