Ectoparasite gleaning of Sitatunga Tragelaphus spekeii by Fire-crested Alethe Alethe diademata and a bulbul

Citation

Maisels F (2003) Ectoparasite gleaning of Sitatunga Tragelaphus spekeii by Fire-crested Alethe Alethe diademata and a bulbul. Malimbus, 25 (2), pp. 107-110.

Abstract
First paragraph: Most of the documented bird-mammal associations in Africa have been observed in savannas (reviewed in Dean & MacDonald 1981, Vernon & Dean 1988) and include a wide diversity of both bird and mammal species, with most interactions noted being birds taking prey flushed by mammals. However, very few such interactions have been documented within African forests (Vernon & Dean 1988), where visibility is poor and mammals tend to flee when humans approach. This note describes one of the few records of forest passerines gleaning ecoparasites from a large mammal in closed canopy rainforest in Africa. The only previous record of gleaning by birds in closed forests quoted in Dean & MacDonald (1981) is of Chorister Robin Cossypha dichroa gleaning a Nyala Tragelaphus angasi.

Journal
Malimbus: Volume 25, Issue 2

People

Professor Fiona Maisels

Honorary Professor, Biological and Environmental Sciences