Phedina - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

Both species occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The Mascarene Martin's breeding range is restricted to Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. The nominate subspecies breeds on Mauritius and Réunion and P. b. madagascariensis occurs in Madagascar. It may also nest on Pemba where it has been seen in the breeding season. Breeding habitat can be anywhere with suitable sites for constructing a nest, such as ledges, buildings, tunnels, caves or amongst rocks. The martin is found on the east side of Réunion between 200–500 m (660–1640 ft), and on the south and west coasts of Mauritius. It also occurs on inland cliffs on Mauritius. P. b. borbonica is resident on Mauritius and Réunion, although there are local seasonal movements on these island, but the Madagascan subspecies is migratory, with the martins moving to lower ground or to the African mainland outside the breeding season. It is normally uncommon and local in coastal Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and Pemba Island, and very rare in Kenya and mainland Tanzania, although large numbers sometimes winter in Mozambique or Malawi. It has also been recorded from Comoros and other Indian Ocean locations including at least four islands in the Seychelles. Some of these records may be due to vagrant birds carried by cyclones. There are unsubstantiated claims of occurrences in the Transvaal.

The distribution of the Brazza's Martin was initially poorly studied, although it is now known to breed in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, and in northern Angola. There is one probable sighting from southeast Gabon. In the breeding season this martin is found near rivers with the steep banks that are needed for the nest burrows. Suitable habitat occurs along lowland tropical rivers like the Congo or rivers with sandbanks in the highlands of Angola. The highland locations have wide grassy riverways running through miombo woodlands, whereas the Congo Basin is tropical forest with over 200 cm (80 in) of rain a year. The lowland habitats are a patchwork of dry, seasonally flooded and permanently wet woodland, and seasonally flooded savanna. This martin seems to be able to adapt to open savanna habitats containing Hymenocardia acida, in which it will roost overnight when not breeding, and is therefore not heavily dependent on the neighbouring forests as long as the riverine breeding sites survive.