A reassessment of the East African ranges of two subspecies of Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus chrysoconus based on a comparison of plumage, biometrics and song Uganda, Lybiidae, plumage coloration, song, morphology

Abstract

The distribution of the nominate subspecies of Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus chrysoconus has long been thought to extend throughout Uganda south into northwestern Tanzania, with extoni replacing it from southwestern Tanzania southwards. But little or no evidence has been available from southern Uganda or western Tanzania to confirm this. We performed fieldwork in Uganda and Tanzania, recording songs, ringing and measuring tinkerbirds and photographing their plumage. Our analyses of plumage, biometrics and bioacoustics reveal that nominate chrysoconus was present in most of Uganda, however, in southern Uganda, near Lake Mburo National Park, it was replaced by extoni, which extends southwards into Tanzania. Our findings suggest that published distribution maps and descriptions will require revisions.