page_title: Wildlife of Togo
section_title: Birds
hierarchical_section_title: Wildlife of Togo / Fauna / Birds
context_page_description: The wildlife of Togo is composed of the flora and fauna of Togo, a country in West Africa. Despite its small size the country has a diversity of habitats; there are only remnants of the once more extensive rain forests in the south, there is Sudanian Savanna in the north-western part of the country and larger areas of Guinean forest-savanna mosaic in the centre and northeast. The climate is tropical with distinct wet and dry seasons. There are estimated to be over 3000 species of vascular plant in the country, and 196 species of mammal and 676 species of bird have been recorded there.
context_section_description: Some 676 species of bird have been recorded in Togo, including 18 globally threatened species. The birds include sea birds, wetland birds and terrestrial species, some resident and others migratory, either overwintering in the country or just passing through, while a few are accidentals. About 408 species are thought to be resident and breeding in the country, about 109 are palearctic migrants and a further 80 or so are migrants moving within Africa. The coastal wetlands at Zones Humides du Littoral du Togo are used by waders and terns migrating along the west coast of Africa. The common house martin overwinters in the north of the country and the common swift, the Alpine swift and the mottled swift all pass through on their migrations. The greatest diversity of forest birds occurs in the southwest, near the border with Ghana. The four Important Bird Areas are the Oti Valley Faunal Reserve, the Kéran National Park, the Fazao Malfakassa National Park and the Misahöhe Forest Reserve. Several species of vulture, the martial eagle, the tawny eagle, the secretarybird, the black crowned crane, the brown-cheeked hornbill and the yellow-casqued hornbill are all rare or threatened, while the Togo paradise whydah is common.
caption: Martial eagles tend to be attracted to thorn trees in open savanna.
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