DURBAN MUSEUM NOVJTATES
Issued, by the D urban M useum , D urban, South A frica
Vol. V 15th A p r i l , 1 9 5 7 P a r t 1
MISCELLANEOUS TAXONOMIC NOTES ON AFRICAN BIRDS VIII
b y
P. A. CLANCEY (Director, Durban Museum and Art Gallery)
THE SOUTH AFRICAN RACES OF THE
ASHY FLYCATCHER M U SCICAPA CIN E RE A ( C A S S I N )
The Ashy Flycatcher M uscicapa cinerea (Cassin) is a widely
distributed species of forest and wooded savanna co untry, which
ranges from the U pper Guinea forests, the southern Sudan, Uganda,
Kenya Colony and southern Somalia south in the west to Angola
and northern South-W est Africa, and in the east to Natal and the
eastern Cape Province. Four races are currently rec ognised by
workers, two of which occur within South African su b-continental
lim its, these being M . c. cczrulescens (Hartlaub), 1865: Natal, and
M . c. cinereola Finsch and H artlaub, 1870: Usaram o, Dar-es-Salaam
district, eastern Tanganyika Territory, of which M . c. kukuyuensis
(van Someren), 1921: Kyam bu, Kenya Colony, is now g e n e r a l l y
conceded to be a synonym . Roberts, B irds of South A frica, 1 9 4 0 ,
p. 278, proposed the recognition of three races fro m within our lim its
as follow s: M . c. pondoensis (Gunning and Roberts), 1911: Port St.
Johns, Pondoland, restricted to Pondoland; M . c. cm rulescens o f
N atal to the eastern Transvaal, and M . c. kikuyuensis of Ngam iland,
Southern Rhodesia and southern Portuguese East Afri c a . T h i s
arrangement is not adopted by Vincent, who, in his r e c e n t C h e c k
L ist o f the B irds o f South A frica , 1952, p. 66, follow s Sclater, S y s t e m a
Avium M thiopicarum , part ii, 1930, p. 401, in synonym izing M . c .
p o n d o e n s i s w i t h M . c. cm rulescens. In two recent communications
(Annals of the N atal M useum ,, vol. xii, 2, 1952, pp. 256-257, and
Durban M useum N ovitates, vol. iv, 13, 1955, pp. 206-207) I- have
indicated that the South African populations are in fact divisible
[P rice 2/6/- nett] 1 Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated .) Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated Reproduced by 2 M iscellaneous T axonom ic N otes on A frican B irds
into three races as suggested by Roberts, l o c . c i t . , but that the
nom enclature used for these by that w orker is in ne ed of adjustm ent.
Through the kindness of the Directors of the East L o n d o n
Museum, the Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg, the Tra n s v a a l
Museum, Pretoria, the National Museum of Southern R h o d e s i a ,
Bulawayo, and the Museu Dr. Alvaro de Castro, Loure ngo M arques,
I have been able tQ study a com prehensive m aterial of the South
African sub-continental populations of this flycatc her. For the loan
and gift of m aterial of the East African races, M . c. cinereola a n d
M . c. kihuyuensis, I am grateful to m y colleague, Mr. John G.
W illiam s, Ornithologist of the Coryndon Museum, Nai robi, and I
am equally indebted to Dr. A. L. Rand of the Chicag o N a t u r a l
H istory M useum, U .S.A., who has graciously placed m aterial from
the van Someren collection now housed in that insti tution at m y
disposal for study. Both Mr. R. H. N. Smithers, Dir ector of the
National Museums of Southern Rhodesia, and Mr. M. P . S t u a r t
Irwin, of Bulawayo, have studied part of m y assembl ed m aterial
and have offered useful suggestions.
At the southern extrem ity of its range, in the east e r n C a p e
Province, Pondoland, Natal and Zululand, the Ashy F lycatcher is
generally to be found in m oist forest and riparian cover. It is par
ticularly fond of small w ooded valley bottom s, com p lete with dark
shade-trees and sequestered glades. The am ple m ater ial now avail
able from the entire area shows that Pondoland bird s are not darker
grey than those of Natal, as claimed by Gunning and R o b e r t s ,
Annals of the Transvaal M useum , vol. iii, 2, 1911, p. 114, when
they described the Pondo population as A lseonax ccerulescens pondo-
e n s i s , t h e T y p e being a specim en collected by Swinny at Port St.
Johns on the 21st July, 1909 (T.M. No. 7288). Forty specim ens
from the area extending from the valley of the Grea t Fish River
in the eastern Cape Province through coastal Pondol and, Natal and
Zululand, as far as Ingw avum a in the southern Lebom bo M ountains,
all clearly belong to one well-marked race, the ear liest nam e for
w h i c h i s M uscicapa ccerulescens (Hartlaub), 1865: Natal. M . c .
ccerulescens is very constant throughout m ost of its range, as g i v e n
above, but in north-eastern Zululand the influence of the next race
to be considered (M . c. vulturna) is observable in a m arked incidence
of rather lighter-coloured birds ( v i d e C l a n c e y , l o c . c i t . , 1 9 5 2 ) . M . c .
cczrulescens is also sm aller than the races occurring to the no r t h w a r d ,
the wings of 12 g g measuring 71.5-79 m m ., 8 $$ 70-74.5 mm.
N o r t h o f M . c. ccerulescens occur populations which have received
very indecisive and indifferent treatm ent at the ha nds of various Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated .) Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated Reproduced by by P . A . Clancey 3
system atic workers. The birds of the populations re sident in north
ern Swaziland, eastern and northern Transvaal and m ost of southern
Portuguese East Africa favour a rather drier biotop e to the austral
race just dealt with, occurring m ainly in light rip arian cover in
comparatively dry wooded savannas. W hen compared ca r e f u l l y
with topotypical M . c. ccerulescens they are found to differ sub-
specifically on account of the m uch less dark grey upper-parts, and
ventrally they are altogether whiter, with less dar k olivaceous grey
clouding on the breast, sides of the body arid flan ks. In size they
range rather larger than m ost M . c. ccerulescens, the wings of 16
cJcJ measuring 73.5-82 mm., 9 $$ 71-78.5 mm. W hen c o m p a r e d
with a good East African series of M . c. cinereola they are found to
be slightly paler and less bluish on the upper-part s, though the
difference in m any instances is slight. On the vent ral surfaces, how
ever, they reveal their discreteness, being m uch wh iter and less
heavily washed w ith grey on the breast, sides of th e body and flanks,
but there is absolutely no difference whatever in s ize, the wings of
11 East African of M . c. cinereola measuring 73.5-82 m m ., 10
$$ 70.5-78 mm. The bill is appreciably finer, and l ess coarse and
broad basally. M ost workers have considered these p opulations to
be either sim ilar to topotypical M . c. ccerulescens or else interm ediate
between that race and M . c. cinereola. I believe them to be distinct
enough to bear a subspecific name of their own, and for the new
race the nam e M . c. vulturna m ihi is introduced below.
North and north-west of the range of M . c. vulturna occur birds
which are lighter and less bluish grey on the upper -parts, and m ore
uniform ly whitish below, the breast, sides of body and flanks ex
hibiting less clear grey. The wings of such birds a re also less blackish,
and they range larger in size, v i z . 1 8 $ $ have wings 79-86 mm.,
14 $$ 75-82 mm. Populations of birds exhibiting suc h characters
range throughout northern South-W est Africa (includ ing the Caprivi
Strip), northern Bechuanaland, southern Rhodesia an d som e north
ern districts of southern Portuguese East Africa. E xtralim itally,
also in southern Angola, Northern Rhodesia, the sou thern Belgian
Congo, Nyasaland and northern Portuguese East Afric a . T h e s e
birds have been consistently identified by workers with those of
equatorial East Africa. Com parison between a series of 48 specim ens
from the regions just listed and one of 21.specim en s of the true
M . c. cinereola ( = M . c. kikuyuensis ) from Jubaland (southern
Som alia), K enya.Colony and the north-eastern distri cts of Tangan
yika Territory, shows that the currently held opini on that all are
M . c. cinereola is incorrect. M . c. cinereola, sens, strict., i s d a r k e r Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated .) Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated Reproduced by 4 M iscellaneous Taxonom ic Notes on African Birds
M USCICAPA CINEREA ( C A S S I N )
Sketch-map showing the approximate ranges of the southern African races of the Ashy Flycatcher:
1. M . c. ccsrulescens (Hartlaub)
2 . M . c. vulhtrna C l a n c e y
3 . M . c. im pavida C l a n c e y
and bluer above, blacker on the wings and more heav ily clouded
w ith grey on the under-parts. In w ing-length it is also rather sm aller
(see above), and the bill is usually rather broader and coarser. The
evidence gathered as a result of this study suggest s t h a t M . c .
c i n e r e o l a is a race confined to eastern equatorial Africa in s o u t h e r n
Som alia, Kenya Colony and m ost of Tanganyika Territ ory, and that
the pallid populations of the Ashy Flycatcher occur ring in south-
central Africa belong to a further undescribed race . This I form ally
describe below as M . c. im pavida mihi, the T y p e being from near
the Victoria Falls in western Southern Rhodesia.
Through the kindness of Dr. Rand, some of the parat y p i c a l
m aterial of M . c. kikuyuensis has been available for study. Speci
mens from Kiam bu (Kyam bu) Forest, near Nairobi, Ken ya Colony,
the type-locality of M . c. kikuyuensis, scarcely differ at all from
those from coastal Kenya Colony and north-eastern T a n g a n y i k a Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated .) Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated Reproduced by by P . A . Clancey 5
T e r r i t o r y (M . c. cinereola). In series they are perhaps a trifle paler
and less bluish dorsally and in som e instances less greyish below,
but the distinctions, if they be such, are extrem el y labile, and I
incline to the view that only one race can be recog nised from East
Africa, the earliest name for which is M . c. cinereola, of which I
b e l i e v e M . c. kikuyuensis to be correctly placed as a synonym .
T o return to the South African populations and thei r classification.
Study of adequate material now shows that both size and colour
character clines occur w ithin our lim its, running m ore or less parallel
in a north-south direction, the smallest and darkes t birds residing
in the extrem e south of the species’ range in assoc iation with high
rainfall and considerable hum idity ( M . c. ccerulescens in the eastern
Cape Province, Pondoland, Natal and Zululand). The m uch larger
and paler birds found in the considerably drier and less humid
interior regions of south-central Africa represent the northern cul
m ination of the clines, which can be conveniently b roken down into
a group of three races, consisting of tw o w ell-m ark ed term inal form s
and a nom enclaturally recognisable interm ediate. Th e three north
ern subspecies ( M . c. cinereola, M . c. cinerea a n d M . c. nigroruvi )
are not segments of a cline or clines as are the so uthern races,
though a cline of increasing saturation and a paral lel one of size
diminution m ay ultimately be demonstrated to run in a n o r t h
easterly direction from the very pallid M . c. im pavida through the
l a b i l e M . c. kikuyuensis to the dark-coloured coastal populations
o f M. c. cinereola. M. c. cinereola is apparently similar to M. c .
ccerulescens in its preference for open forest and riparian ‘‘j u n g l e , ”
while both M . c . c i n e r e a a n d M . c. nigrorum are entirely forest-
dwelling form s.
The nom enclature, characters and ranges of the thre e races of
M uscicapa cinerea which I propose to recognise from within South
A frican lim its are as follow s:
1. M uscicapa cinerea CEerulescens ( H a r t l a u b )
B utalis ccerulescens Hartlaub, I b i s , 1865, p. 268: Natal. Type-
locality restricted to Durban, Natal, v i d e C l a n c e y , D u r b a n
M useum N ovitates, vol. iv, 13, 1955, p. 206. Synonym : A l s e o n a x
ccerulescens pondoensis Gunning and Roberts, Annals of the
Transvaal M useum , vol. iii, 2, 1911, p. 114: Port St. Johns,
P o n d o l a n d .
Upper-parts dark bluish slate (about O O S-4-l°). Und e r - p a r t s
dull whitish, the breast, sides of the body and fla nks clouded with
olivaceous grey. Size smallest. Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated .) Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated Reproduced by 6 M iscellaneous Taxonom ic N otes on A frican B irds
Wings 71.5-79 (76.4) mm., $$ 70-74.5 (72.2) mm. 20 s p e c i
mens measured.
T y p e : N ot traced (? Destroyed during the 1939-1945 war).
M a t e r i a l : 40: Eastern Cape Province, 2; coastal Pondoland, 8 ;
Natal, 17; Zululand (m ainly north-eastern districts ) , 1 3 .
R a n g e : Eastern Cape Province from the valley of the Great F i s h
River through Pondoland, East Griqualand and Natal to Zululand,
where, in the north-eastern districts, and in south ern Swaziland it
iptergrades with the next race.
2. Muscicapa cinerea vulturna, subsp. nov.
Paler, less deep bluish slate, on the upper-parts t h a n M . c .
ccem lescens (about S SO -6-l°). On the ventral surfaces, the thr o a t
and abdom en purer white, and the breast, sides of t he body and
flanks clearer grey, the olivaceous tinge lacking. Averaging larger
in size. Compared with M . c. cinereola the upper-parts are seen to
be slightly less bluish grey. Ventrally whiter, m uc h less heavily
washed with grey on the breast, sides of the body a nd flanks. Bill
rather finer, less coarse and broad basally.
Wings 73.5-82 (78.1) mm., $$ 71-78.5 (75.4 mm.) 25 s p e c i
m ens measured.
T y p e : adult. Farm Malamala, Newington district, eastern
Transvaal “low veld.” 900'a.s.1. 9th August, 1956. C ollected by P.
A. Clancey. In the collection of the Durban M useum. W ing 80 mm.
M a t e r i a l : 33: Northern Swaziland, 1; eastern Transvaal, 18;
northern Transvaal, 3; south-eastern Southern Rhode s i a , ( M t .
Selinda district), 3; Sul do Save, southern Portugu ese East A frica, 8.
R a n g e : Northern Swaziland, northern and eastern Transvaal ,
extrem e south-eastern Southern Rhodesia and Sul do Save, southern
Portuguese East Africa.
3. Muscicapa cinerea impavida, subsp. nov.
Still paler dorsally than M . c. vulturna, m ore ashen, less bluish
(about S 0-7-10). Ear-coverts rather paler. Ventrall y more uni
form ly whitish, the breast, sides of the body and f lanks, less suffused
with grey. The white of the throat and abdom en is d uller, and in
m any there is only a vestige of the grey breast-ban d present in both
M . c. ccsrulescens a n d M . c. vulturna. W ings paler. Much larger
t h a n M . c. ccerulescens and averaging larger than M . c. vulturna. Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated .) Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated Reproduced by by P t A . Clancey 7
-Com pared with M . c.. C inereola of equatorial East Africa lighter and
duller, less deep bluish grey, dorsally. E ar-covert s lighter, and black
loral spot usually smaller in size. On under-parts whiter with re
duced grey clouding on the breast, sides of the bod y and flanks,
which is usually well developed in M . c. cinereola. W ings consider
ably paler, less blackish. Averaging larger than M . t. cinereola, b u t
bill rather less coarse.
W ings cjcJ 79-86 (81.5) m m ., $$ 75-82 (78.1) mm . 32 specim ens
m e a s u r e d .
T y p e : $ , adult. Zambesi River, 14 miles west of the Victori a
Falls, western Southern Rhodesia. 18th August, 1956 . Collected by
M. P. Stuart Irwin. In the collection Of the Nation al Museum of
Southern Rhodesia, Bulawayo. Museum Register No. 26 9 2 0 . W i n g
8 5 . 0 m m .
M a t e r i a l : 48: Caprivi Strip, 2; northern Bechuanaland Protec
torate, 3; Southern Rhodesia, 25; districts of M ani ca and Sofala,
southern Portuguese East Africa, 10; Nyasaland, 5; Zarhbezia,
northern Portuguese East Africa, 3.
R a n g e : Northern South-W est Africa (including the Caprivi S t r i p ) ,
northern Bechuanaland Protectorate, Southern Rhodes ia and the
districts of M anica and Sofala, southern. Portugues e East Africa.
Extralifnitally to central and southern Angola, Nor thern Rhodesia,
southern Belgian Congo in the Katanga, Nyasaland ar id northern
Portuguese East Africa.
E xtralim ital R aces
For the sake of com pleteness, these are listed brie f l y b e l O w :
4. Muscicapa cinerea cinereola Finseh and Hartlaub
M uscicapa cinereola Finsch and H artlaub, D ie V ogel O st-A frikas,
vol. iv, 1870’, pi. 4, p. 302: Usaramo, Dar-es-Sala am district,
eastern Tanganyika Territory. Synonym : A lseonax ccerulescens
kikuyuensis van Someren, B ulletin of the B ritish O rnithologists’
C l u b , vol. xli, 1921, p. 102: Kyam bu, Kenya Colony.
Darker and m ore bluish grey on upper-parts than M . c. im pavida
(about S S 0-7-10). W ings blacker and under-parts m or e copiously
washed with grey. Averaging smaller in size, and wi th a slightly
broader and coarser bill.
W ings 73.5-82 (77.6) mm., $$ 70.5-78 (74.1) mm. Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated .) Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated Reproduced by 8 M iscellaneous T axonom ic N otes on A frican B irds
R a n g e : Eastern equatorial Africa from the valleys of the J u b a
and W ebi Shebeli Rivers, southern Som alia, and the central districts
of Kenya Colony south to Tanganyika Territory (main l y i n t h e
eastern districts). Southern lim its not ascertained .
5. Muscicapa cinerea cinerea ( C a s s i n )
E opsaltria cinerea C a s s i n , Proceedings of the A cadem y of N atural
Sciences of Philadelphia, 1857 (1856), p. 253: Moonda River,
Gaboon, French Equatorial Africa.
Darker blue-grey on upper-parts than M . c. cinereola, a n d m o r e
dusky below. Averaging smaller in size.
Wings 67-78 mm. (after Bannerman, Birds of W est and
E quatorial A frica, vol. ii, 1953, p.