• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note

Sylvia abyssinica and S. atriceps (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) were previously lumped as Pseudoalcippe abyssinica following Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993). Along with S. abyssinica previously separated as Pseudoalcippe in Timaliidae, but genetic data (Alström et al. 2013) place both species in present genus. Often treated as conspecific with S. abyssinica, and strongly similar in voice, but circumstances suggest otherwise: (a) presence in Nigeria and Cameroon, close to W populations of latter, implies that the two are distinct; (b) lack of subspeciation between highly disjunct W and C African populations appears particularly strange when united with polytypic S. abyssinica; (c) differs from latter in its black vs grey head (3); chestnut vs rufous-tinged olive-brown upperparts (2); blackish vs pale grey underparts (2). Monotypic.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2023. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 8. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v8_Dec23.zip.

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as common (del Hoyo et al. 2007). This species is considered to have a high dependency on forest habitat, and tree cover is estimated to have declined by 18.3% within its mapped range over the past three generations (Global Forest Watch 2022, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). It is therefore tentatively suspected that this rate of cover loss may have led to a decline of between 1-19% in the species' population size over the same time frame, with a best estimate of reduction being 15-19%.

Trend justification:   .

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Rwenzori Hill-babbler Sylvia atriceps. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rwenzori-hill-babbler-sylvia-atriceps on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.