Southern Hyliota (Hyliota australis) [XC682058]
by Hans Matheve from Samala Camp, Manu Gate North Luangwa NP, Northern Province, Zambia (call, song)
Southern Hyliota (Hyliota australis) [XC256466]
by Peter Boesman from Panda, Inhambane, Mozambique (call)
Subspecies
Genus has in the past been placed variously with the Old World flycatchers (in family Muscicapidae), with the monarch-flycatchers (Monarchidae) or with the batises and wattle-eyes (Platysteiridae). Although plumage resembles that of some muscicapid flycatchers of genus Ficedula, and nest is like that of platysteirids, the nestling mouth spots, the unspotted juvenile plumage and behaviour are all typical of present family. Often treated as including Usambara Hyliota (Hyliota usambara) as a subspecies, but latter is sexually monomorphic and has several distinctive plumage characters.
Proposed subspecies pallidipectus (Angola, south-eastern DRCongo and Zambia) inseparable from inornata.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
slatini Sassi, 1914 - Western Cameroon (one record); north-eastern DRCongo (Semliki and west of L Albert south to west of L Edward), western Uganda (Bwamba Forest) and western Kenya (Kakamega and northern Nandi Forests).
inornata Vincent, 1933 - Western, north-eastern and southern Angola, south-eastern DRCongo (southern Katanga), Zambia (mainly north-west, central and south), north-western Zimbabwe, and south-western Malawi south to north-western Mozambique (Tete Province).
australis Shelley, 1882 - Zimbabwe (plateau and east, south to Matopos Mts), central and southern Mozambique (south to R Limpopo) and extreme north-eastern South Africa (Kruger National Park, in eastern northern Province).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet