African Hill Babbler

The African hill babbler (Sylvia abyssinica) is a species of bird in the family Sylviidae. == Taxonomy == The African hill babbler was described by the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell in 1840 under the binomial name Drymophila abyssinica. The type locality is the Simen Mountains, northern Ethiopia. There are currently six recognised subspecies: S. a. monachus (Reichenow, 1892) – Mount Cameroon S. a. claudei (Alexander, 1903) – Bioko Island (formerly Fernando Póo) S. a. ansorgei (Rothschild, 1918) – west-central Angola, southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo and western Tanzania S. a. stierlingi (Reichenow, 1898) – eastern and southwestern Tanzania, the Nyika Plateau in northeastern Zambia and northern Malawi and northwestern Mozambique S. a. stictigula (Shelley, 1903) – northeastern Zambia, northern Malawi and northwest Mozambique S. a. abyssinica (Rüppell, 1840) – central Ethiopia, eastern South Sudan, eastern Uganda, western and southern Kenya and northeastern Tanzania The distinctive black-headed Rwenzori hill babbler (Sylvia atriceps) has been considered as a subspecies. Fry et al. (2000) state it has the same vocalizations and behaviour as other races, and do not give it the status of a separate species; however, Collar & Robson (2007) split them. This species is now considered a member of the genus…