Moustached Tinkerbird
Photo © Adrien Jailloux
Photo © Adrien Jailloux — CC BY 4.0 — Source: iNaturalist #335751111The moustached tinkerbird (Pogoniulus leucomystax) is a species of bird in the large Piciformes order in the Lybiidae family. It occurs in high-altitude forests in central Africa. It is greenish with little sexual dimorphism. The tinkerbird eats berries and insects. == Taxonomy == === Previous classification === Older literature often separate the moustached tinkerbird and its close relative, the green tinkerbird, (Pogoniulus simplex) from the rest of Pogoniulus into a separate now-defunct genus, Viridibucco (Oberholser, 1905). "Viridibucco leucomystax" is a commonly encountered taxonomical synonym of the current valid name Pogoniulus leucomystax. The split was supported by their shared overall green coloration and similar lifestyle. In the early 20th century, the two were even considered conspecific. === Evolutionary history === Some also speculate that the moustached tinkerbird, the green tinkerbird and the western tinkerbird (Pogoniulus coryphaea) are allospecies. === Subspecies === On basis of morphological differences, Ripley and Heinrich described a tentative subspecies of Pogoniulus leucomystax. The type specimen of Pogoniulus leucomystax meridionalis (Ripley and Heinrich, 1969) originated from the Mdando Forest in the Njombe region in southwestern Tanzania. Pogoniulus leucomystax meridionalis distinguishes itself by its darker and greyer underside. Particularly, the belly and flank have little to no olive-green coloration.…
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