Maiyo Research Institute · East African biodiversity records
See what’s new in East African biodiversity records
Each week, we check iNaturalist for species recorded in a country for the first time, the Macaulay Library for bird photos and recordings, Xeno-canto for field sounds, and OpenAQ for air-quality stations. Explore the latest results and the records behind them.
This week's edition
- iNaturalist new country firsts
- +114
- iNaturalist new research-grade photos
- +2,855
- Macaulay net media change
- +4,788
- Xeno-canto change in recordings
- +49
- OpenAQ stations reporting
- 64 / 106
Latest weekly updates
Each card shows the latest weekly changes and links to the source’s full results, with the date of its check.
iNaturalist country firsts
- New to a country
- +114
- Species represented
- +108
- Global firsts
- 23
1,105 country-first records to date
eBird & Macaulay Library
- Net asset change
- +4,788
- Photos / audio / video net change
- +4,228 / +527 / +33
- New species
- +1
- Weekly audio contributors
- 37
1,080,282 assets · 2,142 species
Xeno-canto sounds
- Net recording change
- +49
- Net species change
- +4
- Unidentified recordings change
- -5
- Weekly contributors
- 7
28,193 recordings · 1,306 species
iNaturalist research grade
- New photo records
- +2,855
- Species photographed
- +911
- Contributors this week
- +290
668,213 photo records in the catalogue
OpenAQ air quality
- Stations reporting
- 64 / 106
- Stations not reporting
- 42
- Daily readings added
- +1,056
Stations in 6 countries · Data through 31 Oct 2026
iNaturalist country firsts
114 new country-first records
The first photographed, community-confirmed iNaturalist record of a species in a country. 108 species across 9 countries · checked 1 Nov 2026.
CC BY-NC · © arnouxmichel
Tabora Lady
Graphium taboranus
Observed 26 Oct 1974
CC BY-NC · © Mitiku Muanenda
Ethiopian Teacost
Isodon schimperi
Observed 17 Oct 2026
CC BY-NC · © koenbetjes
Jackson's Praomys
Praomys jacksoni
Observed 23 Oct 2026
CC BY-NC · © Inge van den Meiracker
Yellow-fronted Canary
Crithagra mozambica
Observed 24 Feb 2026
Reports
MRI research questions
Reports on East African biodiversity, each one an answer to a question we came across in the records.
Where are East Africa's holotypes?
Report 2 · All life · East Africa
A holotype is the single physical example of an organism that was used when its species was formally described. We counted the holotypes from nine East African countries recorded on GBIF and looked at where they are kept, when they were collected and how long they waited to be named.
Photo: Naturalis Biodiversity Center, CC0 1.0, via GBIF
Can AI name an East African bird from its song?
Report 1 · Birds · East Africa
Three AI models that identify birds from sound, tested on research-grade iNaturalist recordings. We compared each model's answer with the community's, bird by bird, and looked at which went wrong. The Udzungwa Forest Partridge, found only in Tanzania, was never named by any of the AI models.
Photo: Heinrich Human, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Workspaces
Explore the records behind the updates
Browse the source workspaces behind each week's updates.
iNaturalist
Country firsts and photo records
Explore observations, species and the evidence behind new country records.
Open iNaturalisteBird & Macaulay
Bird photographs, audio and video
Browse bird media by country and week, with species and contributor summaries.
Open eBird & MacaulayXeno-canto
East African field sounds
Explore the recording archive and each week's changes across countries and species.
Open Xeno-cantoOpenAQ
Air-quality stations and readings
See which stations are reporting, where they are, and how their coverage changes.
Open OpenAQGBIF East Africa
Monthly catalogue · 1 Nov 2026
15,811,220 occurrence records from 9 countries, organised by catalogue release.
Open GBIF East AfricaWeek ending 1 Nov 2026 · Latest published results from each source.