From: Sidney Shema <sidneyshema@gmail.com>

Date: 2019-10-20 17:52

Subject: Re: [KENYABIRDSNET] More highlights from Laikipia

Hi Don,

Thanks a lot for that very interesting insight. I was initially unsure if it was really megaensis but later concluded that it must be that race as most references refer to athensis as occurring south of Nairobi, which seemed quite a long way away. In retrospect, I guess Maralal is almost equally far away in the opposite direction. I will edit the blog accordingly.

Regarding numbers, we had four separate sightings of individual birds. I would not describe it as 'large flocks' but there seems to be a small population in the area. These must be remnants of the population you refer to west of Mt Kenya. Coverage of more pentads in the area can help document the extent of their current range west of Mt Kenya. We also drove through Ol Pejeta but did not see any there. Several pentads in Ol Pejeta have many full protocol cards (lists) submitted to them already (see coverage map here), but non have this species on them. Although there is a slight possibility that atlassers that may have come across it failed to identify it correctly, I believe that the lack of records from Ol Pejeta on the KBM represents a true absence or near absence since many of our atlassers have cameras and often share photos of birds they are unable to ID seeking help with this.

Any birders around Ol Pejeta and its environs should pay close attention to the larks they see and submit records to the Kenya Bird Map to help document the current status of the Somali Short-toed Lark in the area.

Thanks