A new subspecies of Tesia olivea (Sylviidae) from Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand

We collected several individuals of the Slaty-bellied Tesia Tesia olivea in the temperate rain forest of the sub-Himalayan region of northeastern Burma/Myanmar in February/March 2004 and March 2006. Subsequent comparison of these with T. olivea from northeastern India and northern Thailand revealed that while our northeastern Burma/Myanmar birds were similar to those from northeastern India, specimens of both populations were distinctly different from T. olivea from Chiang Mai Province of northern Thailand and northern Vietnam. Herein, we designate the latter populations as members of a new subspecies of T. olivea based on analyses of variations in morphometric characters, plumage, song, and mitochondrial (mt)DNA sequence.