Southern Black Flycatchers

The Southern Black Flycatchers (Melaenornis pammelaina) occur naturally in Africa. Several races have been identified:

Southern Black-Flycatcher (Melaenornis pammelaina pammelaina – Stanley, 1814) – Nominate form

Range: Southern Tanzania to southeastern Malawi and Mozambique north of Sul do Save

Southern Black Flycatcher, Melaenornis pammelaina

Southern Black-Flycatcher (ater) (Melaenornis pammelaina ater – Sundevall, 1850)

Range: Southeastern Botswana to Malawi, eastern Zimbabwe, Mozambique, eastern parts of South Africa

Southern Black-Flycatcher (diabolicus) (Melaenornis pammelaina diabolicus – Sharpe, 1877)

Range: Southern Angola to northern Namibia and northwestern Botswana

East African Black Flycatcher, Southern Black-Flycatcher (East African) (Melaenornis pammelaina tropicalis – Cabanis, 1884)

Range: Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) to Uganda,, Rwanda, Kenya and western Tanzania

Southern Black-Flycatcher (poliogygna) (Melaenornis pammelaina poliogygna – Lawson, 1964)

Range: Angola to the Caprivi Strip, Zimbabwe, northwestern Malawi and southwestern Tanzania

Photo of author

Team Beauty of Birds

Beautyofbirds.com's team of experts includes veterinarians, biologists, environmentalists and active bird watchers. All put together, we have over half a century of experience in the birding space.

You can meet our team here.