Eastern Africa Primate Diversity and Conservation Program, Nanyuki, Kenya
The River Prinia Prinia fluviatilis Chappuis, 1974, is a small passerine of the family Cisticolidae, restricted to waterside and water-logged, sometimes seasonally dry, vegetation in otherwise arid landscapes. Its distribution consists of a series of isolated wetland “islands” along the Sahelian belt, from northern Senegal in the west to northwestern Kenya (Urban et al. 1997; BirdLife International 2018; eBird 2026). The eastern-most record was obtained by Finch (2005) in 2001 near Nanam (520 m asl), 20 km southeast of Lokichokio, Turkana County, extreme northwestern Kenya. This was an eastward range extension of about 2,500 km from southwestern Chad, and the first record for Kenya and East Africa.
Northern Kenya is the most poorly known region in Eastern Africa as concerns the taxonomy, distribution, abundance, threats, and conservation status of its larger mammals. Nonetheless, this region is known to hold a high number of threatened species and subspecies. Among the larger mammals, 19 species of antelope are known to occur. During November 2025 to July 2026, we completed ‘Phase Three’ of the ‘Horn of Africa Antelope Survey’. Phase Three consisted of two field trips in northwestern Kenya covering as much of the land area as possible in the region west of Lake Turkana and Suguta Valley (i.e., west of the Eastern (Gregory) Rift Valley), north of Kainuk, east of the Uganda border, and south of the Elemi Triangle. In addition, we conducted two shorter surveys, one in far western Laikipia County (4 days) and one in the vicinity of the Merti Plateau (7 days), central Kenya. Diurnal surveys, nocturnal surveys, and camera trap surveys were conducted by two researchers (total of 47 field days; total distance driven 5,883 km).
