The Destruction of Feeding and Nesting Behaviors of Weaver-birds in Urban Crop-farms, Buea Municipality, Southwest Region, Cameroon

Abstract

Bird damage to agricultural crops has been a chronic problem in many parts of the world. Although considerable effort has been made in developed countries to solve local or regional bird damage problems, very little effort in fighting the bird pests is witnessed in developing countries. Majority of avian pests are weaver-birds which cause serious damage to cereals, maize, rice, sorghum, millet, palms, plantains, and wheat cultivated in many parts of Africa, and form a staple diet in many localities. The aim of this study was to assess the feeding behavior of weaver-birds in the key neighborhoods of Buea municipality. The research data collection program was done by a research team made up of four persons, the principal investigator and three other student colleagues. The three-month study witnessed a research data collection process, from 7:00am – 6:00pm each day, for a period of 6 days each week, Monday – Saturday. The team visited the key neighborhoods of the city on a daily bases to record observations on weaver-bird species, feeding activity, locations, and day-period. The study revealed a significant link between weaver-bird feeding on crop-part and crop species, X2 = 5.188 df=4, P<0.05, and X2 = 15.620 df=14, P<0.05 respectively. The study has shown a significant relationship between feeding and nesting behavior, X2 = 230.556 df=7, P=0.000. However, nesting and feeding correlated significantly with the plant species in various neighborhoods, r = 0.607, P=0.000, and X2 = 7.164 df=4, P<0.05 respectively. Additionally, the most affected crop-farms were found in Bomaka neighborhood (68.60%), a newly created neighborhood with less houses and more farmland while the least was Bokwango (3.72%), an old human residence. Nevertheless, feeding was more prominent on maize (Zea mays), oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), and plum (Dacryodes edulis), while nesting on sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum), banana (Musa acuminate), mango (Mangifera indica), orange (Citrus sinensis), and avocado (Persea americana). The eradication of pests such as weaver-birds in croplands has been a huge challenge to the agricultural and wildlife stakeholders in developing countries like Cameroon. Moreover, the high proliferation character of the pest is one of the key problems that has made its population control ineffective and difficult in sub Saharan Africa. Keywords: Avian pests, Bird damage, Feeding activity, Crop-farms, Crop species