Originally, three turaco species were described from the Horn of Africa: the widespread White-cheeked Turaco Tauraco leucotis, the Crimson-crested Turaco T. donaldsoni, and the Ruspoli’s Turaco T. ruspolii, the latter two being endemic Ethiopian taxa. Subsequent taxonomic revisions relegated the Crimson-crested Turaco to a subspecies of the White-cheeked Turaco, and this classification is now of long standing. This revision was the result of an ambiguous interpretation of their actual ranges due to a lack of […]

The Mascarene Islands of Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues, situated in the southwest Indian Ocean, once harboured a number of diverse bird species, most notably the Mauritian Dodo. Unlike most other oceanic islands, the Mascarenes were in pristine condition when first discovered by humans, who recorded important but often vague details in ships’ logs and journals. The arrival of Europeans at the end of the 16th century, with their accompanying commensal animals, proved disastrous for the […]

When I decided to pursue my passion for poo at PhD level, I never imagined I would end up on Heron Island: a (very) small coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Just half a mile long, this sub-tropical island is home to a huge variety of biodiversity. So much so that David Attenborough opted to film there. Fig 1 Heron Island, credit: Andrea Estandía