NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Rwenzori Hill Babbler
Sylvia atriceps (Sharpe, 1902)
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.
Sylvia atriceps, Kisoro, Uganda, 2023-02-09 (iNaturalist).
Tommy Andriollo · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Rwenzori hill babbler (Sylvia atriceps) is a species of passerine bird in the family Sylviidae that is found in Africa.
The Rwenzori hill babbler was described by the English zoologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1902 and given the binomial name Turdinus atriceps. The type locality is the Rwenzori Mountains on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The specific epithet atriceps is from the Latin ater for "black" and -ceps for "capped" or "headed". The Rwenzori hill babbler was formerly considered to be a conspecific with the African hill babbler. The species is monotypic.
Wikipedia contributors, Rwenzori hill babbler; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:31:07.255149+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sylvia atriceps (Sharpe, 1902)
- Name authority
- (Sharpe, 1902)
- Common name
- Rwenzori Hill Babbler
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sylviidae
- Genus
- Sylvia
- 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
- familySylviidae Leach, 1820
- genusSylvia Scopoli, 1769
- speciesSylvia atriceps (Sharpe, 1902)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sylvia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Garden WarblerSylvia borin (Boddaert, 1783) | SylviidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Abyssinian CatbirdSylvia galinieri (Guérin-Méneville, 1843) | SylviidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| African Hill BabblerSylvia abyssinica (Rüppell, 1840) | SylviidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eurasian BlackcapSylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus, 1758) | SylviidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Sylvia abyssinica atriceps (Sharpe, 1902) (Sharpe, 1902) | synonym |
| Turdinus atriceps Sharpe, 1902 Sharpe, 1902 | synonym |
| Illadopsis atriceps (Sharpe, 1902) (Sharpe, 1902) | synonym |
| Pseudoalcippe atriceps (Sharpe, 1902) (Sharpe, 1902) | 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=1257326 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.
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:DDBLR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.