The black boubou (''Laniarius nigerrimus''), also known as Somali boubou, Erlanger's boubou or coastal boubou, is a medium-size bushshrike. It was split from the tropical boubou as a result of

DNA sequence A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases within the nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. This succession is denoted by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of the nu ...

analysis,Nguembock, B., Fjeldså J., Couloux A., Pasquet, E. (2008) "". PDF ''Mol. Phyl. Evol.'' 48(2): 396-407. and this change in status was recognized by the

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology. It links basic and applied research and nurtures education and outreach activities. Specifically, the IOU organizes and funds global co ...

in 2008. Two colour morphs are recognized, a predominantly black one, the black boubou, and an extremely rare black and yellow morph which was formerly considered a separate species, the Bulo Burti boubou (''Laniarius liberatus''). The black boubou is found in

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

and northern

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Description

The adult has glossy blue-black except for white spots on the rump, visible when the wings are spread and the rump feathers are erected. The underparts are white with a buffy or pinkish tinge on the breast and flanks. The bill is black; the eyes are dark reddish brown. The wings have white median coverts. The juvenile is similar but duller, with a greyish-brown bill, the upperparts mottled by yellowish-ochre to tawny feather tips, and dusky-barred flanks. The Somali boubou differs from tropical boubou in that it is smaller and has less white in the wing.

Bulo Burti boubou

The "Bulo Burti boubou", formerly recognized as a distinct species, ''Laniarius liberatus'', was only known from one individual trapped in 1988 in central

, 140 km inland in Hiiraan (region) near Buuloburde (Buulobarde, Bulo Burti) on the Shebelle River, and was described using blood and feather samples to provide a

. Apparently for the first time for a modern bird description, no specimen (either the bird or a part of it) was kept as a

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

; the bird was released back into the wild in 1990 because the scientists who caught it felt that the species was very rare. The blood and feather samples were destroyed in the process of sequencing. The epithet ''liberatus'' ("the liberated one") was given because of this. It was not found during searches in 1989 and 1990. It resembles the red-naped bushshrike ''L. ruficeps'' but has no red nape, is black, not grey, on the mantle, and is washed buffy-yellow on throat and breast. This presumed species was considered critically endangered by

Birdlife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

. In 2008, a new review of the molecular sequence data revealed the identity of the Bulo Burti boubou as a colour morph of ''Laniarius nigerrimus'' (traditionally considered a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of tropical boubou). Following the 2008 study the

recognized ''L. nigerrimus'' as distinct species and put ''L. liberatus'' into the synonymity of ''L. nigerrimus''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q27075305, from2=Q1320322 Laniarius Birds of East Africa Birds described in 1879 Controversial bird taxa