The main objective for the day was to find the Berniers Vanga, probably the most tricky of Madagascar's Vangas to find, due to its general low density and occurrence in logistically challenging areas. Still, our guide had a plan and as such we headed off in the direction of his instruction. This path took us through an area of agriculture that was used by the local community, and we spent very limited time in the forest. Along the way we did pick up a few common species, but nothing particularly different.
The actual Vanga site was on the edge of a small forest
fragment next to a small river. We immediately found the bird and watched it
quickly disappear into a palm tree nearby. It took us some time to work out if
this meant that bird actually had a nest, but we were finally able to confirm
it and even saw the bird, the male, sitting on the nest with just the head and
bill visible. In the meantime, we also spent some time exploring other areas
nearby and had views of the same, or another, male perched up on the edge of
the forest, where he also provided brilliant flyby views.
Since the weather was already extremely hot, we were back at camp by 10:00, and spent the rest of the morning swimming. At the end of the afternoon we headed back out into the forest in the hopes of having some luck, and while there were nice views of Red-breasted Coua, generally the forest was quiet with limited activity. Still, we covered some ground, and as such we were able to walk back in the dark. This walk back provided us with another new lemur species, Geoffroy's Dwarf Lemur, while we also enjoyed more of last night's delights, with another Scott's Sportive Lemur and Giant Leaf-tailed Gecko.
Masoala National Park: White-faced Whistling Duck, Madagascar Green Pigeon, Madagascar Blue Pigeon, Blue Coua, Red-breasted Coua, Malagasy Coucal, Madagascar Spinetail, Malagasy Palm Swift, White-throated Rail, Madagascar Pratincole, Dimorphic Egret, Striated Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Madagascar Harrier-Hawk, Madagascar Cuckoo-Hawk, Madagascar Buzzard, Rainforest Scops Owl, Malagasy Kingfisher, Olive Bee-eater, Broad-billed Roller, Malagasy Kestrel, Lesser Vasa Parrot, Madagascar Cuckooshrike, Chabert Vanga, Bernier's Vanga, White-headed Vanga, Crested Drongo, Malagasy Paradise Flycatcher, Green Jery, Long-billed Bernieria, Spectacled Tetraka, Malagasy Bulbul, Common Myna, Madagascar Starling, Madagascar Magpie-Robin, Souimanga Sunbird, Nelicourvi Weaver, Forest Fody, Madagascar Mannikin,
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