Full Circle Digital Magazine September 2013 | Page 32

A L L

C R E A T U R E S

G R E A T

A N D

S M A L L

all creatures
great & small
by Stellenbosch University

Cape Robin

Sub-Saharan Africa for birds

the richest corner of the world
Above: photo by Niall Perrins - Birding Ecotours The Shoebill is best found in Uganda - some authorities place it in its own order,

Long-tailed Widow in South Africa by John Caddick - Birding Ecotours

Birdwatching has just been taken to another level with a recent research article showing that Sub-Saharan Africa has greater bird diversity than South America and the rest of the world.
The article “Beyond just species: Is Africa the most taxonomically diverse bird continent?” was published in the latest edition of the South African Journal of Science. According to one of the authors, birding specialist Dr Chris Lotz, Africa is generally not regarded as the most diverse bird continent: “The common perception is that South America is the world’s best birding

destination. We are trying to show that if you look at a deeper level, Sub-Saharan Africa has by far a genetically more diverse birdlife than the rest of the world.” In other words, when one moves beyond just counting species, a region with eight species from eight genera is obviously more diverse than a region with eight species but from only seven genera, Dr Lotz explains. Called the taxonomic system of classification, these ranks – kingdom; phylum; class; order; family; genus, and species – show the kinship of animals, birds and plants. The order Coraciiforms, for example, is made up of ten families of birds that include the kingfishers, todies, motmots, bee-eaters, rollers, hoopoes and hornbills.

Dr Lotz worked with Prof Michael Cherry from the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University, and birding enthusiasts Ms Monika Forner and Dr John A Caddick, to do some simple maths to prove their point. Using simple regression analyses they tested for relationships between genus count, family count, order count, and the ratios between, for example, species: genus or species: family.

And the winners are… According to the authors: “In terms of higher taxonomy, Sub-Saharan Africa is arguably the richest part of the planet for birds.”

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FULL CIRCLE DIGITAL MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2013