Karamoja apalis  (Apalis karamojae)

The Karamoja apalis is a globally threatened warbler, which is very poorly known (2). It was first discovered in 1919 in the Karamoja District of north east Uganda, hence its English name (3). This bird has greyish upperparts, whitish underparts and a black bill. The wings and tail are dark grey, and the tail has white outermost feathers. The inner secondary feathers of the wing are white, forming a narrow stripe (3). There are two subspecies or races; Apalis karamojae karamojae is found in Uganda, while Apalis karamojae stronachi is found in Tanzania. The Tanzanian race has a longer tail and wings than the Ugandan race. In both races, males are darker in colour than females, and females of the Tanzanian subspecies are darker than Ugandan males (3). Juveniles are similar in appearance to adults but have a mainly pink bill and yellow gape, and browner wings (4). The song is a duet in which each partner produces alternate notes. Together, they produce a series of rapid, varied phrases consisting of between two and five loud, piping notes (4).

The Ugandan subspecies A. k. karamojae is found atfour sites in north-eastern Uganda (2). The Tanzanian subspecies A. k. stronachi is found in Tanzania at five sites, including Serengeti National Park and Maswa Game Reserve. One of its main strongholds in Tanzania is the Wembere Steppe, which is considered to be the most threatened unprotected Important Bird Area in the country (4).

This species appears to be almost entirely restricted to acacia thorn scrub (2). In Tanzania, it is particularly associated with whistling thorn (Acacia drepanolobium), which in turn is associated with black cotton soils and seasonally flooded lands (2) (4).

The acacia scrub habitat of this species in the Wembere Steppe, which is unprotected, has been reduced and fragmented by livestock farming (4). Pressures on whistling thorn in the Wembere Steppe include clearance for cultivation, pruning for firewood, browsing by goats and trampling by cattle. Grass fires may also damage thorn trees (4). These pressures on the habitat of the Karamoja apalis are likely to increase as the populations of humans and their livestock grow (4).

Karamoja apalis occurs in Serengeti National Park and adjoining protected areas in Tanzania, and in Kidepo National Park, Uganda. Little is known of its status in these protected areas, however, and there have been no conservation programmes targeted at the species (2) (4). Surveys of the species in Uganda are difficult due to security problems in the bird's range (2). The study carried out in 2003 found that the range of Karamoja apalis in the Wembere Steppe was less extensive than had previously been thought. Possible options for safeguarding the apalis population in the steppe include the provision of management incentives, aimed at encouraging farmers to maintain patches of whistling thorn. However, resource constraints in Tanzania are such that a sufficiently large-scale incentive scheme is unlikely to prove viable in the long-term. Further research on the species is required, in particular, to determine its current status in the protected areas of northern Tanzania, including Serengeti National Park (4).

For more information on the Karamoja apalis see:

• BirdLife International:
  www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=7420&m=0
• Rufford Foundation- Philip Shaw-Status and conservation of the Karamoja Apalis in the Wembere Steppe:
  www.rufford.org/rsg/Projects/PhilipShaw.html

Information supplied and authenticated by Dr Philip Shaw of Scottish Natural Heritage.
http://www.snh.org.uk/