Pale Flycatcher (Melaenornis pallidus) [XC486933]
by Peter Boesman from Kant\u00e8ne, Ziguinchor, Casamance, Senegal (call)
Pale Flycatcher (Melaenornis pallidus) [XC854444]
by id from Lavushi Manda NP, Muchinga Province, Zambia (song)
Subspecies
Genus often merged with Melaenornis. Subspecies subalaris does not intergrade with griseus in south-eastern Kenya, and together with erlangeri may represent a separate species. Taxonomic status of bafirawari uncertain and sometimes considered a distinct species, but probably a variant of present species. Geographical limits of nominate subspecies and modestus incompletely defined.
Putative subspecies nigeriae (described from upper R Benue, on Nigeria-Cameroon border) considered indistinguishable from modestus.
The following 13 subspecies are recognised:
pallidus (von Müller, 1851) - Semi-arid regions from Senegal and Gambia east to northern Ghana and central Mali, and northern Nigeria to western Sudan and western Ethiopia (R Baro); possibly also DRCongo (Uele District).
modestus (Shelley, 1873) - Guinea and south-eastern Mali eastern (south of nominate) to western Central African Republic.
bowdleri (Collin, A & Hartert, 1927) - Eritrea to central Ethiopia (south to Arussi Plateau).
duyerali (Traylor, 1970) - North-eastern Ethiopia (Duyer Ali) and central Somalia (el Bur).
parvus (Reichenow, 1907) - South-western Ethiopia, south-eastern Sudan (borders of R Baro), north-eastern DRCongo (possibly Uele District) and north-western Uganda (south to Masindi).
bafirawari (Bannerman, 1924) - Extreme southern Ethiopia and north-eastern Kenya (Djiroko to Wajir and Garissa).
erlangeri (Reichenow, 1905) - Southern Somalia (Bardera and Serenli to Hanole).
subalaris (Sharpe, 1874) - Coastal and eastern Kenya (lower R Tana to Samburu) and Tanzania (coast south to Moa, inland to Amani).
griseus (Reichenow, 1882) - Extreme south-eastern Kenya and central Tanzania south to northern and eastern Zambia and northern and central Malawi.
murinus (Hartlaub & Finsch, 1870) - Gabon and PRCongo east to southern Sudan (Didinga Mts), western and southern Kenya, northern Tanzania and Uganda (except north-west), and south to north-eastern Namibia, northern Botswana, western and southern Zambia and Zimbabwe (except south-east).
aquaemontis Stresemann, 1937 - Central Namibia (Waterburg Plateau).
divisus (Lawson, 1961) - South-eastern Zambia, southern Malawi, south-eastern Zimbabwe, Mozambique (south to Delagoa Bay), north-eastern South Africa (Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces) and Swaziland.
sibilans (Clancey, 1966) - Southern Mozambique (south of Sul do Save) and north-eastern South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal).