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Research Article Volume 9 Issue 1
The birds of Cameroon: bird survey in a forest mountain of the Congo Basin Forest (Mbam Minkom, Cameroon) supports the diversity of birds in the second largest biodiversity in the world as well as the distribution scheme of taxa in this area
Billy Nguembock, Marcelle Grace Ngo Bitjaga, Sali Mahamat, Esther D. O. Azang, Agathe Abassa Mvondo, Gilchrist Anthony Kendeg Kendeg, Francois Mvilongo Okali
Received: December 12, 2025 | Published: March 3, 2026
Citation: Nguembock B, Bitjaga MGN, Mahamat S, et al. The birds of Cameroon: bird survey in a forest mountain of the Congo Basin Forest (Mbam Minkom, Cameroon) supports the diversity of birds in the second largest biodiversity in the world as well as the distribution scheme of taxa in this area. Biodiversity Int J. 2026;9(1):19-26. DOI: 10.15406/bij.2026.09.00222
Abstract
Understanding the birdlife of Cameroon is a major priority for the future development of conservation strategies in this country, which is rich in avian Biodiversity. To this end, we studied the diversity and distribution of birds on Mount Mbam-Minkom, a relict forested mountain in the Centre Region of Cameroon. Sampling was carried out between October 2021 and February 2022 using mist nets, and diversity and distribution analyses were performed using SAS/STAT and PAST Software. Furthermore, we compared the diversity results obtained with those of another mountain in the same region, Mount Eloumden, by recording the values in two-way table and analyzing them. A total of 139 individuals were captured, belonging to 16 families, 21 genera, and 29 species with passerines being the most numerous (84.49%) compared to 15.51% for non-passerines. Compared to previous surveys in this region, we recorded a new species, Cisticola bulliens; the most represented family was the Pycnonotidae, with the most abundant species, Eurillas virens. Both resident and migratory species were observed. Calculated diversity indices revealed some avifauna diversity in the Mbam-Minkom area; the Shannon-Wiener index (H’ = 2.86) comes out an average number of species, while the Equitability index (J = 0.85) indicates a homogenous distribution of individuals. The Simpson index (1-D = 0.91) confirms the absence of any single species dominance with low competition for food resources and species distribution appears closely linked to the vegetation present at this Mbam-Minkom site throughout the year. A comparison of the diversity results with those of the Mount Eloumden confirms the interdependence between abundant vegetation (Eloumden) and high bird species diversity.
Keywords: birdlife, avian biodiversity, Mount Mbam-Minkom, mist nets, interdependence
©2026 Nguembock, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.