Forest Robin (Stiphrornis erythrothorax) [XC891872]
by id from Nki National Park near Ikwa bai, Cameroon (song)
Forest Robin (Stiphrornis erythrothorax) [XC719492]
by Peter Boesman from Ankasa NR, Ghana (song)
Subspecies
Stiphrornis erythrothorax (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) was previously split into Stiphrornis erythrothorax, Stiphrornis sanghensis, Stiphrornis gabonensis and Stiphrornis xanthogaster following Beresford and Cracraft (1999), but this treatment is no longer accepted following a review by the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group.
Subspecies appear to differ vocally, but recent treatment as four separate species perhaps premature. Proposed subspecies mabirae (DRCongo and Uganda) merged with xanthogaster.
The following 8 subspecies are recognised:
erythrothorax Hartlaub, 1855 - Sierra Leone east to southern Nigeria.
pyrrholaemus Schmidt & Angehr, 2008 - Coastal Gabon, south of the Ogooué River. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Olive-backed Forest-robin (Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus).
gabonensis Sharpe, 1883 - Western Cameroon south to western Gabon, also Bioko I (Fernando Póo). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Gabon Forest Robin (Stiphrornis gabonensis).
xanthogaster Sharpe, 1903 - South-eastern Cameroon and north-eastern Gabon east to northern and central DRCongo and southern Uganda. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Yellow-breasted Forest-robin (Stiphrornis xanthogaster).
sanghensis Beresford & Cracraft, 1999 - South-western Central African Republic. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Sangha Forest Robin (Stiphrornis sanghensis).
dahomeyensis Voelker et al., 2016 - Southern Benin, south-eastern Ghana.
inexpectatus Voelker et al., 2016 - South-western Ghana.
rudderi Voelker et al., 2016 - North-central DR Congo.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet