Description

Part of the museum's 'Studies in Afrotropical Zoology' series, this is the first illustrated book on the birds of Katanga. The status of the 693 species with confirmed records was investigated carefully, including research on the collections of the Royal Museum for Central Africa.

Katanga has five endemic bird species: Lippens's Ground Thrush from the Upemba National Park, Greater Double-collared Sunbird from the Marungu mountains, Upemba Masked Weaver (along the Lualaba River), Lufira Masked Weaver (along the Lufira River), and Black-lored Waxbill (along the Lualaba River).

General distribution, presence and status in Katanga, ecology, breeding and migration, notes, and conservation status are discussed for a selection of 248 species that are illustrated in full colour. Habitat diversity is illustrated by 25 photos.

Given that the photographs for this book were assembled over only three years by a small team, we can conclude that Katanga's ornithological biodiversity is still relatively well-preserved.