Thrushes (Turdidae)

Blackstart (Cercomela melanura) - HBW 10, p. 791

French: Traquet à queue noire German: Schwarzschwanz Spanish: Colinegro Común
Other common names: Black-tailed Chat/Rockchat, Black-tailed Cercomela

Taxonomy: Saxicola melanura Temminck, 1824, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt.
Species often given as erlangeri, but that name invalid, as preoccupied. Race ultima individually highly variable, possibly not distinct from airensis. Six subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

ultima Bates, 1933 - E Mali and W Niger.
airensis Hartert, 1921 - N Niger (Aïr) E to C Sudan.
melanura (Temminck, 1824) - Israel, Jordan and extreme NE Egypt (Sinai) S to NW and interior C & S Arabia.

See all 6 subspecies

ultima Bates, 1933 - E Mali and W Niger.
airensis Hartert, 1921 - N Niger (Aïr) E to C Sudan.
melanura (Temminck, 1824) - Israel, Jordan and extreme NE Egypt (Sinai) S to NW and interior C & S Arabia.
neumanni Ripley, 1952 - SW Saudi Arabia, W & S Yemen and SW Oman.
lypura (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833) - NC & NE Sudan, and SE Egypt S to Eritrea.
aussae Thesiger & Meynell, 1934 - NE Ethiopia, Djibouti and N Somalia.