Species composition and distribution of birds in Aburi Botanic Garden, Ghana

Traditionally, botanic gardens have been set aside to conserve mainly trees, but it has additional contributions to harbor birds and other faunal species. Conservationist have neglected the animal component of the botanic gardens, it is against this background that this study sought to investigate into the bird species composition, abundance, and their distribution in the Aburi Botanical Garden, Ghana. The garden was stratified into Botanic Reserve (closed forest) and Cultivated Area (open forest), and a total five transects were distributed in each area. Bird census was carried out along these transect between the hours of 6am to 10am and 4pm to 6pm each day for three days The Botanic Reserve constituted more species with fewer individuals whereas the Cultivated Area had more individuals with fewer species. Food and light penetration were the main determining factors in the distribution and abundance of birds in the Botanic Gardens. The distribution of birds and their abundance were suspected to be influenced by the habitat type and the kind of resources it avails.The bird species dominant in the area are generalist species with only a small fraction being specialist species. It is therefore recommended that policies of the Botanic Gardens should include the protection of birds and other faunal species because of their interdependent relationship.