Proposal (295) to South American Classification Committee
Change
English name of T. nudigenis to something besides "Bare-eyed"
Summary: This proposal gives SACC the
chance to adopt one of five possible names for T. nudigenis. The
first of the five possibilities is to simply keep it as "Bare-eyed
Thrush," as it is now in SACC list now that we have changed this former
"Robin" to "Thrush." The first step is to decide whether to
stick with status quo or go with a new name; this will be the theme of this
proposal.
Text from Proposal 260, which triggered this proposal:
"As pointed out in a previous version of this proposal by Dan
Lane, changing "Bare-eyed Robin" to "Bare-eyed Thrush"
would conflict with the widely used English name of the African Turdus
tephronotus. Recent authors who have come up against this same problem
(Sibley and Monroe 1990, Clement 2000); have changed the name to
"Yellow-eyed Thrush" and Collar (2005 [HBW]) to "Spectacled
Thrush". On principle, "Spectacled" is arguably better in that
the more distinguishing morphological feature that is yellow is in the orbital
region whilst many thrushes have yellow irises. However,
"Yellow-eyed" is more widely used of the two, given "Spectacled’s
novelty. "Bare-eyed" is probably the better name descriptively. It
could be argued that retaining "Robin" for T. nudigenis would
be preferable to the alternative of adopting a relatively novel English name
for the species. I will raise a series of proposals to adopt of one of the
three available names if "Thrush" is approved for this species, such
that questions as to whether "Bare-eyed", "Spectacled" or
"Yellow-eyed" are better can be taken off the table for present
purposes. "
In this proposal ...
"NO" = retain "Bare-eyed".
Reasons in favour: (i) English name synonymy was not a matter of
great concern on another vote (Black Vulture vote, proposal no. 259); (ii) this
name was widely used prior to the 1990s; (iