Other Scientific Names
Bleda syndactyla [BirdLife International (2004)], Bleda syndactyla [Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993)], Bleda syndactyla [Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)]
Other Names (World)
Red-tailed Bristlebill, Common Bristlebill, Bristlebill
Red-tailed Bristlebill (Bleda syndactylus) [XC452007]
by George Vlad from Zimmerman Plot, Kakamega Forest, Kenya (call)
Red-tailed Bristlebill (Bleda syndactylus) [XC508734]
by Peter Boesman from Mad Man's crossing, Jimbe drainage, North-western province, Zambia (call)
Subspecies
Proposal to form a species pair with Green-tailed Bristlebill (Bleda eximius) is undermined by recent molecular evidence, which suggests that it is sister-taxon to the rest of genus. Moreover, these data do not support the traditional subspecific treatment as listed below, but indicate a more complex situation. Subspecies affiliation of birds in Angola uncertain, provisionally included in woosnami. Otherwise, subspecies nandensis (described from northern Nandi Forest, in western Kenya), is only very slightly more yellow below than woosnami, and regarded as a synonym of latter; multicolor (south-eastern Nigeria east to western DRCongo) is not satisfactorily distinguishable from nominate. Species name sometimes given as syndactyla, but genus is masculine.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
syndactylus (Swainson, 1837) - Sierra Leone east to western DRCongo (Bangui, Lukolela, Tshuapa).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet