Clive F Mann

ABSTRACT Mann, Clive F. 1985. An avifaunal study in Kakamega Forest, Kenya, with particular reference to species diversity, weight and moult. Ostrich 56: 236–262.A study of the longevity, species diversity, weight, diurnal activity, moult and breeding of forest birds in western Kenya was undertaken between January 1973 and January 1975. Some results from earlier and later studies are used where relevant. By mist-netting, 964 birds of 66 species were captured. The greatest longevity recorded to date is 19 years 6 months for a Cameroon Sombre Bulbul, Andropadus curvirostcis. Species diversity for different months, and the same month in different years are compared, along with those for different forests, and for non-forest habitats. Weight changes are recorded. Contrary to expectation, more birds were heavier, not lighter, when in moult. A bimodal rhythm of diurnal activity is recorded. The approximate duration of primary moult for 94 individuals of 28 species ranged from 37 to 350 days. The months of egg-laying are given for 64 species. A brief discussion on moulting and breeding cycles is included.

In a recent publication (Cheke & Mann, 2001) some taxonomic changes were made to members of this family occurring in Asia. These include the re-establishment of a monotypic genus, the re-assessment of a subspecies, the lumping of two species into one, and the splitting of two species. This paper further justifies these changes and the splitting of another species. The species concept applied in this paper and in Cheke & Mann (op. cit.) approaches that of the Evolutionary Species Concept (Mayden, 1997) and the General Lineage Species Concept (de Queiroz, 1999) as much as the Biological Species Concept. The opportunity is taken to make corrections and amendments to
Cheke & Mann (op. cit.). This paper follows Sibley & Monroe (1990), as did Cheke & Mann (op. cit.) in including the flowerpeckers as a tribe (Dicaeini) within the subfamily Nectariniinae of the family Nectariniidae.