Kakamega Forest is a hotspot of bird diversity in Eastern Africa and has been assigned an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. In Kakamega, almost 500 bird species have been recorded of which 10% are found nowhere else in Kenya. Kakamega Forest harbours important extant populations of two globally threatened species: Turner's Eremomela (Eremomela turneri) and Chapin's Flycatcher (Muscicapa lendu).