Forest-dwelling bird species are disappearing from some of South Africa’s indigenous forests, with forest birds in the Eastern Cape being the most affected.
A study published in Bird Conserva-tion International has revealed that the ranges of 28 of South Africa’s 57 forest-dwelling bird species are declining, while those of 22 species are increasing and seven remain stable.
The findings are based on 25 years of citizen science data collected by two surveys under the umbrella of the Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP). The data are used to indicate the conservation status of a species, depending on its known range and how it is changing. The first survey took place from 1987 to 1992; the second started in 2007 and is ongoing.
Researchers from Stellenbosch University (SU) and South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs used data on 57 forest-dwelling species to investigate links between deforestation, species characteristics and range declines for these species over the past 20 years.
Indigenous forests make up less than one per cent of South Africa’s landscape, but are home to some 14 per cent of our terrestrial birds, many of which are endemic or rangerestricted. These forests are highly fragmented, with most remaining patches being smaller than a square kilometre.
This story is from the May - June 2017 edition of African Birdlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May - June 2017 edition of African Birdlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
