Avifauna od the Omo National Park, Ethiopia, in the Dry Season

Abstract

The avifauna of lowland Ethiopia consisting of grassland and bushland was investigated during the dry season from November 1981 to February 1982 in Omo National Park. One hundred and thirty-eight species of 48 families were observed in the whole area of the Park. One hundred and seven of these species were observed in the bushland around a small river and 45 species in the grassland and a small swamp. In the bushland area, dominant species were Turtur chalcospilos, Lamprotornis purpuropterus, Pycnonotus barbatus, Streptoperia decipiens, S. capicola, Tockus jacksoni, Corythaixoides leucogaster, Dicrurus adsimilis, and Francolinus sephaena. In the vicinity of the river, Burhinus senegalensis, Butorides striatus, Megaceryle maxima and Ceryle rudis were commonly found. In the grassland area, Struthio camelus, Ardeotis kori, some species of Bustards, Oenanthe sp. and Cisticola sp. were commonly found. At the swamp in the grassland, Hoplopterus spinosus and Himantopus himantopus dominated. Comparing the savanna bushland with the grassland, the number of species and the density of birds in the former were three to five times and about thirty times respectively as many as those in the latter. In the savanna bushland, frugivores (19.5% of total number of species) accounted for 43.4% of total observed individuals and graminivores were next. In the grassland, number and density of species of insectivores were considerably higher than species with other food habits.