As with the francolin, very Uttle is 
known of the palm's biology and 
the species could very easily come 
to the verge of extinction if conser- 
vation measures are not instigated 
soon. 
Djibouti's other international con- 
servation responsibility rests with 
its small population of Arabian 
Bustards Ardeotis arabs. In 1985, we 
surveyed much of the southwest of 
the country for bustards. Potential 
sites were located from the air and 
then surveyed using transects and spot-checks. Bus- 
tards were present in four widely separated areas, and 
further work has shown them to occur throughout most 
of the country. In Djibouti, the species appears to require 
the following: a fine sand or gravel substrate; either 
scattered Acacia and a good herb layer, or more Acacia 
and fewer herbs; and a plentiful supply of grasshoppers. 
More often than not, orJy fresh tracks were seen, but this 
spring we saw Up to seven birds together. At present, 
the species appears to be unmolested by the local people, 
and the birds were observed feeding very close to 
habitation. 
Our work has increasingly incorporated a conservation- 
education element. For any long term success, the sup- 
port of the local people is vital and what is most desper- 
ately needed is an educational resource, in the form of a 
reserve, near to Djibouti City; here the benefits of wild- 
life conservation can be demonstrated to large numbers 
of people. To this end, we have been working together 
with a French ex-patriate, Alain Laurent. The initial site 
was the old salt-pans at Waramous, 4 km south of the 
city. However, whilst the matter was being pursued 
with the authorities, the site was used for dumping and 
had now literally disappeared under a sea of rubbish. 
In autumn 1988, a second site was chosen, 3 km farther 
south, at Petite Douda, a small wadi being used to 
channel purified water from a new sewage treatment 
plant out to sea. The effects of the water have been 
dramatic: vegetation is rapidly becoming established, 
and the area is already being used by passage and 
'liii;;' 
ft.i. 
19 
