Scaly chatterer, Turdoides aylmeri, photographed at Nyumba ya Mungu reservoir, Tanzania, Africa.
Dan Logen, January 2010 [raptorize].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens, ISO 500, f/6.3, 1/1000 sec.
Question: This African mystery bird is a member of a family that has been the subject of a lot of DNA work recently, which means that our understanding of this group is in a state of flux at the moment. Can you name this species?
Response: This bird is a scaly chatterer, Turdoides aylmeri, which is a member of the passerine family, Timaliidae. This large passerine family has been subjected to a lot of recent DNA sequencing work that has resulted in a rather large rearrangement of species. This species name -- Turdoides aylmeri -- is accurate as of February 2009.
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