The forest robin or orange-throated forest robin is a species of bird from Central and West Africa. It is monotypic in the genus Stiphrornis. It has been placed in the familyTurdidae, but is now generally placed in Muscicapidae in the group popularly known as chats. Most taxonomists consider it a single species, but some reviews have recommended recognizing 5 species. It has a total length of around, has dark upperparts, and a throat and chest that, depending on the subspecies, is yellow-orange or deep orange.
Description
It has a total length of around, has dark upperparts, and a throat and chest that, depending on the exact subspecies, is yellow-orange or deep orange.
Taxonomy
The initial split into multiple species within this genus is based on a review from 1999 where it, based on the phylogenetic species concept, was argued that all then recognized taxa should be considered monotypic species. Of these, S. gabonensis and S. xanthogaster were formerly considered subspecies of S. erythrothorax, whereas S. sanghensis was described as an entirely new species. The split was not followed in Handbook of the Birds of the World, where it was described as "perhaps premature". Comparably, the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group recommended not following the split, as differences in plumages are relatively small, genetic sampling considered incomplete, and evidence for intergradation or parapatry is lacking. Another species from this complex, S. pyrrholaemus, was described as a new species in 2008. Based on mtDNA, it is placed within S. erythrothorax sensu lato, and consequently is only a species if at least some of the taxonomy recommended in 1999 is followed. The genetic divergence between S. pyrrholaemus and other members of the genus is comparable to that between some other closely related species. Three additional taxa in the forest robin complex were described in 2016: Stiphrornisdahomeyensis, S.inexpectatus, and S.rudderi. These three taxa are nested within S. erythrothorax sensu lato; however, using the phylogenetic species concept, the study recommended the treatment of all eight forest robin taxa as distinct species.
Subspecies
The currently-recognized taxa in the forest robin complex are:
