A checklist and new bird records for southern Tigray, Ethiopia

We recorded 17 bird taxa new for southern Tigray across a mosaic of habitats. Some of these records document substantial geographical extensions of previously known ranges. Many are Acacia woodland and bushland species but were documented in habitats subject to considerable human disturbance. New records for Tigray include White-breasted Cormorant Phalacrocorax lucidus, Pygmy Falcon Polihierax semitorquatus, Three-banded Courser Rhinoptilus cinctus mayaudi, Orange-breasted Bushshrike Chlorophoneus sulfureopectus, House Sparrow Passer domesticus indicus and White-headed Buffalo Weaver Dinemellia dinemelli. In addition, the endemic subspecies erlangeri of Blanford’s Lark Calandrella blanfordi, previously known only from the central highlands of Ethiopia, was recorded for the first time in southern Tigray. Focusing on Hugumbirda and Gra-Kahsu State Forest and human-dominated landscapes in southern Tigray, we found key drivers of habitat modification in the area to be the expansion of settlements, farmland and bare land.