Forest Robin

Olive-backed Forest Robin
Artwork by ririhugs

Stiphrornis erythrothorax

Includes: Western Forest Robin; Sangha Forest Robin; Gabon Forest Robin; Eastern Forest Robin; Olive-backed Forest Robin; Forest Akalat

Identification

Small, smaller than Eurasian Robin, ground dwelling Robin. Similar to Akalats ( Shepphardia spp ) but with brighter underparts and more slender, downcurved bill and a distinctive white spot on the lores.

The five taxa are very distinctive.

• Western Forest Robin ( erythrothorax ). Upperparts grey with a greenish wash - black tinge to area around the base of the bill and along the lower edge of the earcoverts. Bold white spot on the lores. Chin, throat and breast bright orangish russet. Lower breast, belly, and undertail coverts white. Flanks and "thigh" pale grey.
• Gabon Forest Robin ( gabonensis ). Distinctly darker oliveish grey forehead, crown and sides to the head. Bold white spot on the lores Mantle as head only colder and less olive. Rump and upper tail coverts and tail distinctly paler than mantle. Throat and upper breast paler, more orange than erythrothorax. Flank and "thigh" pale grey. Rest of underparts white.
• Eastern Forest Robin ( xanthogaster ). Upperparts grey with a strong olive wash - dusky suffusion around the base of the bill and under the earcoverts ( not as dark as erythrothorax ). Bold white spot on the lores. Rump and uppertail coverts somewhat paler than the rest of the upperparts, but rathe difficult to make out in the field. Chin, throat and breast yellow - slightly paler on the throat, rest of underparts cream. Flank and "thigh" warmer grey than the preceding taxa.
• Olive-backed Forest Robin ( pyrrholaemus ). Forehead, crown, earcoverts and sides of neck dark grey / black. Bold white spot on the lores. Rest of upperparts distinctly olive green, including the rump and upper tail coverts. Chin, throat and breast bright orange, rest of underparts pale, but rich yellow. Flank and "thigh" very neutral grey. Looks distinctly "hooded" in the field.
• Sangha Forest Robin ( sanghensis ). Forehead, crown and earcoverts dark grey with olive wash. Mantle paler grey, rump and uppertail coverts slightly paler again. Bold white spot on lores. Chin, throat and breast yellowish orange. Rest of underparts rich cream. Flank and "thigh" neutral grey.

Distribution

Africa. From Guinea Conakry to extreme westernmost Sudan, down to southern Uganda and coastal areas of Democratic Republic of Congo.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Five subspecies recognized:²

• S. e. erythrothorax (Western Forest Robin) from Guinea Conakry east to Togo. Gap in distributon in Benin. Southern Nigeria and west Cameroon. Sympatric with gabonensis in southern Nigeria and southwest Cameroon.
• S. e. gabonensis (Gabon Forest Robin) in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and, possibly Bioko. Sympatric with xanthogaster in western Cameroon and central Gabon.
• S. e. sanghensis (Sangha Forest Robin) in Dzanga - Sangha forest, Central African Republic. Unknown. May be parapatric.
• S. e. xanthogaster (Eastern Forest Robin) from southeastern Cameroon south to eastern Gabon, east to northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, extreme southwestern South Sudan, and western Uganda.
• S. e. pyrrholaemus (Olive-backed Forest Robin) in Moukalaba - Doudou National Park / Ndongo protected area, south-west Gabon. Whole range embedded within gabonensis.

Some authorities^1,3 recognise these taxa as full species.

Habitat

Forest.

Behaviour

Vocalisation

• S.e. erythrothorax
  • High, rather thin cheer eer, chee-err, ch-chee-ee. Fast and repetitious in longish series. Fades slightly towards the end.
• S.e. gabonensis
  • Slower than erythrothorax with che-ar notes mixed in. Sharply cut off at the end.
• S.e. sanghensis
  • As erythrothorax but almost continuous, series running into each other.
• S.e. pyrrholaemus
  • Continuous, like sanghensis but rythm differs. trp. cheercheer che, chp-chee-chee. Often a single chirp at the end.
• S.e. xanthogaster
  • Like sanghensis in speed and ending but, rythm differ. cheer cheer, whee whee whee

References

1. Beresford, P and J Cracraft. 1999. Speciation in African forest robins (Stiphrornis): species limits, phylogenetic relationships, and molecular biogeography. American Museum Novitates 3270, 1–22.
2. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
3. Gill, F and M Wright. 2008. Birds of the World: Recommended English Names. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, USA. 2006. ISBN 9780691128276. Update (2008) downloaded from http://worldbirdnames.org/names.html.
4. Schmidt, BK, JT Foster, GR Angehr, KL Durrant and RC Fleischer. 2008. A new species of African Forest Robin from Gabon (Passeriformes: Muscicapidae: Stiphrornis). Zootaxa 1850, 27–42.

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Forest Robin. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Forest_Robin

External Links

Search for photos of Forest Robin in the gallery