Forest patch structures and bird species composition of a lowland riverine coastal forest in Kenya

The Lower Tana River forests in coastal Kenya represent lowland evergreen riverine tropical forest types that are rare in Kenya and probably in Africa. We assessed the bird species composition and forest conditions of 14 forest patches within the Lower Tana River valley each February and October between 1999 and 2004. Vegetation structures showed variations of different strengths in individual forest patches, but only canopy height differed significantly across sites. Overall, canopy cover was correlated directly with canopy height but inversely with bare ground. A total of 155 bird species of 43 families comprising 9 forest specialists (FF), 27 forest generalists (F), 42 forest visitors (f) and 77 species associated with savannah/woodland ecosystems were recorded from the 14 forest patches. The overall bird species composition did not differ significantly across these forest patches, but similarities in species composition of different strengths were evident across the sites.