Bulo Burti Boubou not extinct (1 Viewer)

But that's because its true identity has finally been revealed: it's a colour-morph of Laniarius (aethiopicus) erlangeri.

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. Mol Phylogenet Evol, in press.

The DNA evidence shows that erlangeri (“Somali Boubou”) and sublacteus (“Dimorphic Boubou”) are distinct enough to be split – aethiopicus (“Ethiopian Boubou”) and major (Tropical Boubou) may also have to be treated separately (but this needs further study).

WOW! Wasn't it identified at the first place by DNA differences?

Seriously, I would check DNA of lots of strange specimens in museums (but not BBB, as there is no specimen ). I'm sure many species known from single skin are freaks. And many strange dust-covered skins, long dismissed as freaks or immatures, are unrecognized rare species.

Why is this thread not titled Bye-Bye Bulo Burti Boubou?

The paper is here... http://www.scricciolo.com/Nuovo_Neornithes/Nguembock 2008 Laniarius phylogeny Fjeldsa Pasquet.pdf

Graham