Much work on species distributions and phenotypic variation has focused on biogeographical and environmental explanations, but interactions between species may also play an important role. When related species come together in secondary contact they may diverge in traits that facilitates their coexistence, or they may competitively exclude each other from their ranges. I propose to examine patterns of phenotypic variation in Pogoniulus tinkerbirds across the sub-Saharan African landscape. Previous work found evidence for character displacement in song and morphology in two related Pogoniulus species in Central Africa. I will compare those patterns with morphological, song, and plumage variation over a wider geographic scale to determine the extent to which variation in plumage, song and body size between species at contact zones relate to each other. I will thus address the question of whether phenotypic traits are displaced in the same direction when related species coexist or whether greater similarity in one trait may be offset by greater divergence in another. Finally, I will determine the relationship between phenotypic and genetic similarity and range overlap, while taking into account the role of environmental gradients in determining species’ ranges.