*^gusi/Deccmber 1 997 
31 
part in a worthwhile park program while raising 
funds for that particular work. I look forward to 
sending enquiries to Earthwatch on this 
possibility. 
Thoughts on the fellowship program. 
• The first day or so we all pointed to our countries. The 
third or fourth day we were pointing to our continents. 
By the fifth day we were aware of only one earth.' 
Sultan Bin Salman al-Saud. Astronaut 
Ihe fellowship program is a great idea for people like 
myself who would not hove Ihe financial ability to niBkc 
such a trip to expand on their horizons and gain strength 
in learning, experience and sharing. 
Although two weeks is a substantial amount of lime 
to visit u project, before any work can begin there is a 
lot of orientation. It would have been very' nice to have 
more time to assimilate all the aspects of the work 
involved and to adjust to new conditions. The Principal 
Investigator was very approachable and the pace m 
which sbe took us through all the work necessary was 
v»y good. Although we did not follow the day to day 
program set out in the briefing she felt we hod done 
sufficient work and covered areas not previously done 
by the other Earth watch teams. 
As a new country I found Madagascar to be really 
exciting. It was great fun learning and using some 
Malagasy. The people were so hospitable and the food 
was very good. It was also an education. I appreciated 
learning about new cultures and different perceptions 
Ihe overall experience was excellent and I am 
grateful to l-arthwatch Europe, the European Union and 
the East Africa Natural History Society for the 
opportunity I gained in travelling to another beautiful 
country, making new friends and achieved .i wealth or 
new experiences 
Catherine Ngarachu. Box 44486. Nairobi. Kenya 
NOTES 
GULL*BILLED TERNS FEEDING ON DUNG 
BEETLES (FAMILY SCARABAEIDAE) 
The food of the Gull-hilled Tern is usually iruteas. taken 
from the air or near the surface of water, and occasionally 
fish. 
Every- year from late January until March the southern 
short grass plains of the Sercngeti National Hark. 
Tanzania, arc home to over a million wildebeest plus 
tens of thousands of other large mammals. At this time 
of the year there are frequent but scattered rain showers 
which encourage the growth of grass in the mineral- 
rich earth. It is here the wildebeest give birth to their 
young. During this period flocks consisting of several 
thousand Gull-billed Terns can be seen flying over the 
herds, while at other times the only Gull-billed Terns 
that are seen are odd birds, usually along the shores of 
Lakes Masck and Ndutu or by pools in the Hidden 
Valley. 
In February 1986. while driving to Lake Man vara 
National Park along the Makuyuni to Mto wn Mbu road. 
I saw a very large flock (estimated to be in the tens of 
thousands) of Gull-billed Terns flying low over the 
ground in the area cast of Lake Manyara, apparently 
feeding on insects ether just above ground level or on 
the ground. Unfortunately. I did not have time to leave 
die road to gee a closer look at them. A few days later 
while driving in the Sercngeti Notional Pari;, which was 
still very diy at that time, there were very few Gull-billed 
Terns to be seen. Small groups, all numbering less than 
twenty, were present at Lake Ndutu and in the Hidden 
Valley. On die afternoon of 20 February a huge storm hit 
the Lake Ndutu area, with strong winds followed by 
very heavy rain. The next morning was fine and it was 
vety noticeable that there were Gull-billed Terns almost 
cvciywhere. The terns were spread over 3 very' large 
area ami again probably numbered in their tens of 
thousands. They appeared to be feeding on insects just 
above ground level. 
Almost eveiy year I visit this area with safari clients 
to experience the annual wildebeest migration and even 
year Gull-billed Terns arc present but not necessarily in 
such large numbers. There appears to be a definite 
relationship between rainfall and the number of terns. 
In February 1 996 1 war. fortunate to have clients with 
me who were interested in birds, so I took the 
opportunity of making an effort to see just what the 
icnis were feeding on. Otic morning, after heavy nun 
during the previous afternoon and evening, we were 
parked among u large herd of Wildebeest with large 
numbers orients flying above and around them. It soon 
became clear that the Terns were feeding on dung 
beetles ( Family Scarabacidae). They caught the beetles 
by swooping down on them and then ate them while 
still in flight The wet ground and the presence of 
thousands of Wildebeest created ideal conditions for 
dung beetles. As we watched many freshly hatched 
beetles were emerging Trom the ground, while other, 
were busy rolling balls of dung. This was the perfect 
opportunity' for the Gull-billed Terns to feed on them. 
Some terns appeared to fly close to the Wildebeest but 
I was never able to see if they were catching insects 
disturbed by the animals. 
What is still a mystery is where are the terns before 
the rain storms? It would appear from my observations 
that the terns only arrive at an area after heavy rain. 
Before that very few are seen but the influx immediately 
after rain is very' rapid. 
Dave Richards. P. O. Box 24545. Nairobi. 
LIFE IN AND AROUND THE HOT SPRINGS AT 
LITTLE MAGADI 
I first visited Little Magadi on 29 September 1 984 on an 
EANHS field trip. I went again on 26 October 1 997 with 
