Verreaux’s Sifaka |
Bakoly had come highly recommended by Roger McGovern, who had done a trip with her in 2007. In addition, we had good responses from Bakoly when developing our itinerary and the overall cost for a private tour, together with good accommodation, was less than birding tours run by international companies. It is important to book the trip as early as possible, we booked nine months ahead, in order to secure the best accommodation.
Our accommodation ranged from comfortable through to top of the range, with the meals ranging from basic to very good French cuisine. Some of the culinary highlights included lobster at one of the beachside resorts and having a French chef prepare our meals to order at another coastal resort.
The trip organisation was excellent and
Bakoly was good company too. Having been involved with organising and guiding birding
tours for international birding companies such as Rockjumper, Bakoly had plenty
of experience and also knew the best local guides to use at the various
national parks.
The forests in the national parks were
generally in excellent condition with good birding opportunities. On arrival at
the various national parks, we were introduced to local guides who were well
trained and very knowledgeable about the local birds, mammals, chameleons etc. Some of the birding was quite hard work,
particularly working the slopes of the tropical rain forests. Did a lot of
sweating and bundu bashing trying to get the Brown Mesite at Ranomafana National
Park, which we could hear but never managed to see. Ranomafana National Park |
Other than the birds we saw 22 species of
Lemur including some which are very difficult to find. Whilst some of the Lemur
species are easy to see, such as the Coquerel’s Sifaka at Ankarafantsika,
others such as the Golden Bamboo Lemur involve a lot of hard work walking up
and down steep forested areas. Others such as the various Sportive Lemurs and
Mouse Lemurs are difficult to find due to their small size and good camouflage.
As many visitors have previously commented,
travelling around Madagascar involves lots of driving with long distances to
cover. The actual driving however was fairly slow and relatively safe, and we
had good 4WD vehicles for our trip. The road conditions were a lot better than we
had expected, with most of the roads in good condition, although there are some
very poor roads with potholes and the dirt roads are best avoided if possible.
Overall the condition of the roads was similar to what we saw in Kenya and
these days the South African roads are tending to go the same way.
Madagascar was not as denuded and barren as
some reports would indicate and was similar to many other parts of Africa that
we have visited. It was however evident that the rain forests and even the
spiny forests of the south are being continually harvested, burnt and converted
to farmland.
Rural Houses in Madagascar |
Typical Madagascan Countryside |
Sunday 21st September: Arrival
Flew from Johannesburg to Antananarivo on
SAA8252 departing at 10am and arriving at 2pm. Visas are free and obtained on
arrival, although it takes at least six officials to process your passport.
Met up with Bakoly and transferred to Tana
Plaza Hotel located in the capital Antananarivo. Not the best of hotels but
comfortable and had very good French dinners, although the breakfasts were
pretty awful. Would probably have been better to stay closer to the airport to
avoid the traffic and French designed road system in the capital.
Monday
22nd September: Drive to Ranomafana
Departed after an early morning breakfast for
the long drive to Ranomafana National Park. This national park is the only
protected area where the endangered Golden Bamboo Lemur and Greater Bamboo
Lemur are known to occur.
Stopped for lunch in Ambositra before
continuing the drive to Ranomafana, arriving in the early evening. Relatively
few birds seen during the drive with Malagasy Kingfisher, Malagasy Kestrel and
Madagascan Stonechat being of interest.
Dinner and overnight at Centrest Hotel which
had good accommodation and pleasant gardens. Madagascan Wagtail breed in the hotel
grounds.
Tuesday
23rd September: Ranomafana National ParkMalagasy Kingfisher |
Today we did a lot of walking through the Ranomafana rainforest and saw a total of 44 species of birds plus two species of Lemur. The Red-bellied Lemur was seen in the morning and the Eastern Rufous Mouse Lemur in the early evening together with many chameleons, frogs and the odd snake.
Madagascar Giant Chameleon |
Dinner and overnight at Centrest Hotel.
Wednesday
24th September: Ranomafana National Park
The morning involved some particularly
strenuous walking for seven hours, up and down the steep forest slopes of
Ranomafana. We saw 33 species of birds and four Lemur species, plus the lovely
rufous coloured Ring-tailed Mongoose. Ring-tailed Mongoose |
Milne Edwards’s Sifaka |
Blue Vanga |
Madagascan Pygmy Kingfisher |
Thursday 25th September: Drive to Isalo
Today involved a full day’s drive to Isalo which was quite scenic and was broken up with stops along the way.
First stop was at Ambalavao town where we visited the factory making the handmade Antemoro paper fabric. Quite an impressive process and we bought some of their products which included flowers embedded into the paper fabric, and which customs allowed us to bring back into Australia.
Flowers being embedded into the wet paper pulp before drying |
We then stopped at the Anja forest to view Ring-tailed Lemur followed by lunch at the local restaurant.
Anja forest site for Ring-tailed Lemur |
Ring-tailed Lemur |
Jurassic sandstone massif at Isalo |
At our hotel that afternoon, I heard a pair of Malagasy Green Sunbird creating a commotion and thought there may be a snake up against the rocky cliffs. Under the trees next to the cliffs I found this strange Giant Chameleon with feathers forming a crest. I then realised that it had taken a Green Sunbird chick from the nearby nest and was trying to swallow the bird.
Saw a couple of pairs of Benson’s Rock Thrush
in the hotel grounds together with Malagasy Coucal and Madagascan Magpie-robin.
Malagasy Coucal |
Dinner and overnight at Le Relais de la Reine,
which was one of the top hotels of the trip. The hotel grounds with the sandstone
massifs were very impressive as well.
Le Relais de la Reine |
Friday 26th September: Drive to Ifaty via Zombitse National Park
Did some early morning birding before breakfast and saw a Malagasy Pond Heron next to the creek which was a bit unusual.
After breakfast, drove through to Ifaty, with
a stop at Zombitse National Park.
Zombitse is a remnant dry deciduous forest of the southern region and
the only forest where the range restricted Appert’s Tetraka can be found.
Zombitse was quite dry and fairly warm by the time we arrived. After meeting up with the local guide, the first sighting was a pair of White-browed Hawk-owl.
We then saw Coquerel’s Coua, Giant Coua, Cuckoo Roller, Rufous Vanga, Appert’s Tetraka and Lesser Vasa Parrot amongst the 13 species of birds seen.
Zombitse was quite dry and fairly warm by the time we arrived. After meeting up with the local guide, the first sighting was a pair of White-browed Hawk-owl.
White-browed Hawk-owl |
We then saw Coquerel’s Coua, Giant Coua, Cuckoo Roller, Rufous Vanga, Appert’s Tetraka and Lesser Vasa Parrot amongst the 13 species of birds seen.
Giant Coua |
Also seen was a single Hubbard’s Sportive Lemur and about eighteen Verreaux’s Sifaka, which were quite approachable and photogenic.
Hubbard’s Sportive Lemur |
Verreaux’s Sifaka |
After having lunch at the nearby village, we drove
through to Toliara on the coast. Just north of the town, we took some poor dirt
roads and had a stop at the wetlands at Belalanda before continuing northwards
to our hotel at Ifaty. At the wetlands we saw Red-billed and Hottentot Teal,
Kittlitz’s Plover and other non-endemic waders plus Madagascan Cisticola.
The hotel had some comfortable accommodation
with a lovely swimming pool and open dining area, overlooking the calm Indian
Ocean.
The hotel grounds were good for birds, with
quite a few birds coming in to drink at the birdbaths. We saw Malagasy Green
Sunbird, Chabert Vanga, Malagasy Coucal, Namaqua Dove, Crested Drongo, Sakalava
Weaver, Madagascan Magpie-Robin and Subdesert Brush Warbler during the
afternoon and in the evening had Madagascan Nightjar hawking over the pool
area.
Dinner and overnight at Le Nautilus Beachfront
Hotel. The hotel is run by a French couple and is very relaxed and provides
excellent meals. Le Nautilus Beachfront Hotel |
Saturday
27th September: Ifaty Spiny Forest
We had an early morning visit to Ifaty Spiny Forest,
from 5:30am through to 8am, which is an impressive forest full of seriously
spiky plants and different baobab trees. This area is particularly important
for birding as many of the birds seen here are difficult to find elsewhere in
Madagascar. Ifaty Spiny Forest |
We saw a number of new and impressive birds
including Long-tailed Ground Roller, Green-capped Coua (subspecies), Running Coua, Subdesert
Mesite, Thamnornis Warbler, Archbold’s Newtonia, Madagascan Buttonquail,
Madagascan Harrier-hawk (pink facial skin), Lafresnaye’s Vanga and Sickle-billed
Vanga. We unfortunately didn’t see the Banded Kestrel which is often seen in
the area.
Green-capped Coua (subspecies) |
We then spent an hour at a nearby salt pan
where we saw our target birds, the Madagascan Plover and Madagascan Lark,
together with other waders such as European Whimbrel, White-fronted Plover and
Ruddy Turnstone.
Back to the hotel for lunch and relaxing in
the afternoon. A walk along the beach produced some nice shorebirds such as
European Whimbrel, Sanderling, Grey Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Common Greenshank,
Curlew Sandpiper and Ruddy Turnstone. Also had Lesser Vasa Parrot flying
overhead.In the late afternoon we went back to Ifaty Spiny Forest to try and find the Banded Kestrel. It was very hot and there was a problem with the local guides, who had a different agenda, so nothing new was seen for this visit, although had better views of the Long-tailed Ground Roller.
Dinner and overnight at Le Nautilus Beachfront
Hotel. Had lobster for dinner that evening much to the envy of a large group of
visitors having dinner at the hotel.
Sunset at Le Nautilus Beachfront Hotel |
Sunday
28th September: Drive back to Toliara and visit La Table Scrub Forest,
then fly back to Antananarivo
We had a very early morning drive to get to La
Table Scrub Forest, a few kilometres northeast of Toliara, then a quick visit to
some wetlands, before catching our 10am flight from Toliara to Antananarivo.
