Proposal (84) to South American Classification Committee
Change English name of Atlapetes latinuchus
Effect on South American CL: This proposal would change the
English name of a species on our list from a novel "Dickinson (2003)"
name to a novel "Ridgely-Greenfield" name or
"Clements-Shany" name.
Background: The finding by García-Moreno & Fjeldså
(1999) that the "species" Atlapetes rufinucha was
polyphyletic left all recent authors scrambling for English names for the
northern form, A. latinuchus (which seems to be more closely related to
nominate A. schistaceus than to A. rufinucha).
García-Moreno & Fjeldså (1999) used "Northern
Rufous-naped Brush-finch" for A. latinuchus, and
"Bolivian Rufous-naped Brush-finch" for A. rufinucha.
Ridgely & Greenfield (2001), possibly objecting to the awkwardness of the
long, compound names and presumably also objecting to the implication that such
a compound name would incorrectly imply sister-species status between A.
latinuchus and A. rufinucha, used "Rufous-naped
Brush-finch" for A. latinuchus and renamed A. rufinucha "Bolivian
Brush-finch" (it is endemic to that country). Unfortunately, that choice
will likely create confusion, because "Rufous-naped" is the
translation of the species epithet of A. rufinucha, not A.
latinuchus, the name to species to which Ridgely & Greenfield applied
it. Clements & Shany, possibly because of the latter problem, invented
"Cloud-forest Brush-finch" for A. latinuchus. Unfortunately,
(1) A. latinuchus is not really any more of a "cloud-forest
" species than other high-elevation Atlapetes of the
humid slopes of the Andes, and (2) some populations, e.g., subspecies baroni and chugurensis,
are not cloud-forest birds. Remsen, faced with these problems for Dickinson
(2003) and finding no suitable historical name in Hellmayr (1938), decided to
add to the chaos by christening the latinuchus group with the insipid
name "Yellow-breasted Brush-finch." I wasn't particularly enchanted
with this name, but at least it avoids the problems of the other names and also
distinguishes it from any of the roughly sympatric Atlapetes of the
region, which are mostly grayish, whitish, or greenish (A. pallidinucha)
except for A. albofrenatus in ne. Colombia.
Analysis: None of these names have any historical momentum, and I'm
certainly not emotionally attached to "Yellow-breasted." I'd say it
is "open season" on finding an English name for this species.
Although I think "Yellow-breasted" is "better" than the
published alternatives so far, I am open to suggestions from you English names
geniuses out there.
Recommendation: I tentatively vote NO on this, pending
suggestions of others on better names.
A "NO" vote will signify sticking with "our"
current "Yellow-breasted." A "YES" vote will be interpreted
as "anything but Yellow-breasted," including but not restricted to
the previous alternatives above. If the proposal passes, then we'll have to
pick one of the others or invent yet another new one.
Literature Cited:
CLEMENTS,
J. F., AND N. SHANY. 2001. A field guide to the birds of Peru. Ibis Publ. Co.,
Temecula, California.
DICKINSON,
E. C. (ed.). 2003. The Howard and Moore complete checklist of the birds of the
World, Revised and enlarged 3rd Edition. Christopher Helm, London, 1040 pp.
GARCÍA-MORENO,
J., AND J. FJELDSÅ. 1999. Re-evaluation of species limits in the genus Atlapetes based
on mtDNA sequence data. Ibis 141: 199-207.
HELLMAYR,
C. E. 1938. Catalogue of birds of the Americas. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ.,
Zool. Ser., vol. 13, pt. 11.
RIDGELY, R.
S., AND P. J. GREENFIELD. 2001. The birds of Ecuador. Vol. I. Status,
distribution, and taxonomy. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.
Van Remsen, December 2003
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Comments from Stiles: "[YES -- change to something
besides Yellow-breasted]. Yellow-breasted B-F does not produce a feeling of
well-being either. In principle the Ridgely solution seems logical but the
objection of separating rufinucha and Rufous-naped in separate species seems
fatal to me. Hence, I suggest reserving "Rufous-naped" for the
inclusive species, and if they are split using "Bolivian" for rufinucha
and an alternative like "Rusty-naped" (hopefully not preoccupied) for
latinuchus."
Comments from Zimmer: "YES=NO, stick with Van's
proposed name of "Yellow-breasted Brush-Finch", unless someone comes
up with something clearly better. The name isn't great, at least in the sense
that the highlighted character isn't unique. But no one says these descriptive
names have to be diagnostic. And, as Van points out, it does distinguish the
bird from most sympatric congeners. I think "Northern Rufous-naped
Brush-Finch" is too long and awkward; "Cloud-forest Brush-Finch"
is only slightly shorter and somewhat inaccurate; and Gary's proposed
"Rusty-naped Brush-Finch" suffers when one considers the subspecies baroni,
which does not have a rusty nape. A good toponym is not obvious, nor is there
any diagnostic plumage character that I can think of. I'd say keep
"Yellow-breasted" for latinuchus, retain "Bolivian"
for rufinucha, and if baroni proves to be
distinct, it could be called Baron's Brush-Finch.
Comments from Robbins: "[YES] I don't have strong
feelings on this, but I agree with Gary's comments, hence, I vote yes."
Comments from Stotz: "NO. I am not a big fan of
Van's name, but I can't see any of the other options as better."
Comments from Schulenberg: "[NO]. I think that someday
we should vote on the split of Atlapetes rufinucha rather than take
the new arrangement for granted. The split may fit with our world view, but in
concrete terms has poor support."
Comments from Jaramillo: "YES. I don't like
Yellow-breasted much. I do think that the proposal to call one Bolivian and the
other Rufous-naped is better, Larus atricapilla is not the Black-headed
Gull and that doesn't seem to confuse anyone. Otherwise keep Bolivian, and
change Rufous-naped as Gary suggests. "