Rift Valley Lakes in Ethiopia

The Yellow Throated Seed Eater is known from a few isolated areas in acacia grass savanna in southern and southeastern Ethiopia. It is a species of questionable taxonomic status since it may be a hybrid between the Yellow Ramped Seed Eater (S. Atrogularis) and the White bellied Canary (S. Dorostritus). It has a grey back and is similar in size to the Yellow Ramped Seed Eater but has streaks on the back and a long tail like the White Bellied Canary.

The Yellow Fronted Parrot occurs in Ethiopia from approximately 600 to 3,350 meters (2,000 – 1 1,000 feet) in the western and southeastern highlands, the Rift Valley and the western lowlands in forests and woodlands varying from Saint John’s Wort and Hagenia to olive, Podocarpus and juniper to fig and acacia.

The White Tailed Swallow was first introduced to science in 1942 when C. W. Bensoii reported it in southern Ethiopia from Yabello to Mega in short grass savanna with small acacia thorn bush. This endemic, related to the Pied Winged Swallow (Hirundo Leucosoma) of western Africa and the Pearl Breasted Swallow (H. Diniidiata) of southern Africa, is common but restricted to an area of about 4850 square kilometers (3000 square miles) between 1200 and 1350 meters (4000 – 4500 feet).

The White Winged Cliff Chat is a bird which is locally frequent too common in the highlands of most of Ethiopia where it lives in gorges, on cliffs, on scrubby mountain sides and in open country among rocks and grasslands; it is uncommon in the north. The Chat occurs usually above 2000 meters (6500 feet) and rarely below 1500 meters (5000 feet). Its preferred habitat in the country varies.

The White Collared Pigeon unmistakable with its uniform grayish color, white collar patch and, in flight, white on the wings is the dominant pigeon on the plateau above 2,400 meters (8,000 feet).

The White Billed Starling is frequent to locally abundant in the western and southeastern highlands, being most common in the north. Widely distributed in the country, it usually lives in association with cliffs and gorges near waterfalls.

The White Backed Black Tit, wholly black with a whitish mantle, is found in woodlands, thickets and forests in the western and southeastern highlands from 1800 – 3500 meters (6000 – 11,500 feet). It is locally frequent to occasionally common except in Eritrea, where it is uncommon.

Because of its loud, raucous “haa – haa – haa – haa” call, the Wattled Ibis is easily recognized even from some distance away. A flock of these Ibises rising or flying overhead becomes especially noisy and obvious. In flight a white patch shows on the upper surface of the ibis’ wing, and at close range it’s tolerate wattle is visible.

The Thick Billed Raven, closely related to the White Necked Raven (Corvus Albicollis) of East and South Africa, is a bird which is common to abundant from about 1200 to at least 4100 meters (4000 – 13,500 feet). It visits many habitats including alpine screes, cliffs and gorges, giant lobelia, Chemilla, tussock grass, giant heath moorlands, highland grasslands, giant lieath, Saint John’s wort, bamboo, juniper, Podocarpus, olive and lowland subtropical humid forests. It is especially abundant at higher elevations where it is obvious and sometimes bold around camps, villages and cities including Addis Ababa.

Stresemann’s Bush Crow reported to science for the first time in 1938 is a frequent to common bird in a restricted area of about 2400 square kilometers (1500 sq. miles) around Yabello, Mega and Arero in southern Ethiopia.

The Spot Breasted Plover is an endemic usually found above 3050 meters (10,000 feet) in marshy grasslands and moorlands with giant health, giant lobelia, Alchemilla and tussock grass in both the western and southeastern highlands.

The Ruppell’s Chat is one of the poorest known of all Ethiopian endemics and uncommon to locally frequent in the western highlands of Shoa, Gojjam, Gonder, Wollo, Tigray and Eritrea regions. It has not been recorded in the southeastern highlands or in the southern portion of the western highlands.

The Rouget’s Rail is common on the western and southeastern highlands, but its presence is not as obvious as that of some other endemics. Once one is able to recognize the bird’s calls, one well appreciates how common this rail is.

Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco is known in the literature from two areas in southern Ethiopia in juniper forests with dense evergreen undergrowth: one is at Arero and the other 80 kilometers north of Negele: both localities are 1800 meters (6000 feet) in elevation.

Harwood’s Francolin has been reported from only three localities along about 160 kilometers of valleys and gorges within the upper Blue Nile system extending to the east and north of the Addis Ababa – Debre Marcos – Dejen Bridge; this francolin is a very poorly known Ethiopian endemic.

The Golden Backed Woodpecker is a very uncommon, not often seen endemic of the Ethiopian highlands from about 1,500 – 2,400 meters although it has been seen up to approximately 3,200 meters (10,500 feet). It lives in western and southeastern highlands in forests, woodlands and savannas and seems to be more uncommon in the northern than in the southern parts of the country.

The Black Winged Lovebird is the common, small green parrot of the Ethiopian plateau. It is widely distributed from about 1,500 – 3,200meter in the western and southeastern highlands and in the Rift Valley in forests and woodlands of Hagenia, juniper, Podocarpus, olive, acacia, candelabra euphorbia, combretum and fig.

The Abyssinian Catbird is one of the finest, if not the finest singer of all the birds of Africa, is frequent too common in the western and southern highlands between 1800 and 3500 meters (600 – 11,500 feet) in giant heath, Saint John’s wort, highland bamboo, juniper, Podocarpus and olive forests.

The Abyssinian Long Claw is very similar in both appearance and behavior to the Yellow Throated Long Claw (MacronyxCroceus) of other parts of Africa. They are common grassland bird of the western and southeastern highlands except in the extreme north where it does not occur.

The little known Banded Barbet is very widely distributed throughout Ethiopia between 300 and 2400 meters (1000 – 8000 feet). Although the numbers and abundance of this species have not been determined, it seems to vary from being uncommon in the northwest and cast to locally common elsewhere in the country, living singly or in pairs in trees near water.

The distribution, numbers, time of nesting and life history of the Black Headed Forest Oriole are not clearly understood because of the difficulty of distinguishing it from the Black Headed Oriole. The two are separable by the color of parts of wings feathers, features that are not easy to see in the field.

The Black Headed Siskin is common to locally abundant in tile western and southeastern highlands from 1800 – 4100 meters (6000 – 13,500 feet). Almost always in flocks, this little-known finch inhabits moorlands with giant lobelia, Alchemilla, tussock grass and giant heath, highland grasslands and the open areas of montane forests, especially St. John’s wort and Hagenia.

The Blue Winged Goose inhabits plateau marshes, streams and damp grasslands from about 1800 meters (6000 feet) upward. Pairs or small parties of three to five of these geese are common and easily seen at high elevations in small stream valleys and in pools and marshes in the moorlands where giant lobelia, Alchemilla and tussock grass predominate and where they nest in March, April, June and September.