Along the way we were stopped by police for passport checks, the only time we
were stopped at any of the numerous police and army roadblocks that pervade
Madagascar.
At La Table it took us a long time to find
the range restricted Red-shouldered Vanga, only described as a new species in
1997, and then the Verreaux’s Coua. It’s particularly tough work moving though
the thorny bush and scrub, and the guides had their clothes ripped as they
tried to track down the birds for us.
We then drove back few kilometres to a small
wetland to look for Madagascar Sandgrouse but we arrived too late and missed
them.
We had limited time in the morning as the
afternoon flight had been changed to the morning and Air Madagascar is renowned
for changing flying times or cancelling flights, so we had to get to the
airport early to ensure we had a seat on the flight. As it turned out the
previous day’s flight had been cancelled so customers from the previous day
were there early to get onto our flight. Bakoly handled all the check-in issues
with ease, although appeared stressed, and we managed to get onto the flight. Red-shouldered Vanga |
The actual flight was fine and on arrival in Antananarivo we drove to Lake Alarobia on the way into town. The lake had hundreds of duck, teal, herons and egrets, with Malagasy Pond Heron, Knob-billed Duck, Meller’s Duck, Dimorphic Egret and White-faced Whistling Duck being of interest. We also had great views of two White-throated Rail in a small pond right next to the path.
Dinner and overnight at Tana Plaza Hotel. At
dusk we had many Malagasy Black Swift together with Brown-throated Martin seen
from the hotel and flying over Antananarivo city.
Monday
29th September: Drive to Perinet-Mantadia National Park
After breakfast we drove eastwards from
Antananarivo to Moramanga and then northwards to Perinet-Mantadia National Park.
Along the way we stopped at Mangoro River to look for Madagascar Pratincole,
which we didn’t find. The
Perinet-Mantadia National Park now comprises two separate national
parks. The Analamazaotra or Perinet Special Reserve, known locally as
Andasibe after the nearby village, was once part of the larger Mantadia
National Park. However logging and deforestation for farming has resulted in
these national parks now being isolated.
After lunch we met up with the local guide Luke
and visited the Perinet Special Reserve, which protects the largest living
lemur, the Indri. The birding was good with Madagascan Ibis, Rainforest Scops
Owl, Madagascan Owl, Blue Coua, Malagasy Brush Warbler and Stripe-throated Jery
being seen. Mammals seen included Eastern Woolly Lemur, Diademed Sifaka and
Indri.
The Vakona Forest Lodge had some of the best
accommodation of the trip, with lovely chalets overlooking forest and wetlands.
This hotel is particularly popular with tourists and needs to be booked well in
advance.
Dinner and overnight at Vakona Forest Lodge.
Tuesday 30th September: Mantadia National Park
After an early breakfast, we drove into the
Mantadia National Park for a full day’s birding, which turned out to be some of
the best birding of the trip. Blue Coua |
Vakona Forest Lodge |
Tuesday 30th September: Mantadia National Park
This was to be the last tropical rainforest
visited on the east coast of Madagascar and Bakoly gave Luke a list of target
species, which included many tough birds to get. We slowly worked our way through
the target species, with good views of Madagascan Grebe, Madagascan Sparrowhawk,
Madagascan Rail, Collared Nightjar, Madagascan Spinetail, Short-legged Ground
Roller, Scaly Ground Roller, Red-fronted Coua, Greater Vasa Parrot, Red-tailed
Vanga, Hook-billed Vanga, Madagascan Cuckooshrike, Mascarene Martin,
Long-billed Bernieria, Common Sunbird-Asity and Red Fody.
Three Ground Roller species are found in
these forests and are hard to track down, with the ones we saw involving a lot
of bundu bashing, creek crossings and crawling through dense thickets. We
didn’t manage to find the Rufous-headed Ground Roller despite a lot of effort
by Luke and walking though leech infected overgrown paths and bush.
Luke heard a Madagascan Serpent Eagle calling,
which is a particularly rare endemic eagle, but unfortunately we didn’t manage
to locate the bird. I heard the call as well which I thought was similar to the
call of the Crested Serpent Eagle in flight, although I haven’t been able to
track down any sound recordings to verify this. Collared Nightjar |
Mammals seen for the day and during the night walk included Lowland Streaked Tenrec, Greater Dwarf Lemur, Goodman’s Mouse Lemur, Eastern Woolly Lemur and Malagasy Civet.
Lowland Streaked Tenrec |
Dinner and overnight at Vakona Forest Lodge.
Wednesday
1st October: Perinet-Mantadia National Park
Today we spent the full day in the Perinet
Special Reserve. Before breakfast I saw a Frances’s Sparrowhawk in the hotel
grounds, a very small sparrowhawk which is supposed to be common in Madagascar.
