Reidentification of Ecuadorian specimens of Pachyramphus rufus as P-castaneus

2007·0.78 MB·

by  Ottavio Janni

—
AlexandreAleixoetal. 246 Bull. B.O.C. 2007127(3)
Zimmer, J. T. 1934. Studies ofPeruvian birds 14. Notes on the generaDendrocolaptes, Hylexetastes,
Xiphocolaptes,Dendroplex,andLepidocolaptes Amer. Mus. Novit. 753: 1-26.
.
Addresses:AlexandreAleixo(correspondingauthor),CoordenacaodeZoologia,MuseuParaenseEmilio
Goeldi, CP 399, Belem, Para, Brazil, e-mail: [email protected]. Steven M. S. Gregory, 35
Monarch Road, Northampton NN2 6EH, UK, e-mail: [email protected]. John
Penhallurick,86BingleyCrescent,Fraser,ACT2615,Australia,e-mail:[email protected]
©BritishOrnithologists'Club2007
Reidentification ofEcuadorian specimens of
Pachyramphus rufus as P. castaneus
&
by Ottavio Janni Claudio Pulcher
Received9 October2006
CinereousBecardPachyramphusrufusoccursfromwesternPanamathroughnorthern
Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas andparts ofAmazonian Brazil to north-east Peru
(Mobley2004). Ithas longbeenincludedinthe avifaunaofEcuador(C—hapman 1926,
Ortiz-Crespoe—tal. 1990,Ridgelyetal. 1998),basedontwospecimens afemale,the
other unsexed collected in south-east Ecuador at 'Valle del Rio Santiago', prov.
Morona-SantiagoaccordingtoPaynter(1993), and 'ValledelZamora',prov. Zamora-
Chinchipe, in 1895, by Enrico Festa (Salvadori & Festa 1899) andheld atthe Museo
Regionaledi ScienzeNaturali,Turin, Italy. Giventhelackofsubsequentrecords from
Ecuador, severalauthors(Ridgely&Tudor 1994,Ridgely&Greenfield2001,Mobley
2004) have questioned the identification ofthese specimens, and some (Ridgely &
Greenfield 2001, P. Coopmans in litt. 2006) have suggested that they refer to
Chestnut-crownedBecardP. castaneus,basedonbiogeographyandthatidentification
of female Pachyramphus was then poorly understood, as evidenced by Zimmer
(1936). However, none ofthese authors examined the specimens and the legitimacy
ofthe Ecuadorian records remained in doubt.
We recently independently examined the relevant specimens (catalogue nos.
1357-58; Elter 1986) and concluded that they are P. castaneus saturatus. Specific
identification is straightforward, as—both show a broad grey stripe behind the eye
including part of the ear-coverts encircling the nape and separating the rich
chestnut crown from the paler rufous lower nape and neck. The grey band is
unbroken, but is much narrower on the nape than behind the eye. This grey band is
diagnostic ofP. castaneus, as no other species ofPachyramphus, in any plumage,
shows it. Further distinctions from P. rufus include the richer chestnut crown,
distinctly darker and more saturated than the rest ofthe upperparts (in P. rufus the
crown is near-concolorous with the remainingupperparts), andadistinctduskyloral
stripe (this area is whitish orgreyish white onP. rufus). Ourre-examinationofthese
specimens reveals that there are no valid records of P. rufus for Ecuador, and
OttavioJanni& ClaudioPulcher 247 Bull. B.O.C. 2007127(3)
&
underlines the importance of avian collections held in Italy (Violani Barbagli
2003).
Acknowledgements
WethankGiovanni Boano,ErmannoDeBiagi, ElenaGavettiandLisaLevi forprovidingaccesstothe
specimens, andthelatePaulCoopmansandRobertRidgelyforencouragingustoexaminethematerial
andpublishthisnote.
References:
Chapman,¥. M. 1926.ThedistributionofbirdlifeinEcuador.Bull.Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 55: 1-784.
Elter O. 1986. La collezione ornitologica del Museo di Zoologia dell'Universitd di Torino. Museo
Regionaledi ScienzeNaturali,Turin.
Mobley,J.A.2004.CinereousBecardPachyramphusrufus.R455indelHoyo,J.,Elliott,A.&Christie,
D.A. (eds.)Handbookofthebirdsoftheworld,vol. 9. LynxEdicions, Barcelona.
Ortiz-Crespo,F.,Greenfield,RJ. &Matheus,J. C. 1990.AvesdelEcuador, continenteyarchipelagode
Galapagos. FundacionEcuatorianadePromocionTuristica&FundacionOrnitologicadelEcuador,
Quito.
Paynter, R. A. 1993. OrnithologicalgazeteerofEcuador. Second edn. Mus. Comp. Zool., Cambridge,
MA.
Ridgely,R. S. &Greenfield,P. J. 2001. ThebirdsofEcuador,vol. 1. CornellUniv. Press,Ithaca,NY.
Ridgely,R. S.,Greenfield,P.J.&GuerreroG,M. 1998. UnalistaanotadadelasavesdelEcuadorcon-
tinental. FundacionOrnitologicadel Ecuador,Quito.
Ridgely,R. S. &Tudor,G. 1994. ThebirdsofSouthAmerica,vol. 2. Univ. ofTexasPress,Austin.
Salvadori,T&Festa,E. 1899.ViaggiodelDr.EnricoFestanell'Ecuador.Parteseconda—passeresclam-
atores.Boll. Mus. Zool.Anat. Comp. Torino 15(362).
Violani,C. G. &Barbagli,F. 2003.Theinternational importanceofbirdcollectionsinItalianmuseums.
Bull. Brit. Orn. CI. 123: 143-152.
Zimmer,J.T. 1936. StudiesofPeruvianbirds.No.24.NotesonPachyramphus,Platypsaris, Tityra,and
Pyroderus.Amer. Mus. Novit. 894.
Addresses: Ottavio Janni, Via Monte Muto 29, 81016 Piedimonte Matese (CE), Italy, e-mail:
[email protected]. Claudio Pulcher, Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Via Giolitti 36,
10023 Turin,Italy,e-mail: [email protected]
©BritishOrnithologists'Club2007
The correct name ofthe Guianan Toucanet:
Selenidera culik (Wagler) not 5. piperivorus
(Linnaeus)
by MichaelWalters
Received28June 2007
Pacheco & Whitney (2006) sought to change the names ofthree Neotropical birds.
Two ofthese may be addressed at a later stage, but this note discusses the case of
the bird currently known as Selenidera culik (Wagler, 1827), which Pacheco &
Whitney soughtto replace withRamphastospiperivorus Linnaeus, a name rejected