Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Corvida
Superfamilia: Corvoidea
Familia: Malaconotidae
Genus: Dryoscopus
Species: D. angolensis - D. cubla - D. gambensis - D. pringlii - D. sabini - D. senegalensis
Name
Dryoscopus Boie, 1826
Typus
Lanius cubla Latham, 1801 = Dryoscopus cubla
References
Boie, F. 1826. Generalübersicht der ornithologischen Ordnungen, Familien und Gattungen. Isis, oder Encyclopädische Zeitung von Oken 19: 969–981. BHLReference page. Original citation p.973 BHL
Dryoscopus is a genus of bird in the Malaconotidae or bushshrike family. Its members are known as puffbacks. The six species, all of fairly uniform appearance and habits, are native to various parts of sub-Saharan Africa.[1] The name Dryoscopus is a compound Greek word: drus from the Greek word for "tree" and skopos, meaning "watcher or lookout".[2]
Structure and habits
Puffbacks are small, active bushshrikes that show a superficial resemblance to boubous. They however display only rudimentary duetting, have red or reddish irides, are smaller and compact with bouncy flight, and display sexual dimorphism.[3] Characteristically, the long, loose and pale feathers of the male bird's back and rump are puffed out conspicuously during display. At the same time he may fly about, calling loudly.[4] Comparable habits are found in some related genera (cf. Bocagia, Bias, Lanioturdus, Batis and Dyaphorophyia).[5]
Laniarius (top left) vs. Dryoscopus (below and right)
They move about in pairs in the upper strata of trees (Pringle's excepting) and may join mixed-species flocks.[4] They command a varied repertoire of explosive and fricative whistles, percussive clicking sounds, and harsh rasping, churring or tearing sounds.[5] Three species have a rasping alarm call (cubla, senegalensis and pringlii), while the remaining three (gambensis, angolensis and sabini) have a stuttering alarm call. Wing fripping and bill snapping complement vocal communication. The nest is a neat compact cup in the general fashion of bushshrikes, but similar to those of shrike-flycatchers. Courtship feeding is present, and studied species are monogamous and single-brooded.
Relationships
DNA-DNA hybridization studies suggest that genus Tchagra is their closest relative, though biological traits also link them to Laniarius, shrike-flycatchers (i.e. Bias and Megabyas) and other genera.[5]
Species
The genus contains the following six species:[6]
| Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Habitat | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Pink-footed puffback | Dryoscopus angolensis | isolated montane and submontane forests | Kenya, Uganda and the eastern Congo Basin |
 |
Black-backed puffback | Dryoscopus cubla | tropical to austral woodlands and afromontane forest | sub-Saharan Africa, from southern Somalia to coastal South Africa. |
 |
Northern puffback | Dryoscopus gambensis | equatorial to sub-Saharan wooded savannah | northern sub-Saharan Africa |
| Pringle's puffback | Dryoscopus pringlii | dry, equatorial acacia scrub and thicket | Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and northern Tanzania | |
 |
Sabine's puffback | Dryoscopus sabini | tropical forest | Congo basin and West African coast |
| Red-eyed puffback | Dryoscopus senegalensis | mid-canopy at tropical forest edge and clearings[3] | Nigeria and Central Africa. |
References
Monroe, Jr., Burt L.; Sibley, Charles G. (1997). A World Checklist of Birds. New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press. pp. 213–4. ISBN 978-0-300-07083-5.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Names. London, UK: Christopher Helm. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Sinclair, Ian; Ryan, Peter (2010). Birds of Africa south of the Sahara (2nd ed.). Cape Town: Struik Nature. pp. 580–581. ISBN 9781770076235.
Terry Stevenson; John Fanshawe (2004). Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi. Helm Field Guides. p. 472. ISBN 0713673478.
Harris, Tony; Franklin, Kim (2000). Shrikes & bush-shrikes: including wood-shrikes, helmet-shrikes, flycatcher-shrikes, philentomas, batises and wattle-eyes. London: C. Helm. pp. 35–46. ISBN 9780713638615.
"ITIS Report: Dryoscopus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
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