I think that the description “common”
is overused in the field guides and many of the “common” birds were only seen once by ourselves. The other possible
explanation is that birds that were common when the book was researched are no
longer common?Frances’s Sparrowhawk (female) |
We didn’t see as many birds as the previous day, as we spent a lot of time searching for Rufous-headed Ground Roller, and Perinet is less productive than Mantadia for birding. We did however get very good views of up to four Madagascar Wood Rail in the path and two Red-fronted Coua close to the path.
Red-fronted Coua |
We also saw Madagascan Cuckoo, Forest Fody, Malagasy White-eye,
White-throated Oxylabes and Velvet Asity. We only heard Crossley’s Vanga,
despite a lot of searching with the bird being frustratingly close, and
Spectacled Tetraka, the latter bird supposedly commonly seen.
Dinner and overnight at Vakona Forest Lodge.
Thursday
2nd October: Drive back to Antananarivo
After some early morning birding around the
forests surrounding the hotel and breakfast, we drove back to Antananarivo, with
stops at Mangoro River crossing and Pereyras Reptile Farm. No luck with
Madagascan Pratincole at Mangoro River although Bakoly found out later that the
pratincole were present but could only be seen from a side road further up the
river.
Pereyras Reptile Farm was very interesting
with many species of colourful chameleons ranging from the smallest 10 cm Stump-tailed
Chameleon (Brookesia peyrierasi) to the large 75 cm green Parson’s Chameleon
(Calumma parsonii).
We also saw Leaf-tailed Geckos, tiny tree frog, snakes and butterflies. At the reptile farm you walk through large enclosures, which house the chameleons and can photograph the huge chameleons being fed with crickets and grasshoppers.
Dinner and overnight at Tana Plaza Hotel.
Parson’s Chameleon (Calumma parsonii) |
Panther’s Chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) |
Dinner and overnight at Tana Plaza Hotel.
Friday
3rd October: Fly to Mahajanga
More fun and games with Air Madagascar, the
8am flight had been changed to 6am, so we had to get up at 3am in the morning.
Of course when we arrived at the airport, they had moved the departure back to
8am, so some particularly disgruntled customers, not that Air Madagascar has any
idea about customer service.
After the argy-bargy of check-in, duplicate
passenger screening and multiple passport checks, we had breakfast and then
boarded the plane for a pleasant and scenic flight to Mahajanga, which is
northwest of Antananarivo.
Bakoly introduced us to our new driver and we
headed up the coast to Ansanitia Resort, a lovely resort overlooking a large
estuary and the Indian Ocean. We relaxed in the open air restaurant doing some
birding with the telescope before having a great lunch. Bakoly certainly knows
some good places to visit. View from Ansanitia Resort |
After lunch we drove back to Mahajanga and checked into the Karibu Lodge overlooking the Indian Ocean. This was one of the top places we stayed at, with a double story accommodation, losts of space and great views over the ocean. In the early morning and late afternoon, many Arab fishing dhows are seen cruising to and from the fishing grounds. The meals at this hotel were the best of the trip, with a dedicated French chef preparing meals to order, and discussing what was available on the menu before orders were taken.
Dinner and overnight at Karibu Lodge.
Saturday 4th October: Boat trip to Betsiboka Estuary
After an early breakfast we headed to the beach and boarded a motor boat for our trip to Betsiboka Estuary. Our main target today was the rare Bernier’s Teal.
The sea was smooth and it was a lovely ride
along the coast to the huge Betsiboka Estuary, which we had seen from the air
when we flew in the previous day. It was also lovely and cool with the sea
breeze and made a change from sweating through tropical rainforest and hot dry
spiny forests.
The birding along the estuary was excellent
and we saw at least 18 Bernier’s Teal, plus Madagascan Harrier-hawk, Lesser
Flamingo, Madagascan Sacred Ibis, Striated Heron, Grey Heron, Purple Heron,
White-throated Rail, Bar-tailed Godwit, Terek Sandpiper, Greater Sand Plover
plus many Dimorphic Egret.Striated Heron |
Dinner and overnight at Karibu Lodge.
Sunday
5th October: Drive to Ankarafantsika National Park
After breakfast, we drove through to
Ankarafantsika National Park arriving just after 9am. We also had a new driver
and a new VW Turago 4WD, which was very comfortable and had lots of power being
a diesel.
The Ankarafantsika National Park is located
between the Betsiboka River to the west and the Mahajamba River to the east.
The park occupies about 135,000 hectares and consists of patches of thick dry
tropical forest interspersed with less dense areas. The accommodation overlooks
some forest and a small lake which is very good for birding. At the
accommodation we had Coquerel's Sifaka visiting us and was really special to be
able to see Sifaka from our veranda.
Coquerel's Sifaka |
In the evenings, during dinner, we had Milne-Edwards’
Sportive Lemur screeching and could be seen with a spotlight. The birdlife
around the dining area and accommodation area was great, with nice birds like
Sickle-billed Vanga easily seen. This park is Bakoly’s favourite part of
Madagascar and I can see why.
The accommodation, whilst basic was quite
comfortable and spacious, and a lot better than I had been lead to believe. The
meals and service at the restaurant were also good, and the staff very
friendly.
