The diversity and abundance of avian species in two study sites: Leventis Foundation Conserved woodland (LFCW), and Leventis Foundation Farmland (LFF) in the guinea agro-ecological zone in Edo state Nigeria was carried out between 2011 and 2013 covering dry and wet seasons. Two methods; Line Transect and Point Count Methods were randomly placed in the four study sites, were used to collect data on bird species diversity and abundance. In all, a total of 60 transect lines and 30 counting stations were used for this research study. Quadrant method was used to determine plant species composition in the study area. A total of 15 sampling plots of 25×25m2 in dimension were randomly selected where total enumeration of all trees above 1m in height and basal area of not less than 10cm were sampled. The distribution of trees within strata of each forest was compiled and classified into layers. One way ANOVA was used to test for the effect of farming on the bird diversity in the two sites. Also, students T-test was used to compare the mean bird abundance in the two seasons. A total of 173 bird species belonging to 58 families and 18 orders were observed in the two study areas. The relative population densities of bird species in the two study areas shown that, bird species were higher in the cultivated areas (31.5, 21.7, and 34.8) than uncultivated areas (24, 14, 26, and 18). The relative population density of bird species was also higher in the two study areas during the dry seasons than wet seasons from the data obtained, during the period of this study. In LFCW a total of 236 individual tree species in 50 taxa and 24 families were enumerated while in LFFL, a total of 48 individual tree species in 17 taxa and 12 families were enumerated. The highest occurring mean height and diameter at breast height (DBH) were higher in LFCW than in LFFL where higher tall emergent trees were recorded in LFCW than in LFFL.

Keywords: Home range, agricultural intensification, avian species, habitat fragmentation