Additions to the Ethiopian bird atlas: 126 new records from 14 atlas squares

Abstract

The bird atlas for Ethiopia provides an unsurpassed overview of the country’s avian diversity and species distribution. However, many atlas squares have not been regularly visited by ornithologists, and there are numerous knowledge gaps. I provide 126 major and minor range extensions for 118 species across 14 atlas squares. A total of 15 species were also recorded outside their known altitudinal range in Ethiopia. All records are from 2007–2014. Records from big game hunting areas Demmero and Odo Bulu (square 99a) and Sala (107a) constitute the bulk of the report. There are also new species from sites frequently visited by travellers, such as Awasa (83c), Gonder (29a) and Axum (16d). Prominent gap-fillers include Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus, Bronze-winged Courser Rhinoptilus chalcopterus, Red-pate Cisticola Cisticola ruficeps, Shelley’s Starling Lamprotornis shelleyi and Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti.