NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black-headed Gonolek
Laniarius erythrogaster (Cretzschmar, 1829)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The black-headed gonolek (Laniarius erythrogaster) is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is found in the African countries of Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland.
The black-headed gonolek is a distinctively coloured bush-shrike though it is generally shy and retiring. However, close to human habitation and in gardens, it often becomes much bolder. It has a very distinctive call which it makes in concert with its partner. The male makes a loud, clear, bell-like sound to which the female responds almost simultaneously with a harsh grating response.
Wikipedia contributors, Black-headed gonolek; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:42:57.183883+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Laniarius erythrogaster (Cretzschmar, 1829)
- Name authority
- (Cretzschmar, 1829)
- Common name
- Black-headed Gonolek
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Malaconotidae
- Genus
- Laniarius
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMalaconotidae Swainson, 1824
- genusLaniarius Vieillot, 1816
- speciesLaniarius erythrogaster (Cretzschmar, 1829)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Laniarius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Ethiopian BoubouLaniarius aethiopicus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Crimson-breasted ShrikeLaniarius atrococcineus (Burchell, 1822) | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-crowned GonolekLaniarius barbarus (Linnaeus, 1766) | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Braun's BushshrikeLaniarius brauni Bannerman, 1939 | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fülleborn's BoubouLaniarius fuelleborni (Reichenow, 1900) | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lühder's BushshrikeLaniarius luehderi Reichenow, 1874 | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tropical BoubouLaniarius major (Hartlaub, 1848) | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Papyrus GonolekLaniarius mufumbiri Ogilvie-Grant, 1911 | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-naped BushshrikeLaniarius ruficeps (Shelley, 1885) | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| East Coast BoubouLaniarius sublacteus (Cassin, 1851) | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Turati's BoubouLaniarius turatii (J. Verreaux, 1858) | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-breasted BoubouLaniarius atroflavus Shelley, 1887 | MalaconotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Lanius erythrogaster Cretzschmar, 1829 Cretzschmar, 1829 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=560698 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3S76K. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.