Karoo Prinia (Prinia maculosa) [XC395379]
by Stanislav Novotny from Springbok (watertank trail), Northern Cape, South Africa (song)
Karoo Prinia (Prinia maculosa) [XC512654]
by Tony Archer from St Lowry's Pass, Western Cape, South Africa (song)
Subspecies
Prinia maculosa (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into Karoo Prinia (Prinia maculosa) and Drakensberg Prinia (Prinia hypoxantha) following Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993).
Forms a superspecies with Drakensberg Prinia (Prinia hypoxantha) Often considered conspecific, but little evidence of intergradation where the two meet (other than around Mt Currie, in East Griqualand). Occasionally hybridizes with Black-chested Prinia (Prinia flavicans) in western South Africa.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
psammophila Clancey, 1963 - South-western Namibia and Namaqualand coastal plain of South Africa (south to R Olifants).
exultans Clancey, 1982 - Inland in extreme southern Namibia, South Africa (Great Karoo, southern Free State, eastern Cape) and Lesotho.
maculosa (Boddaert, 1783) - Southern South Africa (from western Cape east to Humansdorp).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet