Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T19:22:38.605Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The status and conservation of threatened birds in the Upper Guinea forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2010

Gary Allport
Gary Allport
Affiliation:
International Council for Bird Preservation, 32 Cambridge Road, Girton, Cambridge CB3 oPJ.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

There are twenty-one endemic and near-endemic forest birds in the Upper Guinea forest of West Africa. Less than 80,000 km2 of their habitat remains and this is being rapidly degraded and fragmented. Eight threatened and two near-threatened birds were identified by Collar and Stuart (1985) in this region based on the scant information then available. More recent surveys confirm the threatened status of all these birds, but two species, Melaenornis annamarulae and Malimbus ballmanni, should now be considered Vulnerable having previously been placed in the Indeterminate category. Phyllastrephus leucolepis, described since the production of the Red Data Book, is only found in the forest of east Liberia and must be considered Endangered. Records suggest that all three species are restricted to the western part of the Upper Guinea forest. There are two forest areas which are of the highest priority for the conservation of these and the other endemic birds: (i) south-east Liberia/south-west Ivory Coast; (ii) south-east Sierra Leone/northwest Liberia. Ceratogymnasubcylindricus and Phyllastrephus baumanni are recommended for inclusion in the Near-threatened category.

Vingt-et-une espéces forestiéres d'oiseaux endémiques ou quasiment endémiques vivent dans la forêt de Haute-Guinée en Afrique de l'Ouest. A l'époque actuelle leur habitat, qui fût déjà réduit à moins de 80,000 km2, continue d'être rapidement dégradé et fragmenté. Collar et Stuart (1985) identifiérent huit especes menacées plus deux espéces probablement menacées pour la région, basé sur le peu d'information disponible à l'époque. Des investigations plus récentes confirment le statut de toutes ces espéces sauf deux, Melaenornis annamarulae et Malimbus ballmanni, qui fûrent insuffisamment connus, doivent maintenant être considérés vulnérables. Phyllastrephus leucolepis ne fût décrit pour la science qu'après la production du livre rouge et ne se trouve uniquement dans la forêt du Libéria oriental, et doît done être considéré comme en danger. Des observations suggérent que toutes ces espéces soient limitées à la partie occidentale de la forêt de HauteGuinée. Deux régions forestières se révèlent d'être de la plus haute priorité pour la sauvegarde de ces éspèces et des autres oiseaux endémiques: (i) le sud-est du Libéria/sud-ouest de la Côte-d'Ivoire et (ii) le sud-est du Sierra Léone/nord-ouest du Libéria. Nous recommandons d'inclure Ceratogymna subcylindricus et Phyllastrephus baumanni dans la catégorie probablement menacé.

Type
Research Article
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , March 1991 , pp. 53 - 74
Copyright
Copyright © Birdlife International 1991

References

Allport, G. A. (1989) West of the Dahomey Gap. World Birdwatch 11(4): 9.Google Scholar
Allport, G. A. (in prep.) Feeding site selection by White-breasted Guineafowl.Google Scholar
Allport, G. A., Ausden, M., Hayman, P. V., Robertson, P. and Wood, P. (1989) The conservation of the birds of the Gola forest, Sierra Leone. Cambridge, U.K.: International Council for Bird Preservation (Study Report 38).Google Scholar
Allport, G. A., Ausden, M. J. and Wood, P. (in prep.) The species composition of bird parties in primary and secondary forest in two areas of Sierra Leone.Google Scholar
Ausden, M. and Wood, P. (1990) The wildlife of the Western Area Forest Reserve, Sierra Leone. Unpublished.Google Scholar
Balchin, C. S. (1988) Recent observations of birds from the Ivory Coast. Malimbus 10(2): 201–206.Google Scholar
Bechinger, F. (1964) Beobachtungen am Weissbrust-Waldhuhn (Agelastes meleagrides) im Frieleben und in der Gefangenschaft. Gefied. Welt 88: 61–62.Google Scholar
Brosset, A. and Erard, C. (1986) Les oiseaux des régions forestiéres du nord-est du Gabon, 1. Paris: Société Nationale de Protection de la Nature.Google Scholar
Carter, M. F. (1987) Initial avifaunal survey of Sapo National Park, Liberia. Unpublished report to World Wildlife Fund and the Forestry Development Authority, Liberia.Google Scholar
Chappuis, C. (1978) Les oiseaux de I'Ouest Africaine. Sound suppl. to Alauda. Disks 1–13.Google Scholar
Cheke, R. A. (1986) The supposed occurrence of the White-necked Picathartes Picatlwrtes gymnocephalus in Togo. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 106: 152.Google Scholar
Cole, M. (1990) Canopy access in Taï National Park, Ivory coast. Unpublished report to ICBP.Google Scholar
Collar, N. J. and Andrew, P. (1988) Birds to watch: the ICBP world checklist of threatened birds. Cambridge, U.K.: International Council for Bird Preservation (Techn. Publ. 8).Google Scholar
Collar, N. J. and Stuart, S. M. (1985) Threatened birds of Africa and related islands. Cambridge, U.K.: International Council for Bird Preservation.Google Scholar
Collar, N. J. and Stuart, S. M. (1988) Key forests for threatened birds in Africa. Cambridge, U.K.: International Council for Bird Preservation (Monogr. 3).Google Scholar
Colston, P. and Curry-Lindahl, K. (1986) The birds of Mount Nimba, Liberia. London: British Museum (Natural History).Google Scholar
Davies, A. G. (1987) The Gola forest reserves, Sierra Leone: wildlife conservation and forest management. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K.: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.Google Scholar
Demey, R. and Fishpool, L. D. C. (in prep.) Additions and annotations to the avifauna of Côte d'lvoire.Google Scholar
Dickerman, R., Carter, M. F. and Cane, W. P. (1988) Birds collected in south-east Liberia. Unpublished.Google Scholar
Dutson, G. and Branscombe, J. (in prep.) Rainforest birds in south-west Ghana. Cambridge, U.K.: International Council for Bird Preservation (Study Report 46).Google Scholar
Erard, C. (1990) Ecologie et comportement des gobe-mouches (Aves: Muscicapinae, Platysteirinae, Monarchinae) du nord-est du Gabon, 2: organisation sociale et écologie de la reproduction des Muscicapinae. Mém. Mus. Natn. Hist. Nat., Zool. 146.Google Scholar
Field, G. D. (1974) The birds of the Freetown Peninsula. Mount Aureol, Freetown, Sierra Leone: Fourah Bay College Bookshop Ltd.Google Scholar
Field, G. D. (1979) A new species of Malimbus sighted in Sierra Leone and a review of the genus. Malimbus 1: 2–13.Google Scholar
Fishpool, L. D. C., van Rompaey, R. and Demey, R. (1989) The call of White-crested Tiger Heron attributed to Rufous Fishing Owl. Malimbus 11: 96–97.Google Scholar
Forbes-Watson, A. D. (1970) A new species of Melaenornis (Muscicapinae) from Liberia. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 90: 145–148.Google Scholar
Forbes-Watson, A. D. (1975) Letter: Mackworth-Praed and Grant. Bull. Nigerian Orn. Soc. 11(39): 44.Google Scholar
Fry, C. H., Keith, S. and Urban, E. K. (1988) The birds of Africa, 3. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Gartshore, M. E. (1989) An avifaunal survey of Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. Cambridge, U.K.: International Council for Bird Preservation (Study Report 39).Google Scholar
Gatter, W. (1985) Ein neuer Bülbül aus Westafrika (Aves, Pycnonotidae). J. Orn. 126: 155–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gatter, W. (1988) The birds of Liberia (West Africa): a preliminary list with status and open questions. Verh. Orn. Ges. Bayern. 24: 689–723.Google Scholar
Gatter, W., Peal, A., Steiner, C. and Weick, F. (1988) The unknown immature plumages of the rare White-breasted Guineafowl. Okol. Vögel 10: 105–111.Google Scholar
Gilpin, M. E. and Soulé, M. E. (1986) Minimum viable populations: processes of species extinction. Pp. 19–34 in Soule, M. E., ed. Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity. Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates.Google Scholar
Gordon, O. L. A., Kater, G. and Schwaar, D. G. (1979) Vegetation and land use in Sierra Leone. UNDP/FAO (Techn. Rep. N0.2 AG:DP/SIL/73/oo2).Google Scholar
Grimes, L. G. (1987) The birds of Ghana. London: British Ornithologists' Union (Check-list no.9).Google Scholar
Grimes, L. G. and Darku, K. (1968) Some recent breeding records of Picathartes gymnocephalus in Ghana and notes on its distribution in West Africa. Ibis 110: 93–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hosking, E. (1982) Eric Hosking's owls. London: Mermaid Books.Google Scholar
Kingdon, J. (1990) Island Africa. London: Collins.Google Scholar
Louette, M. (1981) The birds of Cameroon: an annotated checklist. Brussels: Verhandeling Wetenschappen, Jaargang 43, no. 163.Google Scholar
Macdonald, M. A. (1980) Further notes on uncommon forest birds in Ghana. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 100: 170–172.Google Scholar
Mackinnon, J. and Mackinnon, K. (1986) A review of the Afrotropical protected areas system. Cambridge, U.K.: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.Google Scholar
Paivinen, R. and Witt, R. (1989) The methodology development project for tropical forest cover assessment in West Africa. Nairobi: UNEP/GEMS/GRID.Google Scholar
Poore, D., Burgess, P., Palmer, J., Rietbergen, S. and Synnott, T. (1989) No timber without trees: sustainability in the tropical forest. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Short, L. S. and Home, J. F. M. (1985) Behavioral notes on the nest parasitic Afrotropical honeyguides. Amer. Mus. Novit. 2825.Google Scholar
Taylor, M. (1988) The White-breasted Guineafowl in south-east Liberia. Unpublished report to World Pheasant Association and Royal Ontario Museum.Google Scholar
Taylor, M. J. (ms) Notes on observations of birds in Ghana. 01–04 1988.Google Scholar
Thiollay, J.-M. (1985a) The birds of Ivory Coast: status and distribution. Malimbus 7: 1–59.Google Scholar
Thiollay, J.-M. (1985b) The West African forest avifauna: a review. Pp. 171–186 in Diamond, A. W. and Lovejoy, T. E., eds. Conservation of tropical forest birds. Cambridge, U.K.: International Council for Bird Preservation (Techn. Publ. 4).Google Scholar
Thompson, H. (1990) Breeding biology, ecology and conservation of the White-necked Picathartes in the Gola and Peninsular forests, Sierra Leone. Preliminary report on a survey of breeding sites in the Western Area Peninsular Forests. Unpublished report to RSPB/ICBP.Google Scholar
WCMC/IUCN = World Conservation Monitoring Centre/International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (in prep.) Conservation atlas of tropical forest: Africa.Google Scholar
White, F. (1983) The vegetation of Africa. A descriptive memoir to accompany the UNESCO/AETFAT/UNSO vegetation map of Africa. Paris: United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization.Google Scholar