NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Slate-colored Boubou
Laniarius funebris (Hartlaub, 1863)
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 slate-colored boubou or slate-coloured boubou (Laniarius funebris) is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. German naturalist Gustav Hartlaub described the slate-colored boubou in 1863. Two subspecies, funebris and degener are recognised. Within the genus Laniarius its position is unclear, but it does not appear to be closely related to the black-plumaged members of the genus such as Fuelleborn's boubou, Laniarius fuelleborni, with which some authorities had previously considered it conspecific. The adult slate-colored boubou is 20 cm (8 in) long and wholly dark slate grey. The male and female are very similar. Immature birds have a plumage more barred with tawny brown and black. The male's call repertoire includes a noisy shhhhh, or strong clicking and coco-weet, with a rising inflexion on the last syllable. The calls differ regionally across the species' range.
Wikipedia contributors, Slate-colored boubou; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:44:56.954852+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Laniarius funebris (Hartlaub, 1863)
- Name authority
- (Hartlaub, 1863)
- Common name
- Slate-colored Boubou
- 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 funebris (Hartlaub, 1863)
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 |
|---|---|
| Dryoscopus funebris Hartlaub, 1863 Hartlaub, 1863 | synonym |
| Laniarius funebris funebris (Hartlaub, 1863) (Hartlaub, 1863) | synonym |
| Laniarius funebris degener Hilgert, 1912 Hilgert, 1912 | 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=560701 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:3S76N. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.