African Dusky Flycatcher (Muscicapa adusta) [XC509759]
by Peter Boesman from Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa (call)
African Dusky Flycatcher (Muscicapa adusta) [XC247896]
by James Bradley from Buhoma, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda (call)
Subspecies
Subspecies poensis was formerly referred to sometimes as obscura, but latter name is preoccupied. Exhibits considerable clinal and intrapopulation variability (also variation in appearance of skins arising from different taxidermal procedures). Up to 20 subspecies have been recognized, but many of these considered unwarranted: thus, albiventris (highlands of western Cameroon), kumboensis (montane forest of south-western Cameroon) and okuensis (montane forest of Mt Oku, in western Cameroon) treated as synonyms of poensis; grotei (northern Cameroon and north-western Central African Republic), subtilis (eastern DRCongo), interposita (Molo Forest, in Kenya Highlands) and chyulu (Chyulu Range, in Kenya) synonymized with pumila; angolensis (Angolan plateau east to north-western Zambia) subsumed in subadusta; and roehli (south-eastern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania) is merged with murina.
The following 10 subspecies are recognised:
poensis (Alexander, 1903) - Highlands of south-eastern Nigeria and western and central Cameroon (north to Tibati and Mt Genderu), and Bioko I (Fernando Póo).
pumila (Reichenow, 1892) - Northern Cameroon (Adamawa Plateau) east to north-western Central African Republic, and southern Sudan and eastern DRCongo (south to northern Katanga) east to Uganda, western and central Kenya (except Mt Marsabit), western Rwanda, western Burundi and north-western and northern Tanzania (including Mt Ketumbeine).
minima Heuglin, 1862 - Central Eritrea and Ethiopia.
marsabit (van Someren, 1931) - Northern Kenya (Mt Marsabit).
murina (Fischer, GA & Reichenow, 1884) - South-eastern Kenya (Taita Hills) and north-eastern Tanzanian highlands.
fuelleborni Reichenow, 1900 - Highlands of western and southern Tanzania (southern from Ngurus).
subadusta (Shelley, 1897) - Angola (central plateau from southern Cuanza Sul east to northern Moxico and southern Lunda Sul, south to northern and western Huila), south-eastern DRCongo, southern Tanzania (Matengo highlands), northern and central Zambia, Malawi, eastern highlands of Zimbabwe, and Mozambique (north of R Limpopo).