ABSTRACT .
This paper presents :
1) Our observations on the status and distribution of the bird s
(especially the sea birds) of Cosmoledo, including the following:
a) Evidence that 2,000,000 Sooty Terns nest at Cosmoledo . This
is a figure two orders of magnitude greater than the previously
published estimate of 20,000.
b) The first reliable published record of Brown Booby nesting a t
Cosmoledo . (Diamond determined that the voucher specime n
for the only previously published record was a misidentifie d
juvenile Masked Booby .)
Further observations on the status of the Madagascar Turtle
Doves that are restricted to South Island . Once feared extinct,
this population was rediscovered in 1982, but not reported o n
again until this account of our 1996 observations .
2) A complete review of published accounts .of the 46 species of birds
(some now extinct) that have been reported of Cosmoledo .
3) An historical review of human impacts on Cosmoledo, and some
recommendations for management .
Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . 2000 .120(1) :46-57.
Observations on the birds of Cos o edo Atoll ,
Seychelle s
b ]thane A . Mortimer & Antonio (" azarin", Constanc e
Received 23 December 199 8
Although Cosmoledo Atoll, Aldabra group, is recognized as an "Important Bird .
Area" by BirdLife International (Rocamora & Skerrett, in press), its avifauna ha s
been poorly studied . Most published reports are based on short visits to only some o f
the more than 15 islands in the group (Fig . 1) October 1.878 (Rivers 1878), 9—1 2
October 1901 (H . A'C. Bergne, reported by Benson (1970)), 14—19 September 190 7
(Dupont 1907), October 1937 (Vesey-F4 rn,arahil 1940, 1941), 5—6 October 196 7
(Parker 1970), 6 March 1968 (Benson 1970), 6 March & 14 September 1968 (Bayn e
et al. 1970), 13 February 1970 (Gillham 1977), 12—13 April 1996 (Skerrett 1996) .
The total land area is approximately 5 .2 km. 2 , or 14% of that of the whole atol l
(Bayne et at . 1970) . This remote atoll (Fig . 2) has been continuously exploited fo r
birds, turtles, fish, and guano since at least the mid-1800s . The composition of th e
resident avifauna has been incompletely described in the literature, and the recen t
status of the various bird species is poorly documented . Our study reports observation s
we made during visits to the atoll on 7—13 December 1996 and 23—25 April 1997 ,
discussed from the perspective of our collective long term residence on Cosmoled o
(ei g ht visits by JAM since 1 .981, including five months residence (January—May) in
THEREPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES
BIRD IS :-
40 So
10 0 N -
SR I
AFRICA
AMIRANTES .
SEYCHELLES
BANK
ii-
N
AM1RANTE S
GROU P
... .HAGO
C
S
BAN K
INDIAN OCEA N
0 MAURITIU S
0
400 E
MADAGASCA R
60 0E
oo
1 .000
2,000
I
kilometer s
00ETIVY
80 S -
INDIAN OCEA N
ALDABRA
ATOLL
PROVIDENCE
COSMOLED O
ATOL L
ASSUMPTION
460
re 2, lap o}' ti
o most pop
100
48 0
22 4
500
14 of Seychelles shot\ trig
Ind) and other import ;
52 0
300
50 0
400
kilometers
FARQUHAR
ATOL L
.ASTOVE IS .
200
56 0
54 0
_too_
positio n iii the I n an Ocean, and t
i of Seychelles,
oh
( no
t
tot t o
4')
ijovnie A
2000 120( )
on (Rand He 0,N/here thei r
Ile d u
MH
Nc,iabi
R. by Vesey -
)6)) . s
RE)r)y
No :d„
RR Fit/gera :d (1941 ; .
\VW`,
No
(199 :) .
i
Bull . B .
'AILED "ROPICBIRD PhaElhi on -u s
records, but inch idual sighting BE Bavn s
(1970) an d
\1ASKED OR B
1( ;ED BOOB Y
usually 12 per nest, bt
Rith 3), as well as chicks of al l
sit
g.er than the parents, were recorded by us n December 1996 .
Rts
eentrated on Ile du Sud- guest and Pagodn, Eon oh at Goelettes ,
d-Est, and Ile du Nord (occurring mostly at the north and south ends of tha t
ii), and scarce or lacking at Grand Ri .l.yte ., Petit Polyte, Grand Ile, Ile du Tmu ,
e-So uric, and \lcn
Diamond (in Bayne ct at . 1970) counte d
(lactvlafro
iintd Ile . March 1968 . In April 1996 ,
Sket
a total o
the atoll (Rocamoi &.
Sib
'
\
RED-FOOTED BOO B
This, the IR .
ndan t
density on IL d
occurred o n
sparse o n
AC per .
contrast:, in M.arc I )
o `,Rand 11e . Durir d
n the atoll t .
10,000 on H e
Est and 200 on Goeic s
k Parker (1970), and t
booby mentioned by Rivers
BROWN BOOBY Sig
No reliable publis `
Deco!). sir 1 0 96, w i
on I '
i
past
not on H
alsai .
977k a n .
itfii
.i t
Nobrli
te, Pcti
,ic
r
In
id
he
bu t
'olyte,
Iiatoie A .
50
B 0 .C' .
2000 120(1 )
Grand Ile, ) Re du. Trou) (AC per . obs .) . The species was more abundant in the past ,
but has always been relatively rare (AC pers . obs .) . The reference to a collecte d
specimen in both Bayne at al. (1970) and Parker (1970) was in fact a misidentifie d
immature S . dad\ afro (Diamond 1981) . River's (1878) account does not clearl y
identify S. loin (aar as one of the three booby spueii..is he reported, which le d
Diamond (1981) h.) :suggest that he may have either cril used immature S . dacty/atra
with a third specio(ii of booby, or sighted the Abbott' Booby ,Bela abhotti, formerl y
known to occur on Assumption (Fig . 2) .
GREAT FRIGATEBIRD Fregata minor and LESSER I ."RIGA i'.'IIIIRD F oriel
Both F n1i:nor and F. oriel occur in relatively' , . , , . n .ihers (at least E (Tat hundred
ham (1977) repo( i ed. F mino r
birds) and kleptoparasitisc hoc from. the
as
abundant. Vesey-FiEErlil (1941) rcnd nesting by both species on islet s
hod and
in thc
In December 1996, we surveyed all the islands on the n(
_re we
south siijes of the atoll but encountered breedina iinly on Ile du Sud-O
i iJentified from our photograph s
found a half dozen nests containing juvenikhh
as F minor by A . Skerrett . Vt: ci did not, however, visit the nihn groves on Menai where
(I
o nest (AC pers . oh ). The current status o f
significant numbers of
both the Menai rookery am( F arid! is therefore, unknown .
CATTLE EGRET Bubo/(us ibis
Encountered by us on most islands in De
(1970), Parker (1970), Bayne et al. (197`
ed by Benso n
her 1996( it was also
Gillham (1977), and Skerrett (1996) .
GREEN-BACKED HEROIN Butorides striatu s
Reported by Benson (1970), Parker ( .1970), Bayne at ii .
and Skerrett (1.996) .
DIMORPHIC EGRET ,
'imorph a
Encountered by us at moth
Ids and along Mc
seasons ; also reported by Par( (1970), Benson (
(1977), and Skerrett (1996) .
am (1977),
of tfin
:. during al l
:ne at a/. (1970), (id lham
GREY HERON Ardea einere a
Nests most abundantly at He aux Moustiques, but also on all the islets north of Menai ,
on Ile du. Nord, Ile Nord-Est, Ile du Trou, and Petit Polyte (AC pers . obs .), as well a s
at Ile Goelettes (Skerrett 1996) and Ile du Sud-Ouest (Skerrett, pers . comm .) . Earlie r
sightings were made by Parker (1970), Bayne at al. (1970), and Gillham (1977) .
WHITE-THROATED RAIL Drvolimnas envier /
The species was first recorded in 1 .878 by Rivers (1 ), and last sighted in 1907 a t
Ile du Sud-Ouest by Dupont (as reported by Benson (1 (j)) . 'Extinction was confirmed
in 1981 (Mortimer 1984b) .
jealwe A . iVI
51
„,
bull . B .O.( . 2000 120(1 )
CRAB PLOVER Dromas cnch9 ”
We observed large -Rocks o .mbering some 500 birds at the perimeter of the lagoo n
in December 1996 . Other .:11(ings reported by Dupont (1907), Parker (1970), Benso n
(1970), Gin= (1977) .
GREY PLOVER Phniiah
Reported by Parker (1970) .
are~lcr
9:ern 1970)
Skerrett (
eiSER SANDPLOV ER ('harchirius „.'
.)rPed in April 1996 by A . Skerrett (pu
GREATER SANDPLOVER Clharadrius /cschcnauhi i
Reported. by Parker (1970), Benson (1970), Gillharn (1977), and Skerrett (1996) .
BAR-TAILED GODWIT Limos(' Iapponici
Reported by Benson (1970) .
WHIMBREL Nuinenius pit
Reported by Parker (197C)
(1970) . Gillham (1977
996 )
Si Ee"RDER-M LI..,ED CURLEW A i urnenius hinuirovri s
by Gretton (1991) .
CREENSHANK Trio
ed by Pei
hulur i s
( 70).
COMMON SANDPIPER „ .-Iciitis lape l
Recorded by Dupont (1907) and. Parker
7 70) .
TURNSTONE Arenaria inn
Regularly encountered in DR.
Dupont (1907), Parker (
(1996) .
.1 0 96
along
season (1976
lines, it
lam (19
so reported
Skerret t
SAN DL RLINC Ca/idris a/h a
Reported by Parker (1970), Benson (1970), Gillham (197
and Skerrett (199(
CURLEW SANDPIPER Ca/idri.p ferruglnea
Reported by Parker (1970), Benson (1970), and Gillham (1977) .
CASPIAN TERN Hitialropro(;ne ccispi.i i
Regularly seen feeding in shallow
December
Fitzrerald (I 941). The possibility the
breeds at. ti.e
A
'. (Diamond & PrYs-jones 1986) warrants
6 : also reported by Vesey"as')
on neighbourin g
ern .
Tarim) A . A/fortimer & .4 whin() G
Bull .
().(.' 1. 2000 120(1 )
BLACK-NAPED TERN Sterna sumatran a
Regularly encountered alorp shorelines in December 1996 ; pre-viously reported b y
Bayne et al. (1970), Gillhs ni (1977) and Skerrett (1996)i May breed. at Cosmoled o
(A . Skerrett 1996) as on Ai Libra (Diamond & Pr s-Jones 1986) .
BRIDLED TERN Sterna anaethetu s
Several ' hilts seen on two
l ets along north-west coast of Ile du Sud-Quest (i n
Deeexib 1996), also 6,
aux Moustiques where nesting was observe d
(by AC) in the late 10ers (1878) reported its occurrence in 1878 . Vesey its on lagoon islets in October 1937 .
Fitzgerald (1941) rep
SOOTY TERN
s. cat a
but especially on the fla t
Nests annually in Liu-tie numbers over most of Grant
sandy plain, duri
to south-east monsoon . Thy
season, usually June t o
cor
with that documented for Spins 'a/a elsri
in Seychelle s
Ahg
( I 986))i Duril his bri,i
is it to Grand Ile i n
(see
by Din
nd & PrYs-j
by 5 October. In
1967 .
sr (1970) observed thin.
the your ,
I),_ _en
- 1996i we found caret'
of dead
rom the 1996 nesting season ,
but no -e birds .
Its of the, atoll have annually (during periods of human occupation )
Althoug
collected many hundrwas of eggs for local cons ithiiion . the i la ti e between
h eggs to Mah e
Cosmoledo and ..Mahe
Acid the import of Iarlri
n fact, fresh eggs were
from the atoll . Thus no iecords were
ef egg p
systemai is
l -vested for export to Mahe during only
seasons (1 .990 and 1991 )
(Justin (I'DC) pers. comm .). During those serve from which n o
eggs \v c hj avested was established in the sand. dui-Gould Ile (E. G . Smith i n
lift . to C. Feare, 6 March. 1991 ; N. J . Shah in Litt. to P. Mathiot, 24 June 1991), an d
birds (E . (1 . Smith i n
the breeding population comprised an estimated two milli
Feare, 6 March 1991) . This figure was corr
y egg collectors (A C
Litt . to
s at both sites, agree d
and. Peter Volcere, pers . comm .) who, having ha h,
1-A/ice
that of Desnocufs ,
that the breeding popul oo on Cosmoledo was mori
i ome 360,000 to 500,00 0
which has been estirw i(d by Feare & Gill (1996) to
on file in Seychelles, th e
birds . [Note : although a copy of the 6 March 1991
) gathered in 1990—91 thu s
original letter never reached C . Feare.] The inform
than previously though t
indicates a population two orders of magnitude
(Diamond & PrYs-Jones 1986) . In fact, the Grand Ile rookery hi r been visite d
by an ornithologist during the nesting season, and . earlier report . of nesting (Rivers
1878, Vesey-Fitzgerald 1941) do not mention rookery disc .
was barrelled each year
During the 1920s and 1 931 1 6 olk from millions of,
(using. i. „. or boric acid as a.
N-\ ative) and erititir
I Seychelles to Europ e
and Am :
An unknov ii proportion of those
Cosmoledo whic h
was leased by the same individual who caul rc
rvest in the Amirante s
gs
barrelled
on the remote
(Ridley & Percy 1958) . Feare (1976) h
Jeanne A . Mortimer & Antonio Constotyie
atolls of Cosmoledo and Farqr . .
egg crop of the 1920s and 1930s
But/. B .(
5
120(1 )
the huge
ay have contribute, .
oed by Ridley & Pe/
5/. )
LITTLE TERN Sterna albitrons
Reported by Bayne et al. (1970).
CRESTED TERN Tha/asseus bergi i
Encountered on numerous occasions in December 1996 standing on san d
shallow water along shorelines . It was also reported by Parker (1970), Gillham (1 )77) ,
and Skerrett (1996)i May breed on. Cosmoledo (Skerrett 1996) as on Aldabr a
(Diamond and. PrYsi-Jones 1986) i
BROWN NODDY Anous „iaolidus
Nests regularly at Ile du Sud-Quest (AC pers . obs .), where Skerrett (1 996) found 2 0
pairs with rains in April, and JAM r
. more than 100 adults on a limeston e
shelf on the north shore in late January .
Vesey-Fitzgerald (194 I ) reported nestin g
on islets in the lagoon., and
d that in much of Seychelles breeding occurs year- round, with a peak during .
-iith east monsoon (April–October) which coincide s
with peak nesting by Sn/iisata . Elsewhere, the two spec
often share a rookery,
with A . static/us occupying the perimeter of ,e closely
S Inseam colonie s
but not at Cosmoledo (A .C .). At Aldabra,
not nest, Diamon d
& PrYsi-to n es (1986) reported that mosi
ing
p lit/tt .s
airs betwee n
September and March, and rarely in other
ihs . 0c rrcncc at
of do wa s
also reported by Parker (1970) .
WHFf E TURN (ib'gis alba
At least
iirds recorded by JAM on Ile du Sud--Oucst
reported
a ker (1970) and Benson (1970)i
MADAGASCAR TURTLE DOVE
0/a/n
First reported 1 1878 by Rivers (18 /8 1
1970), it \A/
: en by Dupont (1907)
1
(1970) . In 1
a a population, apparen t
rediscover . :'. on Ile du Sud-Quest b y
more widc rd on that island i n
Mortimer. 1'setivertheless, it is appals iii restricted to iii'
by the junior author (AC) to introduce appcd specimen
BARREL) GROUND DOVE Gea
Reported by Benson (1970) and Bet :,
',try 982 ; also
c in 1901 (see Benson.
allied extinct by Benso n
on Akiaby i
the spa :
\ 10U .Sly repo
oy
a...)uest, despite effort s
menai in the late 1980s .
„rtriat a
al, (1970) .
BLUE PIGEON Alec troerta .s si g .
The "Pigon
reported by Rivers (1 7
atolls was probably an Aiectrorinas, possibly,( . .;
all Astove and Cosmoled o
a still occurs at Aldabra.
Pan(h)
.14(srt1ner
Bull_ B .O. ' . 2(100 120(1 )
Antonio ( ;orastauce
iglv
With no hseque
are
'
extin
lon g
(Stodd t & Bens - 1970) .
, both Asto c and Cosmoled o
t previously inhabited Farquha r
1
MV.AGASCAR COUCAL Centropus touiou ?
I~i(1878) reported a . cot °I, possibly C.
t
ant sightings, it i s
on Aldabra .
BLUE-CHEERED BEE-EATER Herops
1t str .~
Single birds seen by Gaymer in 1964 and 1965 sported b Benson (1970)) .
HUb 71-B11)
ROLLER Fur:
\ ese : -Fitz
'
us g/uuuuru .s
1940) .
MADAGASCAR BULB( I, Hapsipoic s
Rivers (1878)
orted a b .,a
possibl
with no sub,
t
rcs
RED-BACKED SE ,,
Orb 1 _I reported by Pc.
.
(1970) .
(triensis as on Aldabra . But
-
MADAGA.SCAR C'l S
Very abundant, its oce,..
Benson (1970), Parker (197
(1940),
SOUIM,ikNGA SUNBIR D
111/l 0 S O
oruin
(1940 )
Its occurrence is described by ith
(1878) ,
Adair. &
Parker (1970), ()Ulan) (1977), and Skerret( (
consider the Cosmoledo population a race of Aribo(Cs Suub i
buchenorum) .
(1970) ,
,„ (1998 )
abbott i
MADAGASCAR 'III T-EVE Zosterops maderono : o ineivain j .s
Reports on the s p e c i e s . '.
is found on Mena
'
y Fitzgeral d
1996),
(1940), Benson (1970)
ot at. (1970), tub . .
RED-HEADED FOREST FODY Fond/a emau'ruissin'' . ..
Diamond (1981) belI -es this to be the fody npo
v
(1878) on Astove ,
on Aldali
C
ores, and
Co,
1edo, and
, ;-soon in 1878 . It still
,,I
(Bensoi)
i7) but is
ly extin(ale other l o
la
PIED CROW Corvus ca L`
Occurs in small numbers Cosmoledo, nesting on Menai in.
Ile du Nord in CasuariCasuarina equiseti/b b Early rc p
' in 1836 (
C
.nedo in 1 878 i 's 1878) and on Asu,
on
uiang
its
isu .ince o n
lung 1843) indicate
Jean
A . 21ittortimer & Aluonio Con .ttanw
5
that it arrived without human assMoreover, is
gone extinct on Astove and 'later to it seen recoloniiti n
1981) . Other reports on Cosmoledo include Vesey
Parker (1970), Bayne et al . (1970), and Skerrett (19"` ) .
000 120(1 )
BrlL B 0() .0
-i have subsequentl y
(Pry Jones ca t al. ,
(140) B
(1970),
Hu an impacts
Since the mid-1 .800s Cosmoledo has been exploited for fish, turtles,
-cis, an d
molluscs, with up to four human settlements operating at a time (two on
i ii an d
fishing camps on Grand Ile, Grand Polyte, and Ile du Sud-(nest) . Cc
bstic s
(Seychelles National Archives) record populations of <10 men during I 850-1900 ,
and 8–58 people (28% women) during this century . Since 1980, the atoll has bee n
owned and operated by the patt-Ital company, Islands Development Company (1 DC) .
IDC installed a cold store on Grand Ile in the late I
to facilitate collection o f
Sooty Tern e
for shipment to Mahe ; however., ,...
"c proved unprofitable ,
due to the exptil wt .: of travelling the 1,045 km. Fittedo and Mahe and t o
breakage of c tts in the rough seas of the ch)i.
IDC withdrew it s
personnel from Cosmoledo in 1992 . Ur fort
., the atoll has suffere d
incursions by unauthorized fishin g
Is Hutt seyehei s and Matt I' nscar whic h
harvest turtles, birds, sharks, ree f
i.s and sea cucumbers (JAM t
AC, pers .
obs . )
Feral cats were reported on Grand Ile b y Bayne et al . (1970) where Gillha m
(1977) found them to be serious predators o f
1 a It/all a . In the
'ly 1980s, cat s
Were 1)1"We :tut on both Gm id Ile and Mena) ,
Jit that they hat,
,,ince spread. to
Grand Polyte are supper .
decline i n
of nesting
hies that we
observed on Grand Polyte be
I'82 and 19 t)6 .
were Mtn i
d to several
of the smaller islands prior to 1907 (Thonmssc t
and to '.
in the mid 1980s by AC . They still occur at least on Ile du Su & west an d
Rats (Ratta n
sp .), present on many islands in the group includirn i 'irand Pelt
I i o an d
Menai, but not Ile du Sud-Quest (AC pers . -.
ihie s
(Rattail ratuis) that occurs on Aldabra, bu t
idoi t
. Goats
(Capra hiatus) were introduced
the . .On s (Th o
11 occurre d
on. Ile Nord-Est as
1960 (I
tt 1969)
long ,
o r the pig s
(Sus doniiesticus
i
i 1 op
i in 198 b
iwtg survive d
on a diet of turtle eggs ) . \NI
obs .) an d
ohs .) . )rlier
this century, guano was collected -from the wes t
t. in(
Ile
du Nord and Ile Nord-Est, In 1901, IL .A'C . Bet-gm:
been removed from Ile Nord-Est and that 300--- 400
(in Bayn e
1970) .
In the early 1980s, the resident i
ivenile Red-footed Boobies t o
food on rare occasions (JAM pers. obs .r, uii.ing stick ) knock them off their.
More commonly, however, Hey would harass
on the grow n
much the same way the
is 1 ) in the air .
'sily through th erun
.mornint.i .,
frightened the birds
rokeyalinth into (1'
big thei r
it'
I
Li
b"'
R .U .C . 2000120(I )
oliecled
as
c
Xe ,
Management Recommendation s
fits h i
muini ]
Although
the 1
addition t o
Turtle C 0
terve ,
996) .
and
Chri
to the ttv p yal
up for Yule)
bitthalt - o th c
To discourd i p : eic l
would need bp tie po i
eXi iieblSiVe LliVell th e
:mined
ah )
i)ter.
th
)t\\ h i
ein
the li
achi c
ations .
pit (
ord observations oi l
i.ttourdie and th e
I
1DC) and Remis s
comments on the n n
Rotut
oh C o
Conscr t
of Seychci l
Government and the
,)f the Seychtd I c s
IC (ti hainha n
teration s
It *lc atoll .
L I
sis,kiii
-id
arate A . *lortinrer (C Citareio C
ac .
57
Bull . B .O.C. 2000
120(1 )
References :
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J ., Grubb, P., Hutson, A ., Poore, M . E . D ., Stoddart ,
D . R . & Taylor, J . D . 1970 . Geography and ecology of Cosmoledo Atoll . Atoll Res . Bull. 136 : 37 56 .
Benson, C . W . 1967 . The birds of Aldabra and their status . Atoll Res . Bull. 1 1 8 : 63--1 1 1 .
Benson, C . W. 1970 . Land (including shore) birds of Cosmoledo . Atoll Res . Bull. 136 : 6 7-82 .
Diamond, A . W . & Prys-Jones, R . P. 1986 . The biology of terns nesting at Aldabra Atoll, Indian Ocean ,
with particular reference to breeding seasonality J. Zoo!. I_ond. (A) 210 : 527-549 .
Diamond, E . P. 1981 . An early report of tl flora and fauna of the Aldabra group . Atoll Res Bull. 255 :
1--10 .
Dupont, R . 1907 . Report on a visit of investigation to St Pierre, Astose, Cosmoledo, Assumption an d
the Aldabra Group . Seychelles Government, Mahe, 1-51 .
Feare, C . J . 1976 . The exploitation of sooty tern eggs in the Seychelles . Biol. Gorses 10 : 169-181 .
Feare, C . J . 1984 . Seabird status and Conservation in the Tropical Indian Ocean . Pp . 457-471 in :
Croxall, J . P ., Evans, P . G . I I . & Schreiber, R . W. (eds) . Status and conServation o{ the work/ Zs
seabirds . ICBP Technical Publication No . 2, Cambridge .
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Annual Report . June 1996 .
Gillham, M . I' . 1977 . Observations on vegetation of 1
-faced Booby colonies on Cosmoledo Atoll ,
Western Indian Ocean . Atoll Res . Bull. 199 : 1-11 .
Gretton, A . 1991 . Conservation of the Slender-billed Curlew, 1CBP Monograph no . 6, Cambridge .
Mortimer, J . A . 1984a . Marine Turtles in the Republic of Seychelles : Status and Management . Publicatio n
of the IUCN Conservation Library, Gland, Switzerland .
Mortimer, J . A . I 984b . Rediscovery of the Turtle Dove (Streptopelia p?( turata))n Cosmoledo Atoll i n
the Seychelles . Ibis 126 : 81--82 .
Parker, 1 . S . C . 1970 . Some ornithological observations from the western Indian Ocean . Atoll Res . Bull .
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Addresses : Jeanne A . Mortimer, P,O . Box 445, Victoria, Mahe, Republic of Seychelles ; and Departmen t
of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-8525 USA, email :
jmort(a nersp .nerdc .utl .edu . Antonio Constance, Belvedere, Mahe, Republic of Seychelles .
© British Ornithologists' Club 2000