With this Atlas our goal therefore is to improve the knowledge of the birds of this region in order to be a source of proposals with the authorities for limiting the negative impact of human activities and climate change, for indicating strategic areas for the species with a strong patrimonial value and for supporting the authorities about the establishment of a sustainable ecotourism.
From a sighting pressure as homogeneous as possible on the whole area, the goal is to obtain an accurate map of the distribution of the species and to know more about their biological status and preservation.
During the atlas inventory, we discovered 5 new species for Senegal:
Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides), Turati’s Boubou (Laniarius turatii), Preuss’s Swallow (Petrochelidon preussi), Little Rush Warbler (Bradypterus baboecala), Cuckoo-finch (Anomalospiza imberbis).
On the other hand, many new species have come to complete the list of the avifauna of Casamance:
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), Common Coot (Fulica atra), White-headed Lapwing (Vanellus albiceps), Lesser Jacana (Microparra capensis), Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius), Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles exustus), Audouin's Gull (Ichthyaetus audouinii), Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis), Adamawa Turtle Dove (Streptopelia hypopyrrha), Golden-tailed Woodpecker (Campethera abingoni), Brown-backed Honeybird (Prodotiscus regulus), African Spotted Creeper (Salpornis salvadori), Singing Bush Lark (Mirafra javanica), Flappet Lark (Mirafra rufocinnamomea), Brown-throated Martin (Riparia paludicola), Lesser Striped Swallow (Cecropis abyssinica), Sun Lark (Galerida modesta), African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp), Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes), Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), African Blue Flycatcher (Elminia longicauda), Green-winged Pytilia (Pytilia melba).
Several taxa have not been seen for several decades and especially those that are strictly located in the Lower Casamance National Park. Since this site has been closed since the 1980s, it is impossible to say whether they are still part of the regional avifauna. These are the following species:
Tambourine Dove (Turtur tympanistria), Yellow-casqued Hornbill (Ceratogymna elata), Red-rumped Tinkerbird (Pogoniulus atroflavus), Hairy-breasted Barbet (Tricholaema hirsuta).
Quite logically, some accidental species contacted since the 1960s have not been reviewed:
Chestnut-winged Starling (Onychognathus fulgidus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca melanocephala), Thick-billed Weaver (Amblyospiza albifrons), Grey-headed Oliveback (Delacourella capistrata). More surprisingly, is the lack of recent data for the Crimson Seedcracker (Pyrenestes sanguineus) which was considered quite common in Oussouye in the 1980s.