Glen Valentine returned from two back-to-back Highlights trips to Madagascar, with plenty to be excited about. This bio-diverse wonderland once again yielded a plethora of endemic birds, mammals and reptiles. However, it was his discovery of a female Bernier’s Vanga in the depths of the Analamazaotra (Perinet) rainforest that was an exceptional find indeed. This species is confined to areas of lowland rainforest in the north of Madagascar and is a particularly tough and seldom observed species. As far as we are aware, these are the first documented records of this exceedingly rare vanga from this reserve. Glen’s images are simply remarkable!

Madagascar supports some of the finest and most desirable birds on earth, and our groups enjoyed fabulous views of all five sought-after ground rollers, Subdesert Mesite, Cuckoo Roller, a host of fabulous vangas that included the recently discovered Red-shouldered Vanga, most of Madagascar’s couas, Velvet and Common Sunbird-Asity, scarce Madagascar Cuckoo-Hawk, Henst’s Goshawk, Banded Kestrel, Madagascar Pratincole, Madagascar Buttonquail, Madagascar Plover, Madagascar Sandgrouse, exquisite Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher, bizarre Crossley’s Babbler, secretive Madagascar Wood Rail, vulnerable Humblot’s Heron, exceptionally beautiful Collared Nightjar and the handsome Crab-plover. Mammal-wise, we enjoyed good numbers of endearing lemurs that included the famous Indri, Diademed Sifaka and the much celebrated Ring-tailed Lemur. We also encountered several spiny hedgehog-tenrecs, as well as a multitude of diverse chameleons and other endemic reptiles and amphibians amongst a unique culture and captivating scenery.