The Rubeho akalat (''Sheppardia aurantiithorax'') is a member of the

Old World flycatcher The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') and north ...

family, (Muscicapiidae), known from the

Rubeho Mountains The Rubeho Mountains are a mountain range in central Tanzania. The mountains in Dodoma and Morogoro regions, southeast of Tanzania's capital Dodoma. The Rubeho Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and are home to a biodiverse community ...

Dodoma Region Dodoma Region (''Mkoa wa Dodoma'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions. The regional capital is the city of Dodoma, which is also the capital of Tanzania. Dodoma region is located in c ...

. The mountains are a part of the

Eastern Arc The Eastern Academic Research Consortium, or "Eastern Arc", is a regional research collaboration between the University of East Anglia, the University of Essex, the University of Kent and the University of Sussex. The four partner institutions ar ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. Akalats trapped in 1989 here were assumed to be an isolated population of Iringa akalat which occurs c. 150 km to the south, but further specimens collected in 2000 led to the description of the bird as a new species. The bird's English name relates to its type locality,

Morogoro Morogoro is a city located in the eastern part of Tanzania, approximately 196 kilometers (122 miles) west of Dar es Salaam. Retrieved on November 24, 2011. It serves as the capital of the Morogoro Region. Informally, it is referred to as ''Mji ...

; the scientific name to the ochraceous colour on its throat and upper breast. The Rubeho akalat is found in the

, the Wota Mountains northwest of the Rubehos, the

Ukaguru Mountains The Ukaguru Mountains (''Milima ya Ukaguru'' in Swahili) are a mountain range in eastern Tanzania. The mountains are administratively located in the Morogoro Region, specifically in the Kilosa District. The mountains are named for the Kaguru peopl ...

, and Mount Kiboriani northwest of the Ukugurus, between 1660 and 2400 meters elevation. The species is thought to be fairly common in

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

s within its small range, but its very limited distribution has let to it being classified as

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

species in the 2008

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

.BLI (2008)

References

* Beresford, P.; Fjeldså, J. & Kiure, J. (2004): A new species of akalat (''Sheppardia'') narrowly endemic in the Eastern Arc of Tanzania ''

The Auk ''Ornithology'', formerly ''The Auk'' and ''The Auk: Ornithological Advances'', is a peer-reviewed scientific journal and the official publication of the American Ornithological Society (AOS). It was established in 1884 and is published quarterly ...

'' 121: 23-24 *

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 ...

(BLI) (2008b)
[2008 IUCN Redlist status changes]
Retrieved 2008-MAY-23. Rubeho akalat Sheppardia">Rubeho akalat Endemic birds of Tanzania Endemic birds of Tanzania">Sheppardia">Rubeho akalat Endemic birds of Tanzania Eastern Afromontane endemic bird species Birds described in 2004">Rubeho akalat {{Muscicapidae-stub