Site Report: Toliara

Running Coua (Coua cursor)

Madagascar Lark (Eremopterix hova)

Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata) - Rufous Morph Subadult Male

Madagascar Magpie-Robin (Copsychus albospecularis) - Male

Olive-capped Coua (Coua olivaceiceps)

Crested Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus)

Subdesert Brush-Warbler (Nesillas lantzii)

Verreaux's Coua (Coua verreauxi)

Sakalava Weaver (Ploceus sakalava)

Madagascar Cisticola (Cisticola cherina)

Madagascar Magpie-Robin (Copsychus albospecularis) - Female

Madagascar Bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)

Madagascar Munia (Lonchura nana)

Kittlitz's Plover (Charadrius pecuarius)

Souimanga Sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga) - Male

Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)

Red-shouldered Vanga (Calicalicus rufocarpalis)

Common Newtonia (Newtonia brunneicauda)

Chabert's Vanga (Leptopterus chabert)

Madagascar Swift (Apus balstoni)

Commerson's Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros commersonii)

The Toliara area is mostly dry and brushy with some remnant patches containing very large baobob trees.

2017-10-31: Signs were posted in the domestic airport warning of both plague and ebola. We flew to Tolaira anyway for the first real leg of the trip. In the afternoon, we headed over to the Arboretum d'Antsokay. The guides were very determined to find Coua's and other birds, running around in the scrub and blasting their phones with bird calls. Too bad, I was hoping to get away from all the tech.
2017-11-01: We woke up very early to drive out to a formerly forested area known as La Table. Even now, there are people cutting the very sparse forest in search of charcoal. Plus the burning of every patch of grass. My arms got pretty scratched up bushwhacking through spiky shrub land. For fun, we stopped at a bunch of swampy and dune areas in search of the Littoral Rock Thrush who never showed.

Kingdom: Animals (44 records)

Phylum: Chordates (44 records)

Class: Birds (43 records)

Order: Anseriformes (1 record)
- Family: Swans, Geese, and Ducks
- Hottentot Teal (Spatula hottentota)

Order: Cranes, Rails, and Allies (1 record)
- Family: Rails, Gallinules, and Allies
- Baillon's Crake (Zapornia pusilla)

Order: Cuckoos (4 records)
- Family: Coucals
- Madagascar Coucal (Centropus toulou)
- Family: Cuckoos
- Running Coua (Coua cursor)
- Verreaux's Coua (Coua verreauxi)
- Olive-capped Coua (Coua olivaceiceps)

Order: Doves and Pigeons (2 records)
- Family: Pigeons and Doves
- Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
- Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)

Order: Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies (1 record)
- Family: Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
- Black Kite (Milvus migrans)

Order: Hummingbirds and Swifts (1 record)
- Family: Swifts
- Madagascar Swift (Apus balstoni)

Order: Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, Motmots (1 record)
- Family: Bee-eaters
- Madagascar Bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)

Order: Owls And Nightjars (1 record)
- Family: Nighthawks and Nightjars
- Madagascar Nightjar (Caprimulgus madagascariensis)

Order: Parrots (1 record)
- Family: New World Parrots
- Gray-headed Lovebird (Agapornis canus)

Order: Pelicans (8 records)
- Family: Falcons and Caracaras
- Madagascar Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
- Family: Flamingos
- Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)
- Family: Herons
- Great Egret (Ardea alba)
- Western Cattle Egret (Ardea ibis)
- Family: Sandpipers and Allies
- Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
- Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
- Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
- Family: Stilts and Avocets
- Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

Order: Perching Birds (18 records)
- Family: Drongos
- Crested Drongo (Dicrurus forficatus)
- Family: Jays and Crows
- Pied Crow (Corvus albus)
- Chabert's Vanga (Leptopterus chabert)
- Family: Larks
- Madagascar Lark (Eremopterix hova)
- Family: Old World Sparrows
- Sakalava Weaver (Ploceus sakalava)
- Madagascar Munia (Lepidopygia nana)
- Family: Old World Warblers and Gnatcatchers
- Madagascar Swamp-Warbler (Acrocephalus newtoni)
- Common Newtonia (Newtonia brunneicauda)
- Common Jery (Neomixis tenella)
- Family: Paradise-flycatcher
- Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata)
- Family: Prinias and Apalis
- Madagascar Cisticola (Cisticola cherina)
- Family: Reed Warblers and Allies
- Subdesert Brush-Warbler (Nesillas lantzii)
- Family: Starlings and Mynas
- Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
- Family: Sunbirds
- Souimanga Sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga)
- Family: Swallows
- Mascarene Martin (Phedina borbonica)
- Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
- Family: Thrushes and Allies
- Madagascar Magpie-Robin (Copsychus albospecularis)
- Family: Vangas
- Red-shouldered Vanga (Calicalicus rufocarpalis)

Order: Shorebirds and Allies (4 records)
- Family: Buttonquail
- Madagascar Buttonquail (Turnix nigricollis)

Class: Mammals (1 record)

Order: Bats (1 record)
- Family: Rhinonycteridae
- Commerson's Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros commersonii)