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Batises and Wattle-eyes (Platysteiridae)

Chin-spot Batis (Batis molitor) - HBW 11, p. 192

French: Pririt molitor German: Weißflankenschnäpper Spanish: Batis Molitor
Other common names: Chin-spot Puff-back flycatcher, White-flanked Batis

Taxonomy: Muscicapa molitor Küster, 1836, Baviaans River, eastern Cape Province, South ­Africa.
Part of a superspecies that probably includes also B. senegalensis, B. orientalis, B. soror and B. pririt. Replaced in E African lowlands by B. soror, which was once considered a race of present species (although apparently some geographical overlap in SE Tanzania). Marginal range overlap with B. pririt from N Namibia E to N South Africa; some interaction between the two (including imitation of call in order to establish interspecific territories), also interspecific response to playback of sounds recorded by researchers. Proposed races montana.. View all taxonomy...

Taxonomy: Muscicapa molitor Küster, 1836, Baviaans River, eastern Cape Province, South ­Africa.
Part of a superspecies that probably includes also B. senegalensis, B. orientalis, B. soror and B. pririt. Replaced in E African lowlands by B. soror, which was once considered a race of present species (although apparently some geographical overlap in SE Tanzania). Marginal range overlap with B. pririt from N Namibia E to N South Africa; some interaction between the two (including imitation of call in order to establish interspecific territories), also interspecific response to playback of sounds recorded by researchers. Proposed races montana (from Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania), taruensis (from SE Kenya) and mystica (from Ukamba, in Kenya) considered synonymous with puella. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • pintoi Lawson, 1966 - Gabon (Djambala), PRCongo, Angola (Dinge area of Cabinda, also inland areas), SW DRCongo (Ngombe, in extreme W Kasai, possibly also extreme SW Katanga) and NW Zambia (Mwinilunga area).
  • puella Reichenow, 1893 - S Sudan (Didinga Mts), and NE DRCongo (Kivu), Uganda and Rwanda E to W & S Kenya and N Tanzania (E to Kilimanjaro region).
  • palliditergum Clancey, 1955 - SE DRCongo (Katanga), Zambia, Malawi and S Tanzania S to S Angola (Cunene and Namibe), N Namibia, E Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique (middle Zambezi and SW regions), N South Africa and N Lesotho.
  • molitor (Küster, 1836) - S Mozambique, Swaziland and E South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal S to Port Elizabeth region of Eastern Cape).

Videos

4 videos

Sounds

2 recordings
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