Systemmatic list - part 9: Owls, Nightjars, Swifts and Mousebirds
Barn Owl Tyto alba [3]
2 Lengwe 20th and 1 Liwonde 26th. One of the birds at Lengwe was seen leaving a barn and the bird at Liwonde was occupying a former Hamerkop nest.
Barn Owls in Malawi belong to the race poensis.
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Barn Owl, Liwonde, 26th May 2011 - occupying an old Hamerkop nest
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African Scops Owl Otus senegalensis [-]
A call heard at Nyala Lodge, Lengwe on 20th may have been this species but apparently some fruit bats sound rather similar!
Pearl-spotted Owlet Glaucidium perlatum [1]
1 near Cape Maclear 18th. A vocal bird, though initially my attention to it was drawn by other birds that were mobbing it.
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Pearl-spotted Owlet, near Cape Maclear, 18th May 2011
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Fiery-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus pectoralis [-]
At Lengwe on 20th we were returning to the camp along a poor track which fizzled out. In our attempt to find where it went we temporarily lost the track we'd come along and it started to look like we were going to spend the night in the bush with the Buffalo. This prospect didn't amuse Vitty and she seemed to think that my giving attention to 2 Nightjars flying around in the headlights was not appropriate, so I was unable to secure their identification. Apparently the most likely species there is Fiery-necked, though my source of that information proved unreliable in other respects!
Square-tailed Nightjar (Mozambique Nightjar, Gabon Nightjar) Caprimulgus pectoralis [1]
1 Liwonde 25th.
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Square-tailed Nightjar, Liwonde, 25th May 2011
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Little Swift Apus affinis [18]
6 Zomba 15th and 12 Blantyre Airport 28th. In addition 3 poorly-seen Swifts with white rumps at Lengwe at dusk on 20th were either this species or Mottled Spinetails Telacanthura ussheri.
Little Swifts in Malawi belong to the blacker race aerobates.
African Palm Swift Cypsiurus parvus [75+]
The commonest swift in most places:
6 seen early in the trip but I forgot to record when and where, 10 between Mangochi and Malosa and 3 between Malosa and Blantyre 19th, 20 Lengwe 20th-21st, 5 Lilongwe 22nd and up to 30 Liwonde 25th-27th.
Speckled Mousebird Colius striatus [13]
2 Lengwe 20th and 21st and 9 Dzalanyama 22nd-23rd.
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Speckled Mousebird, Lengwe, 20th May 2011
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Red-faced Mousebird Urocolius idnicus [c60]
Several flocks at Lengwe on 20th and 21st may have totalled 50 birds or more; also up to 6 Liwonde 25th and 27th.
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Red-faced Mousebirds, Lengwe, 20th May 2011
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Or here to return to the start of the sytemmatic list
