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Red-necked Falcon Falco chicquera in Angola

Authors:
Michael Stuart Lyne Mills
Michael Stuart Lyne Mills
Michael Stuart Lyne Mills
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Bruce Bennet
Bruce Bennet
Bruce Bennet
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Ninda L. Baptista at CIBIO Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources; ISCED Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação da Huíla
Ninda L. Baptista
  • CIBIO Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources; ISCED Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação da Huíla
Pedro Vaz Pinto
Pedro Vaz Pinto
Pedro Vaz Pinto
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Abstract and Figures

Falcão-de-nuca-vermelha Falco chicquera em Angola. O falcão-de-nuca-vermelha Falco chicquera ocorre em todo o norte da Namíbia até à fronteira com Angola, mas até agora não havia registros confirmados para Angola. Apresentamos os primeiros avistamentos, registros de nidificação e fotografias da espécie no Parque Nacional do Iona, no sudoeste do país, imediatamente a norte da fronteira com a Namíbia. Esta espécie pode agora ser incondicionalmente aceite na lista de aves de Angola.
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Red-necked Falcon in Angola: Mills et al
Bull ABC Vol 23 No 1 (2016) – 89
Red-necked Falcon Falco chicquera has not
been recorded with certainty from Angola
(Traylor 1963, Pinto 1983, Dean 2000, Mills &
Melo 2013), contra BirdLife International (2015),
which maps the species as occurring almost
throughout the country. The only report for
Angola is from Bom Jesus on the Kwanza River
near Luanda (09°09’52”S 13°33’54”E; Érard &
Etchécopar 1970), more than 850 km distant
from any confirmed records; it was mapped by
Brown et al. (1982) as the only record for Angola,
but was considered to require confirmation by
Dean (2000). However, given that the species’
range extends right up to the Angolan border
throughout northern Namibia (Jenkins 2005),
Red-necked Falcon was predicted to occur in palm
savannas and floodplains in the far south-east
(Dean 2000) and extreme south of the country
(Mills & Melo 2013).
While stationed at Espinheira (16°47’10”S
12°21’30”E) in Iona National Park, in far south-
west Angola, BB first noticed the presence of
Red-necked Falcon in the surrounding arid
savanna/semi-desert (Fig. 1) in October 2013. BB
was unaware of the significance of his observations,
and did not report them, but he has since recorded
Red-necked Falcons at least 30 times in the park,
strongly suggesting that the species is resident in
the area and not just a vagrant. In addition, he
observed birds nesting during 2013 and 2014 in
the same Acacia erioloba (a genus of tree frequently
used for nesting; Jenkins 2005), 12 km south-west
of Espinheira at 16°49’10”S 12°15’27”E, and <50
km north of the Namibian border.
In May 2015 PVP & NB visited Iona National
Park and photographed a Red-necked Falcon. It
was distinguished from all other falcons by its
extensive chestnut crown and nape, well-barred
grey back, heavily barred flanks, belly and vent, and
plain, pale breast (Figs. 2–4). Based on range and
habitat, the subspecies here is horsbrughi, although
this taxon is indistinguishable by plumage from
ruficollis, which is reported to differ only by being
slightly smaller (Brown et al. 1982, Jenkins 2005).
We present these photographs as evidence for the
occurrence of Red-necked Falcon in Angola.
Red-necked Falcon Falco chicquera in Angola
Michael S. L. Mills
a,b
, Bruce Bennett
c
, Ninda Baptista
d
and Pedro Vaz Pinto
d,e
Falcão-de-nuca-vermelha Falco chicquera em Angola. O falcão-de-nuca-vermelha Falco chicquera ocorre
em todo o norte da Namíbia até à fronteira com Angola, mas até agora não havia registros confirmados
para Angola. Apresentamos os primeiros avistamentos, registros de nidificação e fotografias da espécie no
Parque Nacional do Iona, no sudoeste do país, imediatamente a norte da fronteira com a Namíbia. Esta
espécie pode agora ser incondicionalmente aceite na lista de aves de Angola.
Figure 1. Typical semi-desert/
arid savanna landscape of
Iona National Park, Namibe
Province, Angola, May 2015
(Pedro Vaz Pinto)
Figura 1. Típica paisagem
semi-desértica/savana árida
no Parque Nacional do Iona,
Província do Namibe, Angola,
maio de 2015 (Pedro Vaz
Pinto)
Red-necked Falcon in Angola: Mills et al
90 – Bull ABC Vol 23 No 1 (2016)
Acknowledgements
PVP & NB thank Abias Huongo, Director of the
INBAC (Instituto Nacional da Biodiversidade e Áreas
de Conservação), and Célsia Africano and Gercelina
André, MINAMB technicians, for accompanying them
on the field trip to Iona. Richard Dean commented on
the submitted version of this note.
References
BirdLife International. 2015. Species factsheet: Falco
ruficollis. www.birdlife.org (accessed 16 May 2015).
Brown, L. H, Urban, E. K. & Newman, K. 1982. The
Birds of Africa. Vol. 1. London, UK: Academic
Press.
Dean, W. R. J. 2000. The Birds of Angola: An Annotated
Checklist. BOU Checklist No. 18. Tring: British
Ornithologists’ Union.
del Hoyo, J & Collar, N. J. 2014. HBW and BirdLife
International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of
the World. Vol. 1. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions &
Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International.
Érard, C. & Etchécopar, R. D. 1970. Some notes on
the birds of Angola. Bull. Br. Ornithol. Cl. 90:
158–161.
Jenkins, A. R. 2005. Red-necked Falcon Falco chicquera.
In Hockey, P. A. R., Dean, W. R. J. & Ryan, P.
G. (eds.) Roberts—Birds of Southern Africa. Seventh
edn. Cape Town: Trustees of the John Voelcker
Bird Book Fund.
Mills, M. & Melo, M. 2013. The Checklist of the Birds
of Angola. Luanda: Associação Angolana para Aves e
Natureza (AvesAngola) and Birds Angola.
Pinto, A. A. da Rosa. 1983. Ornitologia de Angola.
Vol. 1. Lisbon: Instituto de Investigação Científica
Tropical.
Traylor, M. A. 1963. Check-list of Angolan birds. Publ.
Cult. Comp. Diamantes de Angola 61: 1–250.
a
A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute,
University of Jos, PO Box 13404, Jos, Plateau State,
Nigeria. E-mail: michael@birdingafrica.com
b
DST / NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick
Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape
Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa.
c
Espinheira, Iona National Park, Namibe, Angola.
d
ISCED (Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação da
Huíla), Rua Sarmento Rodrigues, Lubango, Angola.
e
Kissama Foundation, Rua Joaquim Capango n°49, 1°D,
Luanda, Angola.
Received 2 June 2015; revision accepted 14 October
2015.
Figures 2–4. Red-necked Falcon Falco chicquera, Iona
National Park, Namibe Province, Angola, 5 May 2015
(Pedro Vaz Pinto)
Figuras 2–4. Falcão-de-nuca-vermelha Falco chicquera,
no Parque Nacional da Iona, província do Namibe,
Angola, 5 de maio de 2015 (Pedro Vaz Pinto)
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  • Jan 1982
  • L H Brown
  • E K Urban
  • K Newman
Brown, L. H, Urban, E. K. & Newman, K. 1982. The Birds of Africa. Vol. 1. London, UK: Academic Press.
The Birds of Angola: An Annotated Checklist. BOU Checklist No
  • Jan 2000
  • W R J Dean
Dean, W. R. J. 2000. The Birds of Angola: An Annotated Checklist. BOU Checklist No. 18. Tring: British Ornithologists' Union.
  • Jan 2014
  • Del Hoyo
  • N J Collar
del Hoyo, J & Collar, N. J. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions & Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International.
Some notes on the birds of Angola
  • Jan 1970
  • 158-161
  • C Érard
  • R D Etchécopar
Érard, C. & Etchécopar, R. D. 1970. Some notes on the birds of Angola. Bull. Br. Ornithol. Cl. 90: 158-161.
Red-necked Falcon Falco chicquera
  • Jan 2005
  • A R Jenkins
Jenkins, A. R. 2005. Red-necked Falcon Falco chicquera. In Hockey, P. A. R., Dean, W. R. J. & Ryan, P. G. (eds.) Roberts-Birds of Southern Africa. Seventh edn. Cape Town: Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund.
  • Jan 1983
  • A A Pinto
  • Da Rosa
Pinto, A. A. da Rosa. 1983. Ornitologia de Angola. Vol. 1. Lisbon: Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical.
Check-list of Angolan birds
  • Jan 1963
  • 1-250
  • M A Traylor
Traylor, M. A. 1963. Check-list of Angolan birds. Publ. Cult. Comp. Diamantes de Angola 61: 1-250.