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Ruff
Philomachus pugnax
2.92459, 36.2325
Field Notes
Description:
This member of Scolopacidae (Sandpiper, Snipe) family is medium to large size wader, of average length of 30cm for males, 25cm for females. It shows dark gray to brown mantle with conspicuous scaling, greenish or orange legs and medium size blackish bill - sometimes with orange base. Here seen in its winter plumage, with light colors on neck and abdomen.
Habitat:
Here seen on shores of lake Turkana, foraging with other shorebirds (stilts, godwit, stints seen in photos). This bird is a common palearctic migrant all over the subsaharan Africa.
Notes:
Lake Turkana is saline desert lake and the biggest water mass of Rift valley lake system. Currently, this lake is in danger - over the past decade, Ethiopia has embarked on a massive plan which includes constructing dams, developing water-intensive irrigated cotton and sugar plantations, and irrigation canals and other infrastructure in Ethiopia’s Omo River Basin. These developments are predicted to dramatically reduce the water supply of Lake Turkana, as Omo River provides 90 percent of the water in it. Dramatic reductions in freshwater input from the Omo River into Lake Turkana will increase levels of salinity in the lake and raise water temperatures, decimating fish breeding areas and mature fish populations. Higher air temperatures will increase rates of evaporation, further increasing salinity while reducing biological productivity... which would later on influence the entire ecological system.
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