Title: Severe Declines of Forest Birds Follow Illegal Logging in West Africa

West Africa's rain forests form part of a global priority "biodiversity hotspot" under intense threat of destruction by human activities. In Ghana, illegal logging is foremost among these threats. It accounts for 80% of timber extraction,  driving logging intensities up to more than six times the maximum sustainable level. We investigated impacts of recent logging on understory bird communities in southwest Ghana. Between 1995 and 2010, understory bird species richness declined by 47% and abundance by 55%, with insectivorous species hardest hit. During the same period, conservation priority species richness in logged forests declined by 58%  and abundance by 47%, suggesting local extinctions of vulnerable species. These severe declines of forest birds indicate the rapidly deteriorating conservation status of West Africa's forests which urgently require conservation action.