Black boubou

Last updated

Black boubou
Manda Boubou - Laniarius nigerrimus, Manda Island210624-2 (51318128920).jpg
Black boubou on Manda Island
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Malaconotidae
Genus: Laniarius
Species:
L. nigerrimus
Binomial name
Laniarius nigerrimus
(Reichenow, 1879)
Synonyms

Laniarius aethiopicus erlangeri
Laniarius aethiopicus somaliensis
Laniarius liberatus
Laniarius erlangeri

Contents

The black boubou (Laniarius nigerrimus), also known as Somali boubou, Erlanger's boubou or coastal boubou, [2] is a medium-size bushshrike. It was split from the tropical boubou as a result of DNA sequence analysis, [3] and this change in status was recognized by the International Ornithological Committee in 2008. [4] Two colour morphs are recognized, a predominantly black one, the black boubou, and an extremely rare black and yellow morph which was formerly considered a separate species, the Bulo Burti boubou (Laniarius liberatus). The black boubou is found in Somalia and northern Kenya.

Description

The adult has glossy blue-black except for white spots on the rump, visible when the wings are spread and the rump feathers are erected. The underparts are white with a buffy or pinkish tinge on the breast and flanks. The bill is black; the eyes are dark reddish brown. The wings have white median coverts. The juvenile is similar but duller, with a greyish-brown bill, the upperparts mottled by yellowish-ochre to tawny feather tips, and dusky-barred flanks. The Somali boubou differs from tropical boubou in that it is smaller and has less white in the wing. [5]

Bulo Burti boubou

The "Bulo Burti boubou", formerly recognized as a distinct species, Laniarius liberatus, was only known from one individual trapped in 1988 in central Somalia, 140 km inland in Hiiraan (region) near Buuloburde (Buulobarde, Bulo Burti) on the Shebelle River, and was described using blood and feather samples to provide a DNA sequence. [6] Apparently for the first time for a modern bird description, no specimen (either the bird or a part of it) was kept as a type; the bird was released back into the wild in 1990 because the scientists who caught it felt that the species was very rare. The blood and feather samples were destroyed in the process of sequencing. The epithet liberatus ("the liberated one") was given because of this. It was not found during searches in 1989 and 1990. It resembles the red-naped bushshrike L. ruficeps but has no red nape, is black, not grey, on the mantle, and is washed buffy-yellow on throat and breast.

This presumed species was considered critically endangered by Birdlife International. [7]

In 2008, a new review of the molecular sequence data revealed the identity of the Bulo Burti boubou as a colour morph of Laniarius nigerrimus (traditionally considered a subspecies of tropical boubou). [3] Following the 2008 study the International Ornithological Committee recognized L. nigerrimus as distinct species and put L. liberatus into the synonymity of L. nigerrimus. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bushshrike</span> Family of birds

The bushshrikes are smallish passerine birds. They were formerly classed with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, but are now considered sufficiently distinctive to be separated from that group as the family Malaconotidae, a name that alludes to their fluffy back and rump feathers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bugun liocichla</span> Species of bird

The Bugun liocichla is a passerine bird species from the family Leiothrichidae closely related to the Emei Shan liocichla. First spotted in 1995 in Arunachal Pradesh, India, it was described as a new species in 2006. The description was made without the collection of a type specimen as they were too few to risk killing one. It is thought to be an endangered species, with a small population, and a very restricted distribution range within which commercial development threatens the habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern boubou</span> Species of bird

The southern boubou is a bushshrike. Though these passerine birds and their relations were once included with true shrikes in the Laniidae, they are not closely related to that family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crimson-breasted shrike</span> Species of bird

The crimson-breasted shrike or the crimson-breasted gonolek,, or the crimson-breasted boubou, is a southern African bird. It has black upper parts with a white flash on the wing, and bright scarlet underparts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as a "least-concern species".

<i>Laniarius</i> Genus of birds

Laniarius is a genus of brightly coloured, carnivorous passerine birds commonly known as boubous or gonoleks. Not to be confused with the similar-sounding genus Lanius, they were formerly classed with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, but they and related genera are now considered sufficiently distinctive to be separated from that group as the bush-shrike family Malaconotidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical boubou</span> Species of bird

The tropical boubou or bell shrike is a medium-sized passerine bird of sub-Saharan Africa. This very diverse "species" with its numerous subspecies and morphs has since long posed a taxonomic problem, and recent research suggests it is a cryptic species complex that has now been split into several species.

<i>Dryoscopus</i> Genus of birds

Dryoscopus is a genus of bird in the Malaconotidae or bushshrike family. Its members are known as puffbacks. The six species, all of fairly uniform appearance and habits, are native to various parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The name Dryoscopus is a compound Greek word: drus from the Greek word for "tree" and skopos, meaning "watcher or lookout".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-backed puffback</span> Species of bird

The black-backed puffback is a species of passerine bird in the family Malaconotidae. They are common to fairly common sedentary bushshrikes in various wooded habitats in Africa south of the equator. They restlessly move about singly, in pairs or family groups, and generally frequent tree canopies. Like others of its genus, the males puff out the loose rump and lower back feathers in display, to assume a remarkable ball-like appearance. They draw attention to themselves by their varied repertoire of whistling, clicking and rasping sounds. Their specific name cubla, originated with Francois Levaillant, who derived it from a native southern African name, where the "c" is an onomatopoeic click sound. None of the other five puffback species occur in southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swamp boubou</span> Species of bird

The swamp boubou, also known as the Gabon boubou, is a species of bird in the Malaconotidae or bushshrike family. It is native to western and southern Central Africa. In the north of their range, savannah thickets constitute an important part of their habitat, while in the south they are strongly associated with river systems and marshes, for which they are named. The pair bond appears to be maintained by duetting, which in the south is generally synchronous or overlapping. It is most similar to L. major major, with which it perhaps hybridizes, but the underpart plumage is immaculate white, while the female contributes a ratchet-like note to the duet.

Fülleborn's boubou is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is found in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia, where its typical habitat is humid montane forest, dense undergrowth, secondary growth, forest edges and bamboo groves. The name of this bird commemorates the German physician Friedrich Fülleborn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slate-colored boubou</span> Species of bird

The slate-colored boubou or slate-coloured boubou is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain sooty boubou</span> Species of bird

The mountain sooty boubou, western boubou or mountain boubou, is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-naped bushshrike</span> Species of bird

The red-naped bushshrike or red-naped boubou is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae, which is native to the dry lowlands of the eastern Afrotropics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagden's bushshrike</span> Species of bird

Lagden's bushshrike is a bird species in the bushshrike family (Malaconotidae) native to Africa. It is a stocky bird with yellow or orange-yellow underparts, olive green upperparts, a grey head and heavy bill. Two subspecies are recognised, one found in west Africa and one in central Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian boubou</span> Species of bird

The Ethiopian boubou is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is found in Eritrea, Ethiopia, northwest Somalia, and northern Kenya. Its natural habitat is moist savanna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Coast boubou</span> Species of bird

The East Coast boubou or Zanzibar boubou is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is found from southeast Somalia to northeast Tanzania, and Zanzibar island.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2017). "Laniarius nigerrimus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T22735536A112337513. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22735536A112337513.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. C. Hilary Fry: Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows, 2009. p. 104
  3. 1 2 Nguembock, B., Fjeldså J., Couloux A., Pasquet, E. (2008) "Phylogeny of Laniarius: molecular data reveal L. liberatus synonymous with L. erlangeri and "plumage coloration" as unreliable morphological characters for defining species and species groups Archived 2012-02-16 at the Wayback Machine ". PDF Mol. Phyl. Evol.48(2): 396-407. doi : 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.04.014
  4. IOC World Bird List Volume 2 Archived February 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Harris, Tony (2000). Shrikes and Bush-shrikes. Princeton, NJ, US: Princeton University Press. pp. 257–260. ISBN   0-691-07036-9.
  6. Smith, E.F.G., Arctander, P., Fjeldsa, J. & Amir, O.G. (1991). "A new species of shrike (Laniidae: Laniarius) from Somalia, verified by DNA sequence data from the only known individual." Ibis, 133: 227-235.
  7. Erik Hirschfeld (2007): The Rare Birds Yearbook 2008, MagDig Media Ltd., Shrewsbury ISBN   978-0-9552607-3-5
  8. "Bulo-burti Boubou Laniarius liberatus: no longer recognised". Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2009-02-05.