Slender-billed greenbul

The slender-billed greenbul (Stelgidillas gracilirostris) is a species in the monotypic genus Stelgidillas of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in western and central Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.

Slender-billed greenbul
In Maasai Mara, Kenya
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Infraorder:	Passerides
Family:	Pycnonotidae
Genus:	Stelgidillas Oberholser, 1899
Species:	S. gracilirostris
Binomial name
Stelgidillas gracilirostris (Strickland, 1844)
Synonyms
Andropadus gracilirostris Pycnonotus gracilirostri Pycnonotus gracilirostris

Taxonomy and systematics

The slender-billed greenbul was formally described in 1844 by the English naturalist Hugh Edwin Strickland under the binomial name Andropadus gracilirostris from a specimen collected on the island of Fernando Pó (now Bioko) off the west coast of Africa.^[2]

A molecular phylogenetic study of the bulbuls published in 2007 found that Andropadus was non-monophyletic.^[3] In the subsequent rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, the slender-billed greenbul was moved to the genus Stelgidillas that had been introduced by Harry C. Oberholser in 1899.^[4][5] Alternate names for the slender-billed greenbul include the Cameroon sombre greenbul and Cameroon greenbul. The latter name should not be confused with the species of the same name, Arizelocichla montana.

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Stelgidillas:

• Toro olive greenbul (as Stelgidillas hypochloris)^[6]

Subspecies

Two subspecies of the slender-billed greenbul are recognized:^[7]

• Congo slender-billed greenbul (S. g. gracilirostris) - Strickland, 1844 — from Senegal and Guinea-Bissau to southern Sudan, western Kenya, western Tanzania, south-central Democratic Republic Congo and north-western Angola
• Kikuyu slender-billed greenbul (S. g. percivali) - (Neumann, 1903) — central Kenya

References

1. BirdLife International (2016). "Stelgidillas gracilirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22712791A94349139. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22712791A94349139.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
2. Strickland, Hugh Edwin (1844). "Description of some new species of Birds brought by Mr. L. Fraser from Western Africa". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. Part 12 (136): 99–102 [101].
3. Johansson, U.S.; Fjeldså, J.; Lokugalappatti, L.G.S.; Bowie, R.C.K. (2007). "A nuclear DNA phylogeny and proposed taxonomic revision of African greenbuls (Aves, Passeriformes, Pycnonotidae)". Zoologica Scripta. 36 (5): 417–427. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2007.00290.x. S2CID 84799480.
4. Oberholser, Harry C. (1899). "A list of birds collected by Mr R. P. Currie in Liberia". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 22 (1182): 25–37 [30]. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.22-1182.25.
5. "Taxonomy Version 2 « IOC World Bird List". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
6. "Phyllastrephus hypochloris - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
7. "Bulbuls « IOC World Bird List". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 2017-04-03.