Ethiopian Boubou (Laniarius aethiopicus) [XC300399]
by Brian Henderson from Simbo resort, Lake Langano, Ethiopia (call)
Ethiopian Boubou (Laniarius aethiopicus) [XC801819]
by GABRIEL LEITE from \u1309\u1208\u120c\u1362 (near Goro), North Shewa, Oromia, Ethiopia (song)
Subspecies
Laniarius liberatus (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993; Dowsett and Forbes-Watson 1993) is now treated as a synonym of erlangeri of Ethiopian Boubou (Laniarius aethiopicus) following Nguembock et al. (2008) who also recommend splitting Laniarius aethiopicus into Ethiopian Boubou (Laniarius aethiopicus), Manda Boubou (Laniarius nigerrimus), Zanzibar Boubou (Laniarius sublacteus) and Tropical Boubou (Laniarius major), proposals that are currently under review by the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group.
Forms a superspecies with Turati's Boubou (Laniarius turatii) and closely allied also with Southern Boubou (Laniarius ferrugineus), Zanzibar Boubou (Laniarius sublacteus) and Swamp Boubou (Laniarius bicolor), all previously treated as a superspecies and sometimes even as a single species. Until recently, Manda Boubou (Laniarius nigerrimus) and Zanzibar Boubou (Laniarius sublacteus) were included as subspecies of present species. Where present species and Southern Boubou (Laniarius ferrugineus) meet, in R Limpopo valley (in northern South Africa and Mozambique), their subspecies are very similar and may hybridize and intergrade; but along R Runde, in Zimbabwe, subspecies limpopoensis of present species overlaps with smaller subspecies savensis of Southern Boubou (Laniarius ferrugineus) without interbreeding. Population on plateau of west-central Angola, having especially white underparts, may represent an undescribed taxon. Subspecies major intergrades with mossambicus in northern Zambia and extreme northern Malawi.
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:
major (Gmelin, 1788) - Western Senegal (Casamance), north, south-western and south-eastern Guinea, north-eastern Sierra Leone, north-western Liberia, southern Mali (Baoulé-Sud, Farako), central Ivory Coast, north-east, central and southern Ghana, Togo, Benin (southern from Bétérou), central and southern Nigeria, central and eastern Cameroon, southern Chad and south-western and central Central African Republic east to southern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya (east to Rift Valley), Tanzania (eastern in north to Loliondo and Essimingor, in south to Njombe and Mahenge), north, eastern and south-eastern DRCongo and R Congo (from Lukolela south to Kinshasa), central and eastern Angola, north-western and northern Zambia and extreme northern Malawi. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Tropical Boubou (Laniarius major).
aethiopicus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) - Eastern borders of Sudan, and Eritrea, Ethiopia, north-western Somalia and northern Kenya (Moyale area).
ambiguus Madarász, 1904 - Highlands east of Rift Valley in Kenya (southern from Mt Kulal and Mt Marsabit) and north-eastern Tanzania (south to Mt Meru and Mt Kilimanjaro and Arusha and Moshi). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Tropical Boubou (Laniarius major).
mossambicus (G. A. Fischer and Reichenow, 1880) - Zambia and Malawi, extreme north-eastern Namibia (Caprivi Strip), northern and eastern Botswana, Zimbabwe (except south-eastern lowveld) and Mozambique. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Tropical Boubou (Laniarius major).
limpopoensis Roberts, 1922 - South-eastern Zimbabwe (area bordered by Sabi, Runde and Limpopo rivers) and extreme northern South Africa (northern Limpopo Province). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Tropical Boubou (Laniarius major).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet