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Mystery bird:
Ethiopian boubou, Laniarius aethiopicus
15 March, 2011 | The Guardian
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Males and females of this African mystery bird sing a duet
when courting, breeding and defending a territory
Question: This lovely Ethiopian mystery bird engages in a
reproductive behaviour that most people find charming but
unexpected. Can you name this behaviour and this bird's taxonomic
family? How about species?
Response: This is an adult Ethiopian boubou, Laniarius aethiopicus,
a member of the bushshrike family, Malaconotidae. Lanarius are
carnivorous songbirds commonly known as boubous or gonoleks.
They were formerly included with the true shrikes in the family
Laniidae, but Lanarius and related genera were separated into the
bush-shrike family.
The Ethiopian boubou was formerly classified into a species
complex as a subspecies along with five other birds that look very
similar, but most of which are apparently are not that closely related.
These birds were all known as tropical boubous. The Ethiopian
boubou was recently split from these five taxa into its own species
(it's likely that at least two more of its sister subspecies will soon be
elevated to full species status based on DNA work).
The Ethiopian boubou's other common name, the bell shrike, is in
honour of its courtship song, a duet that both the male and female
sing. This song has a clear bell-like call, consisting of a male and
female singing alternate notes, producing a song that sounds like the
creation of one bird.
You are invited to review all of the daily mystery birds by going to
their dedicated graphic index page.
If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share
with a large and (mostly) appreciative audience, feel free to email
them to me for consideration.
Courtesy
Ethiopian boubou, Laniarius aethiopicus
15 March, 2011 | The Guardian
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Males and females of this African mystery bird sing a duet
when courting, breeding and defending a territory
Question: This lovely Ethiopian mystery bird engages in a
reproductive behaviour that most people find charming but
unexpected. Can you name this behaviour and this bird's taxonomic
family? How about species?
Response: This is an adult Ethiopian boubou, Laniarius aethiopicus,
a member of the bushshrike family, Malaconotidae. Lanarius are
carnivorous songbirds commonly known as boubous or gonoleks.
They were formerly included with the true shrikes in the family
Laniidae, but Lanarius and related genera were separated into the
bush-shrike family.
The Ethiopian boubou was formerly classified into a species
complex as a subspecies along with five other birds that look very
similar, but most of which are apparently are not that closely related.
These birds were all known as tropical boubous. The Ethiopian
boubou was recently split from these five taxa into its own species
(it's likely that at least two more of its sister subspecies will soon be
elevated to full species status based on DNA work).
The Ethiopian boubou's other common name, the bell shrike, is in
honour of its courtship song, a duet that both the male and female
sing. This song has a clear bell-like call, consisting of a male and
female singing alternate notes, producing a song that sounds like the
creation of one bird.
You are invited to review all of the daily mystery birds by going to
their dedicated graphic index page.
If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share
with a large and (mostly) appreciative audience, feel free to email
them to me for consideration.
Courtesy
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| Race to save world's rarest wolf (BBC) Scientists in the remote Bale mountains of southern Ethiopia are in a race against time to save the world's rarest wolf....More Vanishing African wildlife threatens livelihoods: Scientists |
| Useful Links - Akababi - Ethiopia Environment News - Environment of Ethiopia - Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority - Environmental issues in Ethiopia - Geography & Environment |
| Environmental Association "...Ethiopian environmental journalists working with private and government media outlets have got together to form an association, an official close to the newly formed association told The Daily Monitor on Monday." More |
| Ethiopian boubou, Laniarius (aethiopicus) aethiopicus, also known as the boubou shrike, tropical boubou or the bell shrike, photographed at the Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Image: Dan Logen, 10 February 2011 [velociraptorize] |
