Spotted Ground Thrush Survey in Kenyan Coastal Forests, 2003

Spotted Ground Thrush Zoothera guttata is a rare, elusive and little-known bird species with a wide but discontinuous distribution. Severe threats in the form of forest loss and fragmentation leading to rapid population decline have led to the species being classified as Endangered (BirdLife International 2000, 2007). Zoothera guttata is known only as a non-breeding visitor between late March and November to forests on the Kenya coast (Bennun 1992). Information regarding the Spotted Ground Thrush in most Kenyan sites has been scanty and scattered, making it difficult to clearly understand its status in Kenya. Bennun (1985, 1987) did the only focused studies on Spotted Ground Thrush in Kenya. In 1983 he did a short study assessing the species’ status and general ecology at Gede Ruins Forest. This was later followed up by a one-week ringing session in 1985. Further ringing was done at Gede Ruins and Arabuko-Sokoke forests in 1992. A long time had passed since these last bird surveys. This necessitated follow-up surveys of the Spotted Ground Thrush forests at the Kenyan coast to assess the current status of the species and its forest habitat. This dataset contains results of examining the conservation status of Zoothera guttata on its non-breeding grounds in the Kenya coastal forests achieved through re-assessing: (1) its current and probable changes in population, distribution and forest habitat status, and (2) existing conservation measures that benefit the species. The dataset contains 11 records of Spotted Ground Thrush. The data were formatted according to the Darwin Core Standards by A Rocha Kenya before publishing through the IPT at the National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi.