April & August, 1999 
II 
Figure 2 A detailed map of the cliffs with an indication of the 
locations of raptor pairs on the diffs The three main cliffs are 
numbered and the two cliffs south of cliff 1 are indicated as 
short lines 
Peregrine Falcons Folco peregrinus and Dark Chanting 
Goshawks Melierox metobotes were recorded on three 
occasions, and a pair of Vcrreaux's Eagles Agutin 
verreauxil on two occasions. Single sightings of La oner 
Falcons FaUv biarmteus and two Pygmy Falcons 
Pblihierax semnorquaius were also recorded 
Ollier species recorded included Brown Snake Eagles 
Circaeius anereus roosting on the cliff, and 
Gvmnogenes Poly boroidesry pus, Batcleurs Teraihopm 
ecaudatus. Fish Eagles Haliaeeius vocifer, Bai Hawks 
Mat he i rwnphus alarm . Hobbs Falcons folco uihbuteo. 
ftillid Harriers Circus macrourus and Steppe Buzzards 
Buteo buteo vulpinus Hying above the cliffs 
\Vt were able to estimate the number of resident 
pairs along the cliff (Figure 2) during the second 
component of the survey There was one Vcrreaux's 
Eagle pair with two nests approximately 200 meters 
apart One pair of Unner Falcons were regularly seen 
displaying above and on the cliff Four pairs of Common 
Kestrels were found, although one pair were oidv seen 
during the early mornings Of these four pairs, three 
pairs were seen copulating and two of the males were 
seen feeding the female TWo pairs of Shikras were 
seen on sections of cliff thai had high riverine vegetation 
below 
Raptors seen in immature plumage which could 
possibly have been raised in the area included Dark 
i. banting Goshawks, Shikras. ftregrinc Falcons, Lanner 
Falcons and Common Kestrels. 
Other birds associated with the cliffs 
Other cliff inhabiting birds seen included Famailcd 
Ravens Conus rhipidurus. Hemp rich's Hombills Tockus 
hemprichii , Cliff Chats Thnmnolaeo 
cinnamomeiveiuris, Rcd-wmgcd Starlings 
NeocincMa gutturalis. Bristle-crowned 
Starlings Onychognathus salwdorii, Alpine 
Swifts Apus melba. Rock Martins Hirundo 
fuligula/uscivenirice, Rufous-crowned Rollers 
Coracias naevia and Speckled Pigeons 
Columba guinea 
The many fig trees on the cliffs provided 
shade and food Species associated with the 
fig trees included a pair of Wool y necked 
Storks Ciconia episcopus, Jackson’s Hombills 
Tockus jacksoni, Blue-napcd Mousebirds 
Urocolius macrourus and Yellow- vented 
Bulbuls Pycnonotus bar hams 
Discussion 
The results of the cliff survey at I jkc Baringo 
indicate that the area represents an ideal site 
for cliff-associated birds and raptors It is high 
enough to provide protection and nest sites, 
has a high density of invertebrate and 
vertebrate prey, and the animal life around 
Ukc Barmgo probably also provides a rich 
source of food (Stevenson, undated) 
Furthermore, there are not many cliffs in the 
Rili Valley basin and one would expect a high density 
of dill-nesting raplors at the Lake Baringo cliffs 
However, wc found only six pairs of breeding 
resident raplors inhabiting these cliffs (The nesting 
habitat ol die two pairs of Shikras was the high riverine 
vegetation so cannot be considered cliff nesting raptors, i 
Surprisingly, all these pairs were confined lo a section 
2,500 m approximately in the middle of the cliff line 
Tim section was the highest part of the cliff line (mean 
height 53 m, s.d II. 5m), was vertical, relatively free 
from trees and had a dry nver bed below it with high 
riverine thomveld While there were no paths up this 
section of cliff, the human presence at the base of the 
cliff remained relatively high This, however, did not 
'ccm to visibly affect the raptors, and the Common 
Kestrels were relatively tame when approached 
It is possible that the area is unable to support more 
than one pair of Vcrreaux's Eagles which specialize on 
Rock Hyrax (Gargcii. 1990) Considering that suitable 
dill nesting habitat is relatively scarce in the basin of 
the Rift Valley and dial bird densities were relatively 
high below the cliff, it wos expected to find several 
pairs of Lanners or Peregrine Falcons. Furthermore, 
while Common Kestrel nesting densities were similar 
to those measured in low density populations in South 
Atnca (Vftn Zyl. 1993). much of the cliff was unused by 
the kestrels. In two cases, these sections were used by 
individual kestrels as roosts, and may later be used as 
nest sites should these individual kestrels find mates 
This study show's that raptors selected the highest 
section of cliff for their nesting sites Jenkins (1991) 
has shown a similar trend in Peregrine Falcon 
populations from the tropics that selected higher cliffs 
