Akalats are small chat-like or robin-like birds, (most) closely related to the genera Saxicola, Erithacus, Cossypha, Alethe, Luscinia, Erythropygia and Oenanthe.
The new species, Rubeho AkalatSheppardia aurantiithorax (Dutch name: Rubehojanfrederik), was mistnetted (but not collected) already in 1989 in the Ukaguru mountains, c 150 km north of the range of Iringa Akalat S lowei, of which it was then assumed to represent an isolated population.
Rubeho Akalat differs from its presumed sister taxa, Iringa and Usambara Akalat, by a deep orange throat and upperbreast, without white in the centre of the throat, and a richer copper wash on the upperparts.
The Tanzania Bird Atlas is under development but already contains a large number of excellent distribution maps produced from a database of sightings across the whole of Tanzania.
A new species of akalat, endemic to the Eastern Arc montane forests in Tanzania, has been described recently.
It has been named Rubeho AkalatSheppardia aurantiithorax – ABC Bulletin Vol 11 No 2 August 2004, p 93.
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