UNKNOWN FORM OF PIPIT Anthus sp, 

NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK, KENYA         (1999)

Every birder must dream of the excitement of discovering a new 
species of bird, of being in a remote montane jungle and finding an 
unknown form seen fleetingly for a few seconds, or investigating a 
remote island and there it is, a bird that no-one else has on their 
life list but you! 

Apart from an undescribed Microeca flycatcher on the island of New 
Ireland in the Bismarck Archipelago, I have not known such 
excitement... even in this it is a bit anticlimactic for whilst the 
bird has now been seen by a number of ornithologists, to the best of 
my knowledge no specimen is as yet in existence. After twelve 
exciting years living in Papua New Guinea (apart from the Microeca), 
I have never seen a bird that I thought might be new to science..... 
in fact mainland PNG has not come up with a new species since 1933. I 
lived in the Maasai Mara for nine years, I visited parts never looked 
at by a birder before, finding many exciting distributional records, 
but nothing that looked like it had not been viewed well before. 

Moving to Nairobi, and living almost on the border of Nairobi 
National Park sounded tame by comparison to the exciting places of my 
past, but I found Nairobi National Park amongst the most exciting and 
surprising birding in Kenya. It's variety of habitats are home to 
many species, and especially during the period October to April, 
recording over 200 species in a day is a normal occurrence.

 
During the past eight years, even long before moving to Nairobi on a 
permanent basis,  I have been conscious of a different form of Pipit, 
resident on the forest edge and in the glades of Langata Forest in 
Nairobi National Park.

Usually they would be flushed from the road-side and rest a short 
time on a branch under the canopy of a tree before flying off and 
disappearing. Although records span the year, because of the 
restriction of being confined to the vehicle in that part of Nairobi 
Park, the birds were usually only seen every few visits to the area, 
and then typically flying off. It was usually difficult to get good 
views.

I had mentioned to a number of people to be aware of strange pipits 
in Langata Forest, but was never able to take anyone in to show them 
because of the confinement to the vehicle, and the potential 
fruitless search.

On the 1st December I was in company of Steven Easley, and we located 
a pair of birds feeding young in the nest, on the forest edge of 
the "Forest Glade" road, and on this occasion the vehicle proved a 
great asset, and the birds were watched for a long period as they 
brought food to their young. After an hour, we left these quite quiet 
birds that we were anxious to record, and continued about 200 metres 
through the forest, incredibly locating another pair feeding young in 
the nest, also very close to the road. These birds were much more 
vocal, and I managed to record the song and three different calls. 
Steven was able to take some photographs as we watched these birds 
for some time before leaving them, and they were in all respects 
identical to the first pair.

The following morning Steven returned to photograph both pairs, and 
obtained fresh recordings of the song and calls of the first pair, 
which on comparison to those taken of the second pair proved 
identical in all respects. Whilst watching the second pair, an 
immature fledged and was observed walking into the forest being 
followed by its parents.

That afternoon I made arrangements with Tony Archer, to show him the 
birds the following morning. It was a wet morning, but cleared up to 
bright but overcast conditions. We arrived at the first pair, who 
were busily engaged in feeding their young. From the vehicle we 
observed the birds in ideal conditions at ranges down to three 
metres, breaking our concentration only to view an enormous male 
Leopard that decided at that point to cross the road. This cat was 
far to large to upset our birds and we resumed our watch. Tony was 
convinced also that these pipits did not match any known pipits from 
this country, although there was a resemblance to Long-billed Pipit  
Anthus similis.  We visited the site of the second pair, but there 
was no sign of the birds.  That afternoon I flew off to Madagascar 
and it was six weeks before I returned to Kenya. The same afternoon 
Tony returned with Don Turner and they further studied the birds. On 
return from Madagascar, I phoned Tony and asked him of the outcome, 
and he said that Don had spent a couple of days researching the 
subject and had concluded that they were merely race chyuluensis of 
Long-billed Pipit. This was based on the Van Someren diaries, of 
birds he collected in the Chyulus on the edge of forest and had named 
as a new subspecies. I contacted Don and thanked him for his work, 
but said that it was not possible to have two races of the same 
species nesting in different habitats separated by a few kilometres, 
as was the case here, but he had lost interest.

Steven gave me the slides of the birds, that he had taken near the 
nest in November, and the birds were so unlike Long-billed Pipit that 
it was time to press the point home. Tony had his enthusiasm revived 
immediately on seeing the photos which showed so many features not 
found on Long-billed Pipit, and he organised prints from the slides. 
I made arrangements to show the birds to Leon Benun the curator of 
birds at the National Museum, he together with Tony and myself spent 
a morning in Nairobi Park, with specimens of Long-billed Pipit,  
chyuluensis which has now been merged with the widespread hararensis 
to which all of our birds belong.  We easily located the pipits on 
the forest edge and had excellent views, and obtained new tape 
recordings of a bird singing from the top of a bush. After studying 
these birds we drove some five kilometres to the ridge of the 
Mbagathi Gorge in the south-west of the Park, soon locating Long-
billed Pipit also singing from the top of a bush, and watched this 
bird at length and taking recordings. Leon was also now convinced 
that a new taxon of Anthus was endemic to Nairobi Park.  Since that 
date, Stevens father Wayne, has passed on Long-billed Pipit photo 
from Nairobi Park, and photos of the two forms were tabled at the 
monthly meeting of the Ornithological Sub-Committee of the East 
African Wildlife Society, and all present agreed that this pipit was 
something very different, and certainly nothing on the Kenyan list.

Since the discovery, many people have been shown the bird, they are 
readily found in the vicinity of Kisembe Forest in Nairobi National 
Park, and it would appear nowhere else.

Permission is being requested to net the birds, but being a National 
Park there are restrictions, and these delay the process but the 
birds are there for all to see, they may not have a name yet, 
although Nairobi Pipit would seem the most obvious.

So there we have it, a new bird in the city park of one of Africas 
most visited capitals, already a Mecca for tourists and especially 
Bird Tours where Kenya has an unrivaled reputation, and it has been 
there all of the time!


DESCRIPTION

Head; Extremely attractively and well marked, though pattern typical 
of many large pipits. The crown is striped, alternate streaks of 
creamy-buff and blackish brown. The supercilium bordered above by a 
narrow dark line, is short and very broad  creamy-buff  commencing 
just in front of the eye, and extending to well behind the eye, where 
it becomes very broad, then obscurely extends to the side of the nape 
as a narrow series of streaks. Ear coverts and cheeks are warmer 
brown than the rest of the head, similar to the effect of a Fawn-
coloured Lark, and below this is a very broad whitish moustacial 
marking separated from the plain white throat by a prominent broad 
blackish moustacial streak. Below the eye is a whitish half eye-ring 
giving a heavy lidded appearance.

Underparts; Entirely creamy-buff  with the breast heavily marked with 
prominent very broad blackish streaking which stop abruptly forming a 
neat pectoral band rather like Tree Pipit. The streaking does not 
extend onto the flanks, which are unmarked, but warmer buffy-orange. 
The lower belly to vent are unmarked but suffused with shades of buff.

Upperparts: Overall creamy-olive cast, mantle with thick blackish 
streaks forming an obvious striping down the back, which contrasts 
sharply with the plain blackish flight feathers with their narrow but 
very prominent buffy-white edgings.  Wing coverts blackish but 
narrowly fringed with buffy-white giving an impression of six large 
blackish spots. Primary coverts blackish with creamy-white edges 
neatly delineating each feather, primaries edged buffy white forming 
a very conspicuous buffy panel like a broad stripe down the length of 
the primaries, continuous with the broader edges and tips to the 
inner primaries. The wings are short and rounded, barely extending 
beyond the base of the tail.

Tail; From above blackish with conspicuous narrow creamy-buff edges 
to each feather. The two outer retrices are broadly edged and tipped 
buffy-white this being very conspicuous in flight and often at rest.