Mozambique

WAITING TO BE EXPLORED

-  PETER RYAN & ETIENNE MARAIS

SNAKING ALONG Africa’s south-eastern coast, Mozambique boasts a list of some 780 bird species. Despite its turbulent history, for birders it is one of the most exciting areas in the region, with many ornithological mysteries still to be unravelled. It is also accessible and safe and its incredible diversity of habitats holds a plethora of sought-after species. Southern Mozambique is the only place to see 15 of the subregion’s specials, such as Saunders’s Tern, Böhm’s Bee-eater, Green Tinkerbird, Green-headed Oriole, White-chested Alethe, East Coast Akalat, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Mascarene Martin and Olive-headed Weaver. And for a further 35 species, including Blue Quail, Eurasian Bittern, African Pitta, Chestnut-fronted Helmet-shrike, Locust Finch and Lesser Seedcracker, it is the easiest place to see them. For the more adventurous, northern Mozambique is home to more than 50 species not found in southern Africa, including the country’s two endemics: Namuli Apalis and Mozambique Forest-warbler.

At just more than 800 000 square kilometres, Mozambique is the third largest country in southern Africa, after South Africa and Namibia. In terms of ornithological exploration, it was the poor relation in the region because the Portuguese were less interested in natural history than the British or even the Germans. Apart from AA da Rosa Pinto’s pioneering studies in the 1950s and 1960s, most of what was known about Mozambique’s birds prior to independence resulted from visits by ornithologists from neighbouring countries. Phillip Clancey’s landmark