Inter-annual variation in the structure of avian communities in Zambezi rural riparian forest

In terms of biodiversity, riparian forests are among the richest habitats in the world, but in the tropical regions of the world, these forests are understudied. In the present study, the avian community was quantified in the Zambezi rural riparian forest in NE Namibia for two years, with a similar rainfall (423 mm in 2013 vs. 428 mm in 2014). In total, 135 breeding bird species were recorded in the study area. Sörensen Similarity Index was I=0.79. There were two dominant species: Quelea quelea and Euplectes orix. The group of subdominants were represented by 11 species. The species composition and population densities only slightly differed between the years 2013 and 2014. The proportions of three main feeding guilds, insectivores, granivores, and frugivores were similar in the riparian forests. This feature distinguishes this community from others studied so far in southern Africa, where either granivores or insectivores are the dominant guilds.