The red-fronted prinia (Prinia rufifrons), also known as the red-fronted warbler and the red-faced apalis, is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae.It is found in Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.Its natural habitat is dry savanna.
| Red-fronted prinia | |
|---|---|
_(14563307688),_Urorhipis_rufifrons.jpg) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Cisticolidae |
| Genus: | Prinia |
| Species: | P. rufifrons |
| Binomial name | |
| Prinia rufifrons Rüppell, 1840 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Taxonomy
The red-fronted prinia was described by the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell in 1840 under the binomial name Prinia rufifrons. The type locality is Eritrea (the coastal region of Abyssinia).[2][3] The specific epithet rufifrons comes from the Latin rufus for "red" and frons for "forehead" or "front".[4]
There are three subspecies:[5]
- P. r. rufifrons Rüppell, 1840 – Chad to northwest Somalia
- P. r. smithi (Sharpe, 1895) – southeast Sudan to central Somalia and north Tanzania
- P. r. rufidorsalis (Sharpe, 1897) – southeast Kenya
Many taxonomists place this species in the genus Prinia rather than in its own monotypic genus Urorhipis.[6][7] Support for this alternative placement is provided by a molecular phylogenetic study of the Cisticolidae published in 2013 that found that the red-fronted warbler was closely related to the prinias.[8]
References
- Ryan, Peter (2006). Family Cisticolidae (Cisticolas and allies). pp. 378–492 in del Hoyo J., Elliott A. & Christie D.A. (2006) Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 11. Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers Lynx Edicions, Barcelona ISBN 978-84-96553-06-4