CreatureData

Black boubou

Laniarius nigerrimus (Reichenow, 1879)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The black boubou (Laniarius nigerrimus) is a species in the family Malaconotidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 47.4 g to 58 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Black boubou (Laniarius nigerrimus)
Photo: Peter Steward · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black boubou

Weight
47.4 g – 58 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
woodlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2.25src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the black boubou live?

Not recorded

What is the black boubou?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black boubou (Laniarius nigerrimus), also known as Somali boubou, Erlanger's boubou or coastal boubou, is a medium-size bushshrike. It was split from the tropical boubou as a result of DNA sequence analysis, and this change in status was recognized by the International Ornithological Committee in 2008. Two colour morphs are recognized, a predominantly black one, the black boubou, and an extremely rare black and yellow morph which was formerly considered a separate species, the Bulo Burti boubou (Laniarius liberatus). The black boubou is found in Somalia and northern Kenya.

From the Wikipedia article “Black boubou” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_boubou&oldid=1380595010), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the black boubou endangered?

The black boubou is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the black boubou classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyMalaconotidae
  6. genusLaniarius
  7. SpeciesLaniarius nigerrimus (Reichenow, 1879)

Synonyms Dryoscopus nigerrimus, Laniarius aethiopicus nigerrimus, Laniarius erlangeri, Laniarius ferrugineus erlangeri, Laniarius liberatus

Other names and names in other languages (41)
  • Bulo burti boubouEnglish
  • Coastal boubouEnglish
  • COBOEnglish
  • Manda boubouEnglish
  • Somali boubouEnglish
  • bubú d'ErlangerCatalan
  • ťuhýkovec buloburtskýCzech
  • Buloburti BubuDanish
  • BuloburtiwürgerGerman
  • Buloburti-WürgerGerman
  • ReichenowwürgerGerman
  • nigra malakonotoEsperanto
  • bubú somalíSpanish
  • Bubú de ErlangerSpanish
  • Bubú de ReichenowSpanish
  • somaali pagulindEstonian
  • rannikkolepinkäinenFinnish
  • keltarintalepinkäinenFinnish
  • Gonolek d'ErlangerFrench
  • Gonolek de ReichenowFrench
  • somalijska čagraCroatian
  • szomáli bozótgébicsHungarian
  • Averla di macchia di Bulo BurtiItalian
  • ソマリアヤブモズJapanese
  • ソマリーヤブモズJapanese
  • somalinė giedančioji medšarkėLithuanian
  • Somalibobo (Fabelbuskvarsler)Norwegian Bokmål
  • Erlangers FiskaalDutch
  • somaliboboNorwegian
  • dzierzyk somalijskiPolish
  • bubu-de-reichenowPortuguese
  • picanço-preto-somaliPortuguese
  • Сомалийский бубуRussian
  • Сомалийский певчий сорокопутRussian
  • mäsiarik somálskySlovak
  • Obalski bubu svračakSerbian
  • svart busktörnskataSwedish
  • Reichenow BubusuTurkish
  • гонолек сомалійськийUkrainian
  • 索马里黑鵙Chinese
  • 索馬利黑伯勞Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black boubou

Other species in the same genus Laniarius.

CompareBlack boubou vs Yellow-crowned gonolekBlack boubou vs Crimson-breasted shrikeBlack boubou vs Swamp boubouBlack boubou vs Black-headed gonolek

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black boubou?

An adult black boubou weighs 47.4 g – 58 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the black boubou endangered?

The black boubou is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the black boubou?

The black boubou (Laniarius nigerrimus) belongs to the family Malaconotidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black boubou (Laniarius nigerrimus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-boubou

MLA

“Black boubou (Laniarius nigerrimus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-boubou.

BibTeX
@misc{black_boubou_2026,
  title = {Black boubou (Laniarius nigerrimus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-boubou},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}