Introduction

Côte d'Ivoire has a bird list of about 730 species which is a good total for a country about the size of Italy but not exceptional. Although it has deserved more ornithological attention than have many West African countries and although the number of recorded species is probably not far from the real one, much still remains to be discovered about the distribution and habits of Ivorian birds, and the country cannot be considered as very well-known. This state of knowledge will probably not improve for some time due to the current political troubles.

This document is intended to provide information about Côte d'Ivoire and its birds for birders planning to visit the country or simply interested in it. New information will be added as it becomes available; readers are welcome to submit contributions by e-mail to Olivier Lachenaud lachenaud.ipfo@tele2.fr or Volker Salewski volker.salewski@web.de who are currently working on a book about Ivorian birds.