African Wildlife & Environment Issue 83

BIRDING

An African Pitta nest with some eggs in

Distribution and habitat The African Pitta Pitta angolensis is a migratory species to southeastern Africa and the Congo Basin. Its breeding habitat in southeastern Africa is deciduous lowland riparian forest or thicket with intermittent dense understory and small sub-canopy glades. On migration however, they may sojourn at any areas of bush or woodland. Fallen dead trees and open branches are favoured perches when performing their peculiar bouncing display. They are more numerous in undisturbed vegetation, and the opening of the riparian woodland by elephants may reduce their habitat. The subspecies P. a. longipennis spends the austral winter in the western Ugandan forests as far north as Budongo, and coastal Kenya as

far north as the Gedi ruins. A bird found at Minziro Forest in northwestern Tanzania was in heavy moult, suggesting that the area is on the southeastern fringe of the non-breeding range. They arrive in southern Africa from late October, though mainly in November and early December. They seldom breed north of the Rukwa Valley and Rufiji River in Tanzania, and no further south than central Mozambique. They depart again in February, though occasionally as late as April. Ringing studies in the Pugu hills and Mufindi have confirmed the timing of northwestward migration. Exhausted and perished birds are regularly found during migration, especially November to December and April to June. Southward migrating birds sometimes overshoot when they follow moist tropical fronts

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