MADAGASCAR   -   OCT-NOV 2010   -   BIRDS PART 1

Madagascar Partridge Margaroperdix madagascarensis Hôtel Le Jardin du Roy, Isalo area, Ihorombe region, Madagascar. Female. (S6)

Harlequin Quail Coturnix delegorguei delegorguei Ambondromamy, Boeny region, Madagascar. Male. (S6)

Madagascar Grebe Tachybaptus pelzelnii Andasibe-Mantadia NP, Atsinanana region, Madagascar. (S6)

Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda rubricauda Nosy Ve, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagacar. (S6)

Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda rubricauda Nosy Ve, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagacar. (S6)

Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda rubricauda Nosy Ve, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagacar. A juvenile bird almost ready to take its first flight. (S6)

Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda rubricauda Nosy Ve, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagacar. A nestling. Nests are located under bushes to shade them from the blazing sun. (S6)

Humblot's Heron Ardea humbloti Lac Ravelobe, Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. This bulky heron is virtually endemic to western Madagasar (there are records of presumed vagrants from the Comoros).This is one of a few photos I disgiscoped with a Nikon P5100 camera, none of which turned out particularly well. A lot of that may have to do with the lack of a decent mount since the camera itself seems decent. I'll have to experiment with homemade mounts. (D6)

Little (Dimorphic) Egret Egretta garzetta dimorpha Nosy Ve, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagacar. This taxon is endemic to Madagascar and a few other nearby islands. The Clements list, as well as the IUCN,  treats it as a subspecies of Little Egret, but this is position is not universally followed as different ornithologists have come to a variety of conclusions. A discussion of it can be found here. (S6)

Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides Parc de Tsarasaotra, Antananarivo, Analamanga region, Madagascar. (D6)

Madagascar Pond-Heron Ardeola idae Parc de Tsarasaotra, Antananarivo, Analamanga region, Madagascar. Despite its name, this species is not endemic. It breeds only on Madagascar and Aldabra, but migrates to mainland Africa during the non-breeding season. This is an adult sitting on a nest. In non-breeding plumage, it becomes predominately brown. (D6)

Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax Parc de Tsarasaotra, Antananarivo, Analamanga region, Madagascar. A familiar species to most birders in the world! The ones on Madagascar are the same race as the rest of Africa and Eurasia. (S6)

Black Kite Milvus migrans parasitus Hôtel Le Jardin du Roy, Isalo area, Ihorombe region, Madagascar. Juvenile. (S6)

Madagascar Fish-Eagle Haliaeetus vociferoides Lac Ravelobe, Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. One of the most endangered raptors on the planet, with it's population estimated at around 120 breeding pairs. (D6)

Madagascar Harrier-Hawk Polyboroides radiatus Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. (S6)

Frances's Goshawk Accipiter francesii francesii Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. Female. (S6)

Madagascar Buzzard Buteo brachypterus Ranomafana NP, Vatovavy-Fitovinany Region, Madagascar. With a Crested Drongo Dicrurus forficatus in hot pursuit! (S6)

Madagascar Kestrel Falco newtoni Antsirabe, Vakinankaratra region, Madagascar. Female. The most common falcon in Madagascar, thriving even in towns and cities. It is not endemic, since it also occurs on Aldabra Island in the Seychelles. (S6)

Madagascar Kestrel Falco newtoni Hôtel Le Jardin du Roy, Isalo area, Ihorombe region, Madagascar. Male. (S6)

Madagascar Kestrel Falco newtoni Ifaty, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. Female. (S6)

Banded Kestrel Falco zoniventris Ifaty, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. A scarce endemic to Madagascar. Local guides extracted Hissing Cockroaches Gromphadorhina portentosa from dead branches and threw them onto the ground to attract the kestrel. It worked! (S6)

Subdesert Mesite Monias benschi Ifaty, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. Female. The mesites belong to a family, the Mesitornithidae, that is endemic to Madagascar. The Subdesert Mesite is restricted to a small 200 km long coastal strip of arid "spiny forest" in the Southwest. (S6)

Madagascar Plover Charadrius thoracicus Mogily, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. Madagascar's only endemic shorebird. (S6)

White-fronted Plover Charadrius marginatus tenellus Nosy Ve, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. (S6)

Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis bengalensis Betsiboka estuary, Boeny region, Madagascar. (S6)

Madagascar Sandgrouse Pterocles personatus Ankilibe, Toliara, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. (S6)