Michael S L Mills’s research while affiliated with University of Jos and other places

** Available here: https://rdcu.be/c73lO ** Afromontane forests – a unique ecosystem of cool, moist temperate forest currently mostly restricted to high elevations – are a relic of glacial periods, when they were widespread in Africa. In south-western Africa, only ~700ha remain, all located in Angola. The Namba mountain range, in the highlands of western Angola, contains the majority (c. 85%) of the region’s Afromontane forest patches. These represent a unique opportunity for conserving what is one of the most threatened habitats of Africa. At the same time, an increase in human pressure is creating a serious threat to these fragile habitats. The degradation of the forest, through use of timber, combined with the increased frequency of grassland fires has led fires breaking through the natural fire-proof defences of these forests. Although these forests have shown a remarkable ability to keep fire at bay, they have no adaptations to regenerate under regular fire regimes. There is still time to conserve this crucial piece of the Afromontane forest archipelago, and we propose the priority lines for action.

Indicador-pequeno de Willcocks Indicator willcocksi em Angola. Apresentamos descrições e fotografias do primeiro registo para Angola de indicador-pequeno de Willcocks Indicator willcocksi. A observação vem da área de Quitexe, província do Uíge, no noroeste do país, em floresta de escarpa do norte. Dado que várias novas aves para Angola foram descobertas nesta região nos últimos dez anos, não surpreende que outra espécie da floresta da Bacia do Congo seja encontrada aqui. Registos anteriores baseados em vocalizações que o primeiro autor atribuiu ao indicador-pequeno-pálido I. meliphilus, em localidades distribuídas pela escarpa norte (entre 07°40'S e 09°06'S) também serão provavelmente de indicadores-pequenos de Willcocks; o indicador-pequeno-pálido é conhecido apenas das matas de miombo em Angola e as diferenças subtis detectadas nas vocalizações gravadas no terreno também apoiam esta identificação.

The Malagasy forms gracilis (Madagascar) and griveaudi (Comoro Islands) of African Palm Swift Cypsiurus parvus have very different vocalisations (short insect-like single buzzy notes and occasional drawn-out rising buzzes) from mainland African taxa (twiters and staccato notes, the former sometimes in longer series). They also have heavier dark markings on the throat and upper breast, paler bellies and distinctly shorter tail extensions. These characters in combination are here considered to demarcate the Malagasy forms as a species, Madagascar Palm Swift C. gracilis, separate from both the remaining taxa of C. parvus and Asian Palm Swift C. balasiensis.

Angola has a rich history of ornithological exploration going back to the early 1800s. From the early-1970s to 2002, however, the civil war prevented access to many areas, and very little work on birds was done. From about the early 2000s information on birds in Angola has been gathered at an increasing rate, with new species being added to the list and a steady rise in publications on biogeography and biology of birds. With about 940 species, Angola has an impressive array of bird species, including c. 29 endemic species, and several species that are rare and poorly known. For the future, there are many areas of avian biology to attract studies, not only to gather more data on the rare and endemic species, but also local surveys of bird communities, the identification of major threats to the avifauna from landuse changes (concomitantly with suggestions for remedial action) and more. Understanding the role of birds in ecosystem processes, long term studies on the biology and breeding of individual species, and inferring the evolutionary history of the endemic species and of those species that occur in small isolated populations in Angola are all areas for future research. The future of ornithological research and conservation in Angola is dependent on it being carried out by Angolans – outreach, capacity building, and advanced training must all come together in order to find and train the motivated ornithologists that such a biodiversity-rich country deserves.

The depletion of forests in conservation hotspots is a poorly known societal concern of the post‐conflict society of Angola. Rapid economic and population growth, fragile environmental regulation, enforcement, and planning threat these invaluable forests and their biodiversity. By mitigating climate change through a sustainable management of forests, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) could also favour the preservation of biodiversity. This study addresses the depletion of forests in Angolan conservation ‘hotspots’ under a REDD+ perspective. In the escarpment forest, a centre of endemism, activity data, and emission factors were assessed between 2001 and 2014. Next, spatial factors associated with deforestation were identified using generalized linear modelling, and it was provided a view on how REDD+ may support sustainable forest management in conservation hotspots. Activity data based on an error‐corrected estimate indicated a deforested area of 4856.3 ± 653.1 ha between 2001 and 2014. Field mean above‐ground carbon content amounted to 89.4 ± 126.4 tCha‐1. Among the most relevant factors associated with deforestation were elevation, density of bare land, north–south exposure (aspect), and distance to trails. All negatively related to deforestation. Overall, the threatened escarpment forest conservation hotspot seems to have significant potential for reducing carbon emissions and beneficiate from REDD+. Yet the considerable uncertainty in our estimates limited the discussions in the magnitude of forest depletion and carbon emissions. In view of performance‐based payments for development, additional field surveying is necessary to boost the accuracies presented by new forest monitoring tools that can reduce technical difficulties and sustain the eligibility of Angola for international REDD+ funding sources.

