Weaver news

PAPER: Bird report of Gobir in Niger

2013-02-11 (329)


Manvell A. 2010. A contribution to the ornithology of northern Gobir (Central Niger). online.

White-billed Buffalo-Weaver

This publication is an online report on the birds of northern Gobir in Niger. It is based on three sources:
the author's observations over 205 days (not necessarily successive, mainly in 2001-02), mostly in the territory of the two conjoined villages of Bagarinnaye and Maïjémo,
the observations of Mai Daji a farmer and hunter,
and a literature review.

The report is an annotated species list which records the phenology and breeding status of the species encountered. Introductory sections provide a local history, landscape, climate, vegetation and avian habitats. The species texts include a table which notes the months in which they occur in the region (according to Mai Daji) and a summary of the number of days per month they were observed by the author: the table has been shaded to indicate the bird observation days in relation to the actual number of bird recording days (see page 23 of the report). Interesting notes are given for each species.

Weaver species included White-billed Buffalo-Weaver, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Vitelline Masked Weaver, Village Weaver, Red-billed Quelea, Yellow-crowned Bishop, and Northern Red Bishop. In this report the Vitelline Masked Weaver has been lumped with Southern Masked Weaver and is called the African Masked Weaver. The Little Weaver is listed as a potential species.

The species texts are followed by a species summary (Appendix A), a list of historical species (Appendix B) and potential species for northern Gobir (Appendix C).

map

Map (above): Red-billed Quelea roosting and breeding sites in West Africa - the red circle indicates the location of Gobir.

See author's web page here.


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