14 
Bulletin of the EANHS 29(1/2) 
cut down over the last months or arc slated to be cut 
down 
Greater Galago (Bush Baby). A number arc or were 
resident I have seen them feeding on the resin 
Syke’s Monkey: A troop resident in the area Suspect 
that they loo eat the resin, but I have never observed 
this action. Suspect the Eucalyptus arc only used as a 
method of travelling from one area to another This is 
important as it keeps them above the ground and away 
from dogs. 
Black-faced Verve! : From time to time a small troop 
visit the area. Comments as above 
Tree Hyrax: A number resident 
Bush Pig: Until recently Bush Pigs were resident As I 
am regularly finding snares I suspect that they arc 
doomed anyway 
Bat llawk: A pair is resident in the area. Some years 
ago they attempted to breed but their nest was taken 
over by a pair of Greater Sparrowhawks In South Africa 
Bat Hawks prefer Eucalyptus over all other trees. 
Greater Sparmvvhuwk: A pair breed from time to time 
Their nest tree has now been cut down 
Augur Buz/urd: A pair breeds from time to lime One 
of the pair is mclanislic tall black! I believe their nest 
tree is slated to be cut down 
Montane Nightjar: Several pairs breed every year in 
the leal litter under the Eucalyptus trees. 
Tambourine Dove: Several pairs are resident They 
feed in the deep litter under the trees 
Kcd-cycd Dove: Nave made their nests in the lower 
branches nl the Eucalyptus several times. 
Bron/e Sunblrd: Often build their nests hanging from 
the lower branches of the Eucalyptus They also feed 
on the flowers of the Eucalyptus 
Variable Sunbird: Feed on the Eucalyptus flowers. 
Northern Double-collared sunbird: As above 
Scarlet-chested Sunbird: As above, but in South Africa 
have been recorded regularly building their nests in 
Eucalyptus trees 
llclmclcd Guineafowl. A small- flock visit from time 
to time. Feed in the leaf litter 
The following birds have all been recorded breeding in 
Eucalyptus trees 
Pied Crow. Ring-necked Dove. African Goshawk. Little 
Sparrowhawk. Ova mho Sparrowhavvk. African Hawk 
Eagle. Cattle Egret and Black-headed Herons Note: 
The Black-headed Heron nest colony in the Nairobi 
Railyards is famous in the ornithological world. 
Dave Richards. PO Box 24545, Nairobi. Kenya 
29th July. 1999 
OF TERMITES AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS 
Where 1 live, in extremely dry country off the Mombasa 
Road between Lukenya and the Machakos turnoff at 
Makutano. scanty rain in March and mid-April of this 
year, and an isolated 3 mm shower at the beginning of 
June afforded little benefit to the countryside. The so- 
called short rains at the end of 1998 proved very short 
indeed and passed almost unnoticed, my main rain tank 
receiving only about 40 cm of guttered catchment during 
that whole season The past year has been a very dry 
one. with the savannah in typical gold and grey 
colouration for most of it. mid-day shade temperatures 
around 35" C and frequent windstorms. 
Since the beginning of June a cunous phenomenon 
has beentaking place, with winged termite alates 
emerging from their nests in the early mornings on an 
almost daily basis, much to the delight of insectivorous 
birds, which have been rather hard-pressed for food 
On 26'" June, three (probably) while-bellied bustards 
dominated pickings (noisily) of emerging alates among 
long dry grass a little way in front of my house, and the 
following day a solitary Kon bustard barely lifted his 
head before mid-morning from another nest about lOOm 
to the cast . 
I had always been under the impression that alates 
typically emerge in ihc evenings following rain, a view 
reinforced by the natural history notes in Tim Corfield's 
The Wilderness Guardian The comprehensive Termites 
and Soil ( 1971 ) by K E Lee and (appropriately) T G 
Wbod offers funher information on swarming patterns, 
but states ‘Flight or swarming is usually synchronised, 
noi only within die one colony, but also between different 
colonies of the same species It is commonly associated 
with seasonal weather patterns, such as wdl-dcHncd 
periods of rainfall 
Of die Wtst African harvester termite Trinenitermes 
trinenius (we have many harvester nests locally but of 
unidentified species— where are you Dr Jo Darlington?), 
ii states that this species “harvests all year round" as- 
ours appear to do. and that together with Amitermes 
exiuicifer and Cubitermes seserus, their “maximum 
building activity coincided with the onset of heavy rains 
and the flight of alates 
Could any EANHS member perhaps throw light on 
