Species Limits Within Rhopophilus Pekinensis

Rhopophilus pekinensis is a passerine endemic to north-east Asia occurring primarily in China; two or three subspecies are variously recognised. A review of museum material and fieldwork on the breeding grounds indicates that only two taxa (R. p. pekinensis and R. p. albosupercillaris) are valid, and using criteria that grade morphological and vocal differences between allopatric taxa (Tobias et al. 2010), both achieve the threshold for species status. The English names Beijing Babbler and Tarim Babbler are proposed reflecting both the type location of each and the recently elucidated taxonomic affinities of Rhopophilus.