Archer's Lark rediscovered (1 Viewer)

[Melanie]

In 2011, David Hoddinott must be the luckiest man in the world. He managed it to travel to Somaliland in the north of war-torn Somalia and made the first ever photographs of the Archer's Lark.

http://www.birdwatching.co.uk/news/News-Archive/Is-lark-rediscovered-extinct-bird
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/Heteromirafra-larks.html#cr
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-013-0948-1

 

[James Lowther]

In 2011, David Hoddinott must be the luckiest man in the world. He managed it to travel to Somaliland in the north of war-torn Somalia and made the first ever photographs of the Archer's Lark.

http://www.birdwatching.co.uk/news/News-Archive/Is-lark-rediscovered-extinct-bird
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/Heteromirafra-larks.html#cr
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-013-0948-1

hi melanie,
thanks for posting this, it's a bit confusing though as
1) i think there's an incorrect date in one of the online articles,
2) i don't think they've seen these larks in Somaliland although they've looked (but i can't be sure without access to the full paper). regardless, the photos are definitely from ethiopia though.
3) i think they are implying archer's and liben larks are the same taxon (or are they distinct subspp?)

timeline seems to be
sept 2011, larks discovered and photographed in NE Ethiopia
may 2012, discovery site in NE EThiopia and type locality in Somaliland surveyed, larks seen at former but not latter
july 2013, paper published (i'm quite sure of that one!!)

can anyone confirm or refute the above?
cheers,
James

 

[Melanie]

Well, i have this paper. The photos were made in Jijiga in the border region between Ethiopia and Somaliland.

 

[GMK]

As pointed out by Nigel Redman in Brit. Birds 106(6): 304, credit for discovery of the Jijiga population should lie with Hadoram Shirihai, although Nigel omitted to mention that the late Andreas Helbig was with Hadoram in 2004 when they observed the larks on the border between Somaliland and Ethiopia.

 

[Melanie]

I've only seen Hoddinott's photos. Are there also some by Hadoram Shirihai?