April 1998 
5 
particular Kaloleni, Mtwapa and even Vipingo) appears 
attractive as a feeding area for the crows, possibly 
because it is an area of dense human population and 
productive agricultural practices. 
Unlike in Zanzibar, where the majority of the crow 
population has been killed using DRC 1339 poison and 
traps (Archer, 1990; Anonymous, 1995), the current 
control programme in the coastal area around Mombasa 
does not seem to have been very successful so far. For 
effective monitoring of the success of control 
programmes, it is suggested that a regular census of the 
kind described in this paper should be performed. The 
changes in number of crows arriving from the north, 
west or south of Mombasa will indicate the rate of 
success of the eradication programmes of the species in 
these respective areas. 
Apart from monitoring the success of control 
programmes, future studies of the Indian House Crow 
may focus their attention on: (1) the identification and 
census of other roosting sites along the coast; (2) 
mparison of census results between counts in the 
evening (such as in the present study) with those obtained 
in the early morning (in which direction do they fly?); 
; inventory of the resident population of crows on 
Mombasa island; (4) identification of their breeding 
■reas also of the Pied Crows); (5) monitoring of the 
Pcrv. distribution and further spreading of the Indian 
Crow in Kenya; (6) relationship between the waste 
management problem of Mombasa and the distribution 
3* the crows; (7) interaction of the Indian House Crow 
wA other bird species; (8) investigation of alternative 
soatroi methods, including the use of repellents and 
reflective tape as proven successful in the eradication 
f other bird pest species (DWRS. 1995). 
\cfcncm ledgements 
w* would like to thank the following people, who 
tarticipated in the census: Mike Mannaart, Caroline 
Ocbieng, Ms. Doris, Ali Daya Wako, Swalew All 
vtxiulrahman and Mr. Kassim. Mr. Benjamin Kavu 
Warden of the Mombasa Marine National Park and 
Reserve) is acknowledged for allowing four KWS rangers 
participate in the census. The management of Bamburi 
ement factory is thanked for allowing us to make 
'nervations from the top of the cement silos at Likoni. 
Discussions with Pierre Burton have contributed 
significantly to the contents of this paper. We appreciated 
he comments on the manuscript by Dr. Leon Bennun, 
Dr Luc Lens, Oliver Nasirwa, Loma Depew, Felix 
Kaloki, Nyawira Muthiga and one anonymous referee. 
Paul L.A. Erftemeijer, PO. Box 21 Sin Phuwanat, Hat 
Yai 90113, Thailand 
lan Seys, Toekomststraat 7, 8310 Brugge, Belgium 
References 
Anonymous (1995). Minutes of the House Crow Meeting 
held on May 19th, 1995. (Forest Action Network, 
Nairobi); 5 pp. 
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Crow in Unguja, Pemba and Adjacent Islets. Zanzibar 
Environmental Study Series No. 10; Commission of 
Lands and Environment, Zanzibar, 16 pp. 
Archer, A.L. (1995). The Indian House Crow Corvus 
splendens Control Programme in Zanzibar and 
Pemba: Review for the five years 1990-1995. Report 
to FINNIDA and Zanzibar Integrated Land and 
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of East African birds. East Africa Natural History 
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(1991). House Crow damage to sprouting sunflower. 
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Balkema, Rotterdam, pp: 328-329. 
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coast. Kenya Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, 
Wildlife Conservation and Management Department; 
research report; 3 pp. 
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Crow in Mombasa and a survey of its expansion of 
range in coastal Kenya. Proceedings of the VII Pan 
African Ornithological Congress, Nairobi; pp. 303-310. 
Ryall, C. & G. Reid (1987). The Indian House Crow in 
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of Zoology 14(2): 238-239. 
THREE BUTTERFLIES OF TAITA 
PART III CYMOTHOE TEITA 
ADULTS 
In my last few months in the Thita Hills, I took up the 
challenge of a chance remark. Mike Clifton had said 
that unlike the Taita Swallowtail, noone had seen 
Cymothoe teita (the Taita Glider), a small- to medium¬ 
sized yellow and black nymphalid, for some time. A 
visit to the butterfly collection in the museum showed 
that of their 19 specimens, 13 had been caught by one 
person during 1969. There were 10 specimens from 
Mbololo Forest, two from Ngangao, and one from 
Chawia. (There had actually been one caught more 
recently, March 1987 in Ngangao. ) As the time of year 
for me was similar to that of the collector’s visit (August 
to November), I visited Ngangao Forest (our nearest). 
During seven trips from the late August to November, l 
saw a total of five males—mostly on the west edge of 
the forest, either flying around, feeding on a large mauve 
Composite (Veronia auriculifera) or, once, on a forest 
