Aim  Madagascar's lowland forests are both rich in endemic taxa and considered to be seriously threatened by deforestation and habitat fragmentation. However, very little is known about how these processes affect biodiversity on the island. Herein, we examine how forest bird communities and functional groups have been affected by fragmentation at both patch and landscape scales, by determining relationships between species richness and individual species abundance and patch and landscape mosaic metrics. Location  Littoral forest remnants within south-eastern Madagascar. Methods  We sampled 30 littoral forest remnants in south-eastern Madagascar, within a landscape mosaic dominated by Erica spp. heathland. We quantified bird community composition within remnants of differing size, shape and isolation, by conducting point counts in November-December in 2001 and October-November 2002. Each remnant was characterized by measures of remnant area, remnant shape, isolation, and surrounding landscape complexity. We used step-wise regression to test the relationship between bird species richness and landscape structural elements, after correcting for sampling effort. Relationships between bird species abundances and the landscape variables were investigated with Canonical Correspondence Analysis and binomial logistic regression modelling. Results  Bird species richness and forest-dependent bird species richness were significantly (P  30 ha. Surprisingly, there was no relationship between bird body size and minimum area requirement. Forest-dependent canopy insectivorous species and large canopy frugivorous species were the most sensitive functional groups, with > 90% species sensitivity within each group. The distribution of four forest-dependent species also appeared to be related to remnant shape where remnant area was 200 ha) blocks of littoral forest are awarded protected status to preserve their unique bird community.