Density estimates of Congo Peafowl Afropavo congensis and Forest Francolin Peliperdix lathami in Lomako Yokokala Faunal Reserve, Democratic Republic of the

Summary

Using call playback, we present results on the density of Congo Peafowl Afropavo congensis and Forest Francolin Peliperdix lathami in Lomako Yokokala Faunal Reserve (LYFR) in the north-western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) south of the Congo River. Both species responded to playback from their night roosts in trees. Our results provided an estimate of 2.8 (95% CI: 1.8–4.1) calling locations per km ² of Congo Peafowl (24 records), and we observed group numbers ranging from 1 to 8 individuals ( n = 6). Given the number of records of Congo Peafowl collected by rangers throughout the reserve (3,625 km ² ), and the vast majority being primary forest, we suggest the presence of a large viable population. Moreover, we present notes on the group composition and question its monogamous status in contemporary literature. We estimated an average density of 5.6 (95% CI: 4.1–7.3) males per km ² (51 records) of the Forest Francolin and regard this as the density of male territories.