The birds of Cameroon: bird survey in a forest plain of the Congo basin forest (Oveng, Cameroon) confirms the great diversity of birds linked to the vegetation of the second largest biodiversity reserve in the world as well as the distribution pattern of taxa

Abstract

We carried out a bird survey in the Oveng plain in the Congo Basin Forest to investigate the avifauna as well as to explore the abundance, diversity and distribution of taxa. To obtain abundance of bird species and analyze their diversity and distribution, we used the mist net method for bird sampling for five months and performed analyzes with SAS/STAT and PAST software, respectively; moreover, to compare the diversity and dominance of the Oveng plain to other plains already explored, we proceeded to a simple comparison for a small sample, placing the values in a double-entry table and analyzing them. We captured 146 individuals belonging to 22 bird families and compared to previous surveys in this region, we recorded three new species, Campethera maculosa, Buccanodon duchaillui and Alethe diademeta; the birds caught were mainly sedentary and the rest were a mixture of intra-African, seasonal and Palearctic migrants, etc. Values ​​of the diversity indices show a great avifaunistic diversity within the Oveng site; thus, the Shannon-Wiener index (H’= 3.09) expresses the high number of the species within the Oveng avifauna while the Equitability index (J’=0.83) reveals an absence of dominance of one species and therefore an equal distribution of individuals within species. The Simpson index (λ=0.92) supports abundant species representation in Oveng’s birdlife due to the presence of year-round vegetation. The distribution pattern of taxa appeared directly linked to vegetation. Comparison of the diversity and dominance of plains avifauna supports a close relationship between the presence of vegetation and a high diversity of birds and that between an absence of vegetation and a more pronounced dominance.