Incidental observations
We made four incidental observations during ecological surveys implemented around the study area. DAM made the first incidental observation at 6:20 on 25th October 2017 in a woody fallow in Ambodiala (14°24’47” S, 50°5’17” E) during a bird point count. The woody fallow is a former slash-and-burn (tavy) field on which rice was last cultivated in 2001. The shrubs and trees inside the woody fallow were around two to three meters high.
All other observations were made by TRF inside vanilla plantations during additional ecological surveys in the area. The second observation was on 20th August 2018 at 19:40 in Antsikory (13°55’35.8” S, 50°02’40.1”E). The third observation with the same date was at 21:00 in the same village but in a different vanilla plantation (13°55’49.0” S, 50°02’26.3”E). The fourth observation was on 3rd October 2018 at 18:34 in Ambodiala (14°24’28” S, 50°5’8”E). Vanilla plantations in the study region represent agroforestry systems characterized by vanilla vines growing on small-statured support trees, while tall trees provide shade.