3.2. Recent trends in Ghana’s understory bird communities
Sampling data from 2008 to 2010 revealed that across all forest types and fragment sizes, total understory bird abundance was significantly lower in logged forests compared to unlogged forests (Fig. 2 and Table 3). We captured 12 conservation priority (CP) species in 2008–2010 (∼26% of total species), of which 6 species were detected on only 1 or 2 occasions (Appendix). In comparison Holbech, 2005 and Holbech, 2009 netted 25 CP-species (∼37%) in the effort-adjusted subsample matching the 2008–2010 sample, including three IUCN red list species, of which two Upper Guinea endemics, the rufous-winged illadopsis (Illadopsis rufescens) and yellow-bearded greenbul (Criniger olivaceus) was absent from the 2008–2010 sample. Likewise, forest generalist and sallying insectivore abundance were significantly lower in logged forests compared to unlogged forests ( Table 3). In 2008–2010, we classified 75% of conservation priority species and all but two sallying insectivore species as “rare” in this study because they made up