Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Only twenty years ago it was an out-of-bounds, desperately impoverished and war-torn ex-Marxist state. Tourism infrastructure didn’t exist then and development has been slow. Tours groups that I guided to Ethiopia ten years ago had to endure very basic accommodation, almost no surfaced roads and low levels of service. Not much was known about Ethiopia’s birds and there was no decent fieldguide. This has all changed as birders and other travelers have discovered this unique jewel.

This is a list of the bird species recorded in Ethiopia. The avifauna of Ethiopia includes a total of 924 species, of which 23 are endemic and 3 are rare or accidental

1. BLACK-WINGED LOVEBIRD(Agapornis taranta)

The Black-winged Lovebird is the common, small green parrot of the Ethiopian plateau. It is widely distributed from about 1,500-3,200m. (5,000-10,500 feet) 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. It commonly visits gardens, especially with seeding trees in Addis Ababa. The lovebird flies in noisy flocks which number usually five to ten individuals although as many as 50 to 80 individuals may be present. It flies swiftly and makes sharp turns at high speeds; it moves its wings in quick, short flaps, the black under the wings being obvious then. Both sexes have a large bright red bill; the male has a red forehead, the female and immature do not.

Although the behavior of captive Black-winged Lovebirds has been documented in detail, no study of this species has been done under natural conditions. In captivity the lovebird is a sociable creature: a pair regularly stands as close together as possible. The two birds at times bounce their heads and necks up and down and move around in small circles: they may do this several times before they stop and press their bodies together again. The lovebird walks; it does not hop. Under natural conditions it has been observed to feed on juniper berries, figs and seeds. At night the birds sleep in holes in trees. It has a shrill twittering call and, in flight, a sharp whistle.

Amazingly, only one record of the nest and eggs of the lovebird has been documented: around 1900 one egg was obtained in April from a hole in a tree; the size and color of the eggs, details of the nest and the kind of tree were not recorded. Recent observations on pairing behavior and activities associated with nesting indicate that this species is a solitary nester, doing so probably from March through November.

2. GOLDEN-BACKED WOODPECKER (Dendropicos abyssinicus)

The Golden-backed Woodpecker, is a very uncommon, not often seen endemic of the Ethiopian highlands from about 1,500 to 2,400 meters (5,000-8,000 feet), 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. It has been reported to haunt especially candelabra euphorbias, junipers and figs. The male Golden-backed Woodpecker has a green unbarred back and bright red crown, nape, rump and upper tall coverts. The crown and nape of the female are ash brown, not bright red.

The woodpecker has been reported to breed from February-May and possibly in December. No information, however, is available on its nest, nesting habits, numbers or food. Very little is known about this species.

3.WHITE-COLLARED PIGEON (Columba albitorques)

The White-collared Pigeon - unmistakable with its uniform greyish 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). It mainly inhabits rugged areas of the western and southeastern highlands, especially cliffs and escarpments, but it is also a common feature of many plateau villages and towns where it lives in association with churches and other large buildings. It also frequents bridges on the highways and roads of the plateau.

A regular occurrence on the plateau in the morning is the movement of White-collared Pigeons from their roosting sites on the cliffs to grain fields where they feed; occasionally a flock of several hundred individuals may visit these fields. In the Bale Mountains the pigeons roost at the higher elevations of up to 3,800 (12,500 feet) in flocks and in meters the morning fly to lower elevations to feed. In the Semien Mountains they roost usually on the lower levels of the cliffs at about 2100 meters (7,000 feet) and every morning slowly spiral up to the tops of the cliffs at 3,200-4,400 meters (10,500-14,500 feet) before moving inland to feed. In late afternoon they either remain inland and roost in trees, or they return to the cliffs where they hurtle themselves over the edge and, passing within a few meters of the cliff-face, fly at very high speeds to their roosting sites hundreds of feet below.

This pigeon nests most months of the year (January-June and August-November) on ledges of cliffs, bridges and houses. Its nest is like most pigeons' nests, made largely of grass stalks and small sticks. It lays two creamy white and glossy eggs. The male and female, who may be at the nest at the same time, are alike in appearance. Despite this pigeon's abundance and its occurrence in large areas of the plateau, including cities like Addis Ababa little else is known about its life history.

4. YELLOW-FRONTED PARROT (Poicephalus flavifrons)

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 St. John's wort and hagenia to olive, podocarpus and juniper to fig and acacia. It is an uncommon but regular visitor on the Armed Force Hospital grounds near the old airport in Addis Ababa. One's attention is usually first attracted to the presence of this species by its loud squeaky calls and unmusical shrill whistles. Typically one then sees the greenish parrots with yellowish heads in a small flock of three to eight individuals, high up in a tree where they are probably feeding. Their food is thought to be fruit, including baobab if available, sorghum, maize and seeds. Although this parrot is frequent to locally common and widely distributed in the country, little is known of its habits: the time of nesting is not known: the nest and eggs are undescribed. In fact, this parrot is so poorly known that practically any information an observer discovers about it will be new to science.

5. BLACK-WINGED LOVEBIRD (Agapornis taranta)

Although the behavior of captive Black-winged Lovebirds has been documented in detail, no study of this species has been done under natural conditions. In captivity the lovebird is a sociable creature: a pairregularly stands as close together as possible. The two birds at times bounce their heads and necks up and down and move around in small circles: they may do this several times before they stop and press their bodies together again. The lovebird walks; it does not hop. Under natural conditions it has been observed to feed on juniper berries, figs and seeds. At night the birds sleep in holes in trees. It has a shrill twittering call and, in flight, a sharp whistle.

6. PRINCE RUSPOLI'S TURACO (Turaco ruspolii)

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 Neghelli: both localities are 1800 meters (6000 feet) in elevation.

This Turaco was first introduced to science when Prince Ruspoli collected it in either 1892 or 1893. Since Prince Ruspoli, an Italian explorer, was killed in an "encounter with an elephant" in the Lake Abaya area and unfortunately did not leave any notes about his travels, the locality and date of collection of the first specimen of this turaco remain unknown.

His Collection was studied by T. Salvadori in 1896 who named the new turaco in honor of Prince Ruspoli. In subsequent years several other explorers searched for the turaco; none were successful until the early 1940's when several specimens were obtained in the Arero forest. After these specimens were obtained, the turaco was not reported again until very recently, in the last five years, when several have been seen and four collected at the locality north of Neghelli. This turaco is considered to be an endangered species and is included in the "Red Book" of endangered animals of the world. However, recent sightings in juniper forests and especially in dry water courses which include figs, the rubiaceous tree, Adina, and undergrowth of acacia and Teclea shrubs, suggest that the species may be more common than thought.

There are no breeding records nor any recorded observations on the nesting activities of Prince Ruspoli's Turaco, its nest and eggs are unknown. It has been reported to feed on fruits of Tecle and Aditicl. Its call has been described as a low "chirr-clia" and short "te"

7. Wattled Ibis ( Bostrychia carunculata )

Because of its loud, raucous call, the wattled Ibis is clearly recognized even from some distance away.The Wattled Ibis occurs throughout theEthiopian plateau from about 1500 meter to the highest moorland, it is most

common highland rivercourses with rocky, cliff-like edges but it is found also in open country and in olive, juniper, podocarpus,hagenia, St. John Wort and giant heath forest and occasionally in Eucalyptus stands. The Ibis is gregarious, often flocking in groups of 50 to 100, rarely it is found alone. Small folks of Ibis can be seen in Addis Ababa. The birds normally roost on cliff edges. Little known about the Ibis's breeding habits . The pre-nuptial behavior including the establishment of pairs and preparation of nesting sites as well as length of incubation and brooding behavior are not known.

The Ecotourism of Ethiopia

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Endemic Birds.