United Nations has been working in the Foret du Day, to improve the 
living standards of the 2,000 local inhabitants, but with very little 
success. A recent survey showed that there is currently five times more 
livestock grazing the forest than the area can support, but still there are 
only two family groups which have enough livestock for self-suffi- 
ciency. Clearly, alternative enterprises and a drastic reduction in 
grazing pressure are needed if the forest is to be saved. The forthcom- 
ing production of a long-term management plan for the forest offers 
some hope and the opportunity for some conservation input towards 
saving this unique natural resource. 
Surrounding the primary forest at lower altitudes is a large area of 
secondary forest, consisting of various Acacia species; this area is very 
rich in birdlife. It was whilst surveying secondary forest on Mabla in 
November 1985 that we discovered what may eventually turn out to be 
Djibouti's second endemic, a melba finch. Whilst clearly related to the 
Green-winged Pytilia Pytilia melba, the Djibouti birds differ in having 
bright yellow (not red) faces, and both sexes have yellow (not deep red) 
tails. All of the 13 races of P. melba have red faces and red tails. As we 
did not take a specimen, our description of Pytilia (melba) flavicaudata 
has not been accepted by the taxonomic community. 
Besides its birds, the Goda massif also supports a significant 
proportion of the world population of the Bankouale Palm Livistona 
carinensis, a species found only in Djibouti, Somalia and southern 
Yemen. Djibouti supports about 400 mature trees. A tall, distincive 
species, growing to heights of 25 m, the palm occurs only in areas with 
surface water - a scarcity in Djibouti. It produces large numbers of 
seeds which germinate readily in moist conditions, but grazing by 
livestock and flash floods ensure that virtually none survives. 
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