On arrival we headed off into the forest with
our local guide and Bakoly, to get in some birding before it became too hot.
Some of the highlights included Madagascan Cuckoo-hawk, Madagascan Sparrowhawk,
White-breasted Mesite, Crested Coua, Red-capped Coua (different to the
Green-capped Coua subspecies seen at Ifaty), Coquerel’s Coua, White-headed
Vanga, Blue Vanga, Chabert Vanga and Malagasy Paradise Flycatcher. Sickle-billed Vanga |
Crested Coua |
After a late lunch we had a siesta before
visiting some farming areas which had a small lake. There we saw African Pygmy
Goose, Malagasy Pond Heron, Madagascan Jacana, Broad-billed Roller, Madagascan
Pygmy Kingfisher and Olive Bee-eater.
In the early evening we went spotlighting and
saw Lesser Dwarf Lemur, Grey Mouse Lemur, Ravelobe Mouse Lemur, Mongoose Lemur and
Milne-Edwards’ Sportive Lemur, in addition to a number of Chameleon species. Dinner and overnight at Ankarafantsika Basic Ecolodge.
Monday
6th October: Ankarafantsika National Park
Today we started early, whilst it was still
cool and birded up until the early afternoon. This included forest walks and a
visit to the nearby lake. Mid afternoon we took a drive to nearby rice paddies
and to Lake Amboromalandy.
Highlights for the morning were the Frances’s
Sparrowhawk, Schlegel’s Asity, White-breasted Mesite, Madagascan Green Pigeon,
Blue Vanga, Rufous Vanga and Sickle-billed Vanga all seen in the forest. At the
lake the highlights included the rare Madagascan Fish Eagle and a single
Humblot’s Heron plus we saw Glossy Ibis, Little Bittern, Black Heron,
Madagascan Buzzard, Allen’s Gallinule and Broad-billed Roller.
Madagascan Fish Eagle |
At the rice paddies and Lake Amboromalandy we
looked for Madagascar Snipe but didn’t find any. There were quite a few birds
in this area including over 30 Black Heron and 40 Glossy Ibis, together with
some more Madagascan Green Pigeon, but nothing new for the trip.
Dinner and overnight at Ankarafantsika Basic Ecolodge.
Tuesday
7th October: Ankarafantsika National Park
Today was another early start and we had some
key birds still to find, in particular the difficult to see Van Dam’s Vanga. We
saw quite a few birding groups go out in search of this bird and fail, and then
keep looking for it through the heat of the day, most times getting back for
dinner exhausted and frustrated.
Bakoly had secured the services of the best
guide for Ankarafantsika, who was fairly reserved but was good at his birding. We
started off with good views of the White-breasted Mesite and then had Madagascan
Buttonquail right next to the path making platelets, before crossing the path
in full view, and then saw another two buttonquail a bit later on. We then had
great views of a single Van Dam’s Vanga and followed this up with a second bird
a little later on.
Madagascan Buttonquail |
We also saw the very nice Torotoroka Scops
Owl roosting up against a tree trunk. The endemic Torotoroka Scops Owl (Otus
madagascariensis) is one of the smallest of the seven species of owls in
Madagascar, and is a common nocturnal species in forest and wooded habitat
along the western and southern coasts. The taxonomy of this species is somewhat
complicated. Some authors do not consider Otus madagascariensis a valid taxon and
lump it with the Rainforest Scops Owl (Otus rutilus), however the IOC splits
the birds. In any event, the western
coast species is quite dark compared with the rainforest species of the eastern
coast and has a different song, with a series of trembled rather than pure
notes, at a lower pitch.
Of interest was the white-winged form of the
Madagascan Magpie-robin which we saw at Ankarafantsika, together with the more
common white-bellied form, seen here and elsewhere. We only saw the
black-bellied form once at Perinet-Mantadia NP.
Torotoroka Scops Owl |
Madagascan Magpie-robin (white-bellied form) |
Humblot’s Heron |
Wednesday
8th October: Drive back to Antananarivo
We left early in the morning for our long
journey to Antananarivo along sealed roads which were in good condition, given
that I had heard it was an awful road from others.
We stopped at the bridge over the wide Betsiboka
River and saw four Madagascan Pratincole, which was very nice to finally see
these birds.
After a picnic-lunch en route, the driver
spotted a Malagasy Harrier hawking over fields next to the road. We jumped out
of the car for some great views and photos of the birds. We were very pleased to see
this bird and it was a great bird to end the trip on.Malagasy Harrier |
Late afternoon arrival in Antananarivo and
then a farewell dinner at the Villa Vanille restaurant. Quite a posh restaurant
serving French food and we had a big group of French tourists singing French
songs, so quite entertaining.
Overnight at Tana Plaza Hotel.
Thursday
9th October: Departure
We had breakfast with a colleague who is
working at the nickel refinery in Toamasina for Ambatovy Nickel.
Bakoly then picked us up for our transfer to
the airport for the 3pm flight back to Johannesburg.
Overall an excellent trip to Madagascar, thanks to Bakoly and the various local guides that we met along the way.
Overall an excellent trip to Madagascar, thanks to Bakoly and the various local guides that we met along the way.
Birding
Resources
Birds
of the Indian Ocean Islands by Ian Sinclair and Olivier Langrand,
first edition 1998
Mammals
of Madagascar, A Complete Guide by Nick Garbutt, first
edition 2007
Mammals
Afrosoricida
Tenrecs (Tenrecidae)
Lowland Streaked Tenrec
(Hemicentetes semispinosus)
Primates
Dwarf Lemurs (Cheirogaleidae)
Greater Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus
major)
Lesser Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus
medius)
Goodman's Mouse Lemur (Microcebus
lehilahytsara)
Grey Mouse Lemur (Microcebus
murinus)
Ravelobe Mouse Lemur (Microcebus
ravelobensis)
Eastern Rufous Mouse Lemur
(Microcebus rufus)
Lemurs (Lemuridae)
Brown Lemur (Eulemur fulvus)
Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz)
Red-bellied Lemur (Eulemur
rubriventer)
Golden Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur
aureus)
Grey Bamboo Lemur [sp] (Hapalemur
griseus)
Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)
Sportive Lemurs (Lepilemuridae)
Milne-Edwards's Sportive Lemur
(Lepilemur edwardsi)
White-footed Sportive Lemur
(Lepilemur leucopus)
Hubbard's Sportive Lemur
(Lepilemur hubbardi)
Indrid Lemurs (Indridae)
Eastern Woolly Lemur (Avahi
laniger)
Western Woolly Lemur (Avahi
occidentalis)
Indri [sp] (Indri indri)
Coquerel's Sifaka (Propithecus
coquereli)
Diademed Sifaka [sp] (Propithecus
diadema)
Milne-Edwards's Sifaka
(Propithecus edwardsi)
Verreaux's Sifaka (Propithecus
verreauxi)
Rodentia
Malagasy endemic Rats and Mice (Nesomyidae)
Rufous Nesomys (Nesomys rufus)
Carnivora
Eupleridae
Malagasy Civet (Fossa fossana)
Ring-tailed Mongoose [sp]
(Galidia elegans)
Birds
For the trip we recorded a total of 169 birds of
which 119 were lifers reflecting the high level of endemism for Madagascan birds.
The list of birds according to the IOC taxonomy is as follows:
ANSERIFORMES
Ducks, Geese
& swans (Anatidae)
White-faced
Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
Knob-billed
Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos)
African Pygmy
Goose (Nettapus auritus)
Meller's Duck
(Anas melleri)
Bernier's
Teal (Anas bernieri)
Red-billed
Teal (Anas erythrorhyncha)
Hottentot
Teal (Anas hottentota)
GALLIFORMES
Guineafowl
(Numididae)
Helmeted
Guineafowl [sp] (Numida meleagris)
Podicipediformes
Grebes
(Podicipedidae)
Little Grebe
[sp] (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Madagascan
Grebe (Tachybaptus pelzelnii)
PHOENICOPTERIFORMES
Flamingos
(Phoenicopteridae)
Lesser
Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor)
PELECANIFORMES
Ibises,
Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae)
Malagasy
Sacred Ibis [sp] (Threskiornis bernieri)
Glossy Ibis
(Plegadis falcinellus)
Madagascan
Ibis [sp] (Lophotibis cristata)
Herons,
Bitterns (Ardeidae)
Little
Bittern [sp] (Ixobrychus minutus)
Black-crowned
Night Heron [sp] (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Striated
Heron [sp] (Butorides striata)
Squacco Heron
(Ardeola ralloides)
Malagasy Pond
Heron (Ardeola idae)
Western
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Grey Heron
[sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Humblot's
Heron (Ardea humbloti)
Purple Heron
[sp] (Ardea purpurea)
Great Egret
[sp] (Ardea alba)
Black Heron
(Egretta ardesiaca)
Dimorphic
Egret (Egretta dimorpha)
Hamerkop
(Scopidae)
Hamerkop [sp]
(Scopus umbretta)
ACCIPITRIFORMES
Kites, Hawks
& Eagles (Accipitridae)
Madagascan
Harrier-hawk (Polyboroides radiatus)
Madagascan
Serpent Eagle (Eutriorchis astur)
Madagascan
Cuckoo-hawk (Aviceda madagascariensis)
Frances's
Sparrowhawk [sp] (Accipiter francesiae)
Madagascan
Sparrowhawk (Accipiter madagascariensis)
Henst's
Goshawk (Accipiter henstii)
Malagasy
Harrier (Circus macrosceles)
Yellow-billed
Kite [sp] (Milvus aegyptius)
Madagascan
Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vociferoides)
Madagascan
Buzzard (Buteo brachypterus)
MESITORNITHIFORMES
Mesites
(Mesitornithidae)
White-breasted
Mesite (Mesitornis variegatus)
Brown Mesite
(Mesitornis unicolor)
Subdesert
Mesite (Monias benschi)
GRUIFORMES
Flufftails
(Sarothruridae)
Madagascan
Flufftail (Sarothrura insularis)
Rails,
Crakes & Coots (Rallidae)
Madagascan
Wood Rail [sp] (Canirallus kioloides)
Madagascan
Rail (Rallus madagascariensis)
White-throated
Rail [sp] (Dryolimnas cuvieri)
Allen's
Gallinule (Porphyrio alleni)
Common
Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
CHARADRIIFORMES
Buttonquails
(Turnicidae)
Madagascan
Buttonquail (Turnix nigricollis)
Crab-plover
(Dromadidae)
Crab-plover
(Dromas ardeola)
Stilts,
Avocets (Recurvirostridae)
Black-winged
Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
Plovers
(Charadriidae)
Grey Plover
[sp] (Pluvialis squatarola)
Common Ringed
Plover [sp] (Charadrius hiaticula)
Madagascan
Plover (Charadrius thoracicus)
Kittlitz's
Plover (Charadrius pecuarius)
Three-banded
Plover [sp] (Charadrius tricollaris)
White-fronted
Plover [sp] (Charadrius marginatus)
Greater Sand
Plover [sp] (Charadrius leschenaultii)
Jacanas
(Jacanidae)
Madagascan
Jacana (Actophilornis albinucha)
Sandpipers,
Snipes (Scolopacidae)
Bar-tailed
Godwit [sp] (Limosa lapponica)
Whimbrel [sp]
(Numenius phaeopus)
Common
Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Terek
Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus)
Common
Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Ruddy
Turnstone [sp] (Arenaria interpres)
Sanderling
[sp] (Calidris alba)
Curlew
Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
Coursers,
Pratincoles (Glareolidae)
Madagascan
Pratincole (Glareola ocularis)
Gulls, Terns
& Skimmers (Laridae)
Greater
Crested Tern [sp] (Thalasseus bergii)
Lesser
Crested Tern [sp] (Thalasseus bengalensis)
COLUMBIFORMES
Doves and
Pigeons (Columbidae)
Rock Dove
[sp] (Columba livia)
Malagasy
Turtle Dove [sp] (Nesoenas picturata)
Namaqua Dove
[sp] (Oena capensis)
Madagascan
Green Pigeon [sp] (Treron australis)
Madagascan
Blue Pigeon (Alectroenas madagascariensis)
CUCULIFORMES
Cuckoos
(Cuculidae)
Malagasy
Coucal [sp] (Centropus toulou)
Crested Coua
[sp] (Coua cristata)
Verreaux's
Coua (Coua verreauxi)
Blue Coua
(Coua caerulea)
Red-capped
Coua [sp] (Coua ruficeps)
Red-fronted
Coua (Coua reynaudii)
Coquerel's
Coua (Coua coquereli)
Running Coua
(Coua cursor)
Giant Coua
(Coua gigas)
Madagascan
Cuckoo (Cuculus rochii)
STRIGIFORMES
Owls
(Strigidae)
Torotoroka
Scops Owl (Otus madagascariensis)
Rainforest
Scops Owl (Otus rutilus)
White-browed
Hawk-owl (Ninox superciliaris)
Madagascan
Owl (Asio madagascariensis)
CAPRIMULGIFORMES
Nightjars
(Caprimulgidae)
Collared
Nightjar (Gactornis enarratus)
Madagascan
Nightjar [sp] (Caprimulgus madagascariensis)
Apodiformes
Swifts
(Apodidae)
Madagascan
Spinetail [sp] (Zoonavena grandidieri)
African Palm
Swift [sp] (Cypsiurus parvus)
Alpine Swift
[sp] (Tachymarptis melba)
Malagasy
Black Swift [sp] (Apus balstoni)
LEPTOSOMIFORMES
Cuckoo-roller
(Leptosomidae)
Cuckoo Roller
[sp] (Leptosomus discolor)
CORACIIFORMES
Rollers
(Coraciidae)
Broad-billed
Roller [sp] (Eurystomus glaucurus)
Ground-rollers
(Brachypteraciidae)
Short-legged
Ground Roller (Brachypteracias leptosomus)
Scaly Ground
Roller (Geobiastes squamiger)
Pitta-like
Ground Roller (Atelornis pittoides)
Long-tailed
Ground Roller (Uratelornis chimaera)
Kingfishers
(Alcedinidae)
Madagascan
Pygmy Kingfisher [sp] (Corythornis madagascariensis)
Malagasy
Kingfisher [sp] (Corythornis vintsioides)
Bee-eaters
(Meropidae)
Olive
Bee-eater [sp] (Merops superciliosus)
BUCEROTIFORMES
Hoopoes
(Upupidae)
Madagascan
Hoopoe (Upupa marginata)
FALCONIFORMES
Caracaras,
Falcons (Falconidae)
Malagasy
Kestrel [sp] (Falco newtoni)
Peregrine
Falcon [sp] (Falco peregrinus)
PSITTACIFORMES
Parrots and
Macaws (Psittacidae)
Grey-headed
Lovebird [sp] (Agapornis canus)
Greater Vasa
Parrot [sp] (Coracopsis vasa)
Lesser Vasa
Parrot [sp] (Coracopsis nigra)
Passeriformes
Broadbills
(Eurylaimidae)
Velvet Asity
(Philepitta castanea)
Schlegel's
Asity (Philepitta schlegeli)
Common
Sunbird-asity (Neodrepanis coruscans)
Vangas
(Vangidae)
Red-tailed
Vanga (Calicalicus madagascariensis)
Red-shouldered
Vanga (Calicalicus rufocarpalis)
Hook-billed
Vanga [sp] (Vanga curvirostris)
Lafresnaye's
Vanga (Xenopirostris xenopirostris)
Van Dam's
Vanga (Xenopirostris damii)
Pollen's
Vanga (Xenopirostris polleni)
Sickle-billed
Vanga (Falculea palliata)
White-headed
Vanga [sp] (Artamella viridis)
Chabert Vanga
[sp] (Leptopterus chabert)
Blue Vanga
[sp] (Cyanolanius madagascarinus)
Rufous Vanga
[sp] (Schetba rufa)
Tylas Vanga
[sp] (Tylas eduardi)
Nuthatch
Vanga (Hypositta corallirostris)
Dark Newtonia
(Newtonia amphichroa)
Common
Newtonia [sp] (Newtonia brunneicauda)
Archbold's
Newtonia (Newtonia archboldi)
Ward's
Flycatcher (Pseudobias wardi)
Crossley's
Vanga (Mystacornis crossleyi)
Cuckooshrikes
(Campephagidae)
Madagascan
Cuckooshrike [sp] (Coracina cinerea)
Drongos
(Dicruridae)
Crested
Drongo [sp] (Dicrurus forficatus)
Monarch
Flycatchers (Monarchidae)
Malagasy
Paradise Flycatcher [sp] (Terpsiphone mutata)
Crows and
Jays (Corvidae)
Pied Crow
(Corvus albus)
Larks
(Alaudidae)
Madagascan
Lark (Eremopterix hova)
Bulbuls
(Pycnonotidae)
Malagasy
Bulbul [sp] (Hypsipetes madagascariensis)
Swallows and
Martins (Hirundinidae)
Mascarene
Martin [sp] (Phedina borbonica)
Brown-throated
Martin [sp] (Riparia paludicola)
Reed
warblers and allies (Acrocephalidae)
Malagasy
Brush Warbler [sp] (Nesillas typica)
Subdesert
Brush Warbler (Nesillas lantzii)
Madagascan
Swamp Warbler (Acrocephalus newtoni)
Grassbirds
and allies (Locustellidae)
Brown Emutail
(Bradypterus brunneus)
Grey Emutail
(Amphilais seebohmi)
Malagasy
warblers (Bernieridae)
White-throated
Oxylabes (Oxylabes madagascariensis)
Long-billed
Bernieria [sp] (Bernieria madagascariensis)
Cryptic
Warbler (Cryptosylvicola randrianasoloi)
Wedge-tailed
Jery (Hartertula flavoviridis)
Thamnornis
(Thamnornis chloropetoides)
Spectacled
Tetraka [sp] (Xanthomixis zosterops)
Appert's
Tetraka (Xanthomixis apperti)
Grey-crowned
Tetraka (Xanthomixis cinereiceps)
Rand's
Warbler (Randia pseudozosterops)
Cisticolas
and Allies (Cisticolidae)
Common Jery
[sp] (Neomixis tenella)
Green Jery
[sp] (Neomixis viridis)
Stripe-throated
Jery [sp] (Neomixis striatigula)
Madagascan
Cisticola (Cisticola cherina)
White-eyes
(Zosteropidae)
Malagasy
White-eye [sp] (Zosterops maderaspatanus)
Starlings
(Sturnidae)
Common Myna
[sp] (Acridotheres tristis)
Madagascan
Starling (Hartlaubius auratus)
Chats and
Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae)
Madagascan
Magpie-robin [sp] (Copsychus albospecularis)
Forest Rock
Thrush [sp] (Monticola sharpei)
Madagascan
Stonechat [sp] (Saxicola sibilla)
Sunbirds
(Nectariniidae)
Souimanga
Sunbird [sp] (Cinnyris sovimanga)
Malagasy
Green Sunbird [sp] (Cinnyris notatus)
Weavers
(Ploceidae)
Nelicourvi
Weaver (Ploceus nelicourvi)
Sakalava
Weaver [sp] (Ploceus sakalava)
Red Fody
(Foudia madagascariensis)
Forest Fody
(Foudia omissa)
Waxbills,
Munias and Allies (Estrildidae)
Madagascan
Mannikin (Lemuresthes nana)
Pipits and
Wagtails (Motacillidae)
Madagascan
Wagtail (Motacilla flaviventris)
I agree with several of your comments, particularly the one about "common", and Madagascar Airlines. Your trip sounds very successful, and it's interesting to see and read about birds I saw or missed as ours wasn't a birding trip.
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