Angola White-headed Barbet Lybius [leucocephalus] leucogaster is endemic to Angola and regarded by BirdLife International as a species. It is known from a relatively small area above and below the escarpment in southwestern Angola. Despite several recent searches to find this, the last distinctive endemic Angolan bird taxon awaiting rediscovery, the most recent records are from 1971. In November 2017 the species was rediscovered at Tundavala, at the top of the escarpment near Lubango. The observation is detailed here with further field notes. Barbaças-de-barriga-branca Lybius [leucocephalus] leucogaster redescoberta: O barbaças-de-barriga-branca Lybius [leucocephalus] leucogaster é endémica de Angola, e é considerada como uma espécie pela BirdLife International. A espécie é conhecida de uma área relativamente pequena acima e abaixo da escarpa no sudoeste de Angola. Apesar de várias tentativas de encontrar esta ave, o único táxon de ave característico de Angola que ainda não tinha sido redescoberto neste século, os registos mais recentes datam de 1971. Em novembro de 2017 a espécie foi redescoberta na Tundavala, no topo da escarpa, nas proximidades do Lubango. A observação é descrita aqui com notas adicionais.

The Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical of the University of Lisbon, which resulted from the recent merger (in 2015) of the former state laboratory Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical in the University of Lisbon, holds an important collection of bird skins from the Portuguese-speaking African Countries (Angola, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde), gathered as a result of several scientific expeditions made during the colonial period. In this paper, the subset from Mozambique is described, which was taxonomically revised and georeferenced. It contains 1585 specimens belonging to 412 taxa, collected between 1932 and 1971, but mainly in 1948 (43% of specimens) and 1955 (30% of specimens). The collection covers all eleven provinces of the country, although areas south of the Zambezi River are better represented than those north of the river. The provinces with the highest number of specimens were Maputo, Sofala, and Gaza. Although it is a relatively small collection with a patchy coverage, it adds significantly to Global Biodiversity Information Facility, with 15% of all records available before and during the collecting period (1830–1971) being the second largest dataset for that period for Mozambique.

Tropical deforestation contributed significantly to human induced CO2 emissions[1]and thus, curbing deforestation is crucial for reducing carbon emissions.The important role of forests to mitigate climate change was recognised globally under several emissions reduction programmes (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation REDD+), particularly in large remaining forest areas with high deforestation rates. Consequently, small areas that provide refuges for endemic biodiversity of global conservation significance are easily overlooked. Although such regions hold a small proportion of the world’s terrestrial carbon stocks, they can make an important contribution to emission reductions, as they often hold carbon-rich forests[2].

Natural habitats are being rapidly lost due to human activities. It is therefore vital to understand how these activities influence biodiversity so that suitable guidelines can be established for conservation. This is particularly important in understudied, high biodiversity, areas such as the Angolan Escarpment. Here we examine which habitat characteristics drive bird diversity and endemic species presence at Kumbira Forest, a key site in the Central Escarpment Forest. Bird diversity was sampled by 10 min bird point counts, whereas habitat characteristics were measured by a combination of ground-based vegetation surveys and remotely sensed data modelling of Landsat images. GLM, multi-model inference and model averaging were used to determine the most important variables driving species richness and the presence of endemics. The remote sensing variables performed poorly in predicting presence of Red-crested Turaco Tauraco erythrolophus and Gabela Bushshrike Laniarius amboimensis but they contributed significantly to explain species richness and Gabela Akalat Sheppardia gabela presence, both of which were associated with greater canopy cover. Liana density and elevation were also important explanatory variables in certain cases. Conservation actions at Kumbira should focus on increasing canopy cover and maintaining forest integrity (as measured by liana density), as these actions are likely to have the most positive outcomes for the avifauna.