Fish eating birds at Busega fille market in Lubaga division.

Abstract

Busega Fille Market is the main market in Kampala which handles fish by products (fish skins, fish carcasses, fish red meat and fish intestines) from fish processing industries in Kampala and Wakiso. The fact that a lot of food for the birds is present at the market has attracted many bird species to this place and the study conducted there identified a total of 21 species of birds belonging to 7 Orders and 13 Families. Of these, 6 were fish eating birds and 4 out of the 6 fish eating birds were present on a daily basis at the market feeding on the different fish products sold by the fish traders. There was no significant difference in abundance of the fish eating birds at the market and around the market at different times of the day however Marabou storks were the most abundant of all the fish eating birds followed by Little egrets then Hammer kop and lastly Hadada ibis. Fish red meat had the highest preference of all the fish product fed on by the fish eating birds at Busega Fille Market. It was followed by unrolled fish skins then the rolled fish skins and lastly fish carcass since its harder and bony as compared to the other fish products. However the results indicated no significant difference in the preference of the fish products by the fish eating birds. The other factors promoting the presence of these many species of birds are the poor sanitation levels in the area, favourable resting places for the birds (Lubigi swamp, building around and Entebbe express highway) and the maize stores nearby.