Yellow-crowned Gonolek (Laniarius barbarus) [XC819781]
by Alain Malengreau from Serrekunda, Kanifing Municipal Council, Kanifing, Gambia (duet, song)
Yellow-crowned Gonolek (Laniarius barbarus) [XC437648]
by Bram Piot from Foret de Bokhol, Dagana, Senegal (song)
Subspecies
Was formerly held to compose a superspecies with Crimson-breasted Gonolek (Laniarius atrococcineus), Black-headed Gonolek (Laniarius erythrogaster) and Papyrus Gonolek (Laniarius mufumbiri), some authors including Yellow-breasted Boubou (Laniarius atroflavus) in this group. Recent molecular-genetic studies indicate that this species is sufficiently closely related to Black-headed Gonolek (Laniarius erythrogaster) for the two to be regarded as a superspecies, that Papyrus Gonolek (Laniarius mufumbiri) and Yellow-breasted Boubou (Laniarius atroflavus) are a sister-group in same lineage, and that the four are only distantly related to Crimson-breasted Gonolek (Laniarius atrococcineus).
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
barbarus (Linnaeus, 1766) - Southern Mauritania (mainly in Senegal valley, but north to Tagant area), Senegambia and north-western Guinea east to central Mali and southern Niger, and southern Chad, south to Liberia (Monrovia and Congo Town lagoon), northern and southern Ivory Coast, Togo and Benin, north, central and extreme south-western Nigeria and northern Cameroon.
helenae Kelsall, 1913 - Sierra Leone coast from near Guinea border south to Bonthe.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet