The avifauna of Cangandala National Park, Angola

Abstract

smallest national park (60,000 ha; Fig. 1) and now perhaps best known as the site where Giant Sable Antelope Hippotragus niger variani was rediscovered in 2005 by PVP and co-workers (Pitra et al. 2006; Fig. 2), is recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA: Dean 2001). It is situated on the Angolan plateau at c.1,000 m in north-central part of the country (09°47’S 16°41’E), near the town of Malanje, capital of Malanje province. It is largely covered by broadleaved woodland dominated by Brachystegia and Julbernardia species (Fig. 1), and harbours a significant component of those birds confined to the Zambezian biome (Fishpool & Evans 2001), with 13 of the 48 species that occur in Angola reported from this site (Dean 2001). Other habitats include papyrus swamps, broad-grassy drainage lines/dambos and gallery forest (see Dean 2001 for further details). As is the case with most sites in Angola, the avifauna of CNP is poorly known. All previously published records are from August 1972 and September 1973, when WRJD visited the park for a total of two weeks, and some records from Merle & Brian Huntley (see Dean et al. 1988, Dean 2000). Nonetheless, these few observations were sufficient for CNP to be recognised as an IBA (Dean 2001). Our aim here is to update knowledge of the birds of this IBA and provide information on access to the park. New records include: (i) species recorded by PVP during c.20 visits between September 2003 and January 2008, (ii) species mist-netted along the Ombe River in gallery forest and adjacent woodland by PVP in October 2005, and (iii) species recorded on 7–9 August 2006 by MSLM and PVP.