4. WATERFOWL AND WADERS AT FORT BEAUFORT,C.P.

TREE, A. J. 1979. Biology of the Greenshank in southern Africa. Ostrich 50:240-251.

The Greenshank Tringa nebularia is a widespread visitor to southern Africa but is only normally common at favoured coastal sites. First migrants arrive at the end of July and the last birds leave in early May. Small numbers overwinter. Birds in the interior are forced to move coastward or southwestward once the summer rains set in and rapidly inundate suitable habitat. Peak numbers occur in January at Port Alfred, a coastal site. Greatest concentrations of Greenshanks occur on eutrophic bodies of water in the interior while at coastal localities the density of prawns appears to determine Greenshank numbers. It is normally a diurnal feeder but will feed at night in tidal areas when fattening up for return migration. It roosts communally standing in shallow water. Birds can be aged on plumage condition and primary feather moult. Birds have a lean mass of about 170 g while the potential migratory range on fat deposits accumulated is calculated to carry birds from the Cape coast to the East African lakes and thence to the Mediterranean or Caspian Seas. There is a considerable disparity in mass between inland and coastal localities. One banding recovery in Cyprus is noted; a low retrap rate is gradually being improved by colour ringing.     

2. A WONDERFUL NESTING COLONY OF SACRED IBIS,HERONS AND OTHERS WADERS AT JOHANNESBURG

Skead, D. M. 1974. Roadside counts of Blackshouldered Kites in the central Transvaal. Ostrich 45: 5–8.

From August 1967 to November 1970 roadside counts of Blackshouldered Kites Elanus caeruleus were made along the Great North Road from the Pienaar's River Irrigation Settlement, near Hammanskraal, to Warmbaths, Transvaal. The mean density for this period was 10 km per bird. Counts were also made along the same route, but for a shorter distance to the farm Vaalbosch. The mean density for this route was 17 km per bird. Relative density was higher than in the Cape Province.     

WATERFOWL AND WADERS AT PORT BEAUFORT,C.P. (Part III)

Sibley, C. G. &; Ahlquist, J. E. 1974. The relationships of the African sugarbirds (Promerops). Ostrich 45: 22–30.

Certain characters of the sugarbirds (Promerops) seem to suggest that the genus may be a geographically isolated derivative of the Australo-Papuan Meliphagidae or a separate group of unknown ancestry, the Promeropidae. Both theories have received support to the present day.

New data from comparisons of the egg whi te and red blood cell proteins, using the technique of isoelectric focusing in acrylamide gel, indicate that Promerops is a specialized starling and that an appropriate taxonomic treatment is to include the subfamily Promeropinae in the Sturnidae. This discovery not only explains the characters of Promerops but solves one of the most contentious zoogeographic problems in ornithology.     

WADERS (CHARADRII) AND OTHER SHOREBIRDS AT CAPE RECIFE,ALGOA BAY,SOUTH AFRICA: SEASONALITY,TRENDS, CONSERVATION,AND RELIABILITY OF SURVEYS

Spearpoint, J. A., Every, B. & Underhill, L. G. 1988. Waders (Charadrii) and other shorebirds at Cape Recife, Algoa Bay, South Africa: seasonality, trends, conservation, and reliability of surveys. Ostrich 59: 166–177.

A total of 126 surveys of waders (Charadrii) and other shorebirds were made along 4 km of shore northwest of Cape Recife. The surveys were conducted bv two observers who counted independently of each other. The variability between observers was least for conspicuous species such as Whitefronted Plover, Blacksmith Plover, African Black Oystercatcher, Whimbrel and Grey Plover, but greatest for cryptic species such as Ringed Plover and for species which formed a minority in mixed flocks such as Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint. Variability of surveys within years and between years is also considered. Turnstones and Sanderlings were the most abundant waders in summer. Of the Palaearctic waders, Turnstones, Grey Plovers, Sanderlings, Greenshanks and Whimbrels overwintered. In contrast, Ringed Plovers, Curlew Sandpipers, and Little Stints rarely overwintered. Little Egrets, Threebanded Plovers and Water Dikkops occurred mainly in winter. It is recommended that surveys to estimate numbers of Palaearctic waders in summer and winter should be conducted in December, January or February and June or July, respectively. Because of three-year cycles in breeding productivity of certain waders, surveys should be extended over at least three years. There was evidence that waders associated with rocky shores increased in numbers during the study period: this coincided with the erosion of sandy beaches near Cape Recife. Density, biomass and daily field metabolic rates, expressed on an area basis, were similar to those in eastern Scotland. Nine species of tern utilized Cape Recife. It is recommended that the bait-collecting regulations be enforced, that vehicles be prohibited on the beach, and that the tern roost and breeding site be fenced off to create a sanctuary.     

NOTES ON THE TAXONOMY OF THE CLAPPER LARKS OF SOUTH AFRICA.

A case is made out for grouping the various forms of clapper lark in southern Africa, other than those included in the species Mirafra rufocinnumomea (olim fischeri ), as a single polytypic species, Mirafra apiata Vieillot. Many of the described forms are listed as geographical races. The conclusions reached can only be regarded as a very early stage in the understanding of variation in this rather little-known and highly variable species.     

昆明呈贡龙潭山第2地点的人化石和旧石器

在对呈贡县大渔区龙潭山第2地点的试掘中发现一枚人的下臼齿,它在形态上与现代人的不同,与北京猿人的也有所差别。它带有早期智人下第二乳臼齿的一些形态特征。一起发现的石制品中有石核、石片、砍砸器和刮削器。时代为晚更新世,距今30,500±800年。