Black-chested Prinia
Prinia flavicans (Vieillot, 1821)
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-chested prinia (Prinia flavicans) is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae.
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Its natural habitat is dry savanna.
Prinias are small warblers that can be distinguished from other warblers by their long tails often held in a near-vertical position. All species are sexually monomorphic. There are four species in the Prinia genus in southern Africa. The three other species are as follows: tawny-flanked prinia (Prinia subflava), Karoo prinia (Prinia maculosa), and Drakensberg prinia (Prinia hypoxantha). Of these four, the black-chested prinia is the only species that has different breeding and non-breeding plumages. The black-chested prinia is aptly named for the charcoal-colored breast band apparent in its breeding plumage.
Wikipedia contributors, Black-chested prinia; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:42:57.182883+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Prinia flavicans (Vieillot, 1821)
- Name authority
- (Vieillot, 1821)
- Common name
- Black-chested Prinia
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cisticolidae
- Genus
- Prinia
- 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
- familyCisticolidae Sundevall, 1872
- genusPrinia Horsfield, 1821
- speciesPrinia flavicans (Vieillot, 1821)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Prinia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Grey-crowned PriniaPrinia cinereocapilla Moore, 1854 | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Prinia crinigera Hodgson, 1836 | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-bellied PriniaPrinia flaviventris (Delessert, 1840) | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Graceful PriniaPrinia gracilis (Lichtenstein, 1823) | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey-breasted PriniaPrinia hodgsonii Blyth, 1844 | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Plain PriniaPrinia inornata Sykes, 1832 | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Karoo PriniaPrinia maculosa (Boddaert, 1783) | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-faced PriniaPrinia melanops (Reichenow & Neumann, 1895) | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rufescent PriniaPrinia rufescens Blyth, 1847 | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tawny-flanked PriniaPrinia subflava (Gmelin, 1789) | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Jungle PriniaPrinia sylvatica Jerdon, 1840 | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sao Tome PriniaPrinia molleri Bocage, 1887 | CisticolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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=562438 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:4MDWH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.