Red-fronted prinia

Red-fronted prinia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cisticolidae
Genus: Prinia
Species:
P. rufifrons
Binomial name
Prinia rufifrons
Rüppell, 1840
Synonyms
  • Apalis rufifrons
  • Spiloptila rufifrons
  • Urorhipis rufifrons

The red-fronted prinia (Prinia rufifrons), also known as the red-fronted warbler and the red-faced apalis, is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is dry savanna.

Taxonomy

The red-fronted prinia was described by the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell in 1840 under the binomial name Prinia rufifrons. The type locality is Eritrea (the coastal region of Abyssinia).[2][3] The specific epithet rufifrons comes from the Latin rufus for "red" and frons for "forehead" or "front".[4]

There are three subspecies:[5]

  • P. r. rufifrons Rüppell, 1840 – Chad to northwest Somalia
  • P. r. smithi (Sharpe, 1895) – southeast Sudan to central Somalia and north Tanzania
  • P. r. rufidorsalis (Sharpe, 1897) – southeast Kenya

Many taxonomists place this species in the genus Prinia rather than in its own monotypic genus Urorhipis.[6][7] Support for this alternative placement is provided by a molecular phylogenetic study of the Cisticolidae published in 2013 that found that the red-fronted warbler was closely related to the prinias.[8]

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Prinia rufifrons". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22713834A94391133. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22713834A94391133.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Rüppell, Eduard (1840). Neue Wirbelthiere zu der Fauna von Abyssinien gehörig (in German). Frankfurt am Main: S. Schmerber. p. 110, Plate 41 fig. 1.
  3. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 171.
  4. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 341. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Grassbirds, Donacobius, Malagasy warblers, cisticolas & allies". World Bird List Version 7.3. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  6. ^ Ryan, P.; Dean, R. (2017). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Red-fronted Prinia (Prinia rufifrons)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  7. ^ Lepage, Denis. "Red-fronted Warbler". Avibase. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  8. ^ Olsson, U.; Irestedt, M.; Sangster, G.; Ericson, P.G.P.; Alström, P. (2013). "Systematic revision of the avian family Cisticolidae based on a multi-locus phylogeny of all genera". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 66 (3): 790–9. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.11.004. PMID 23159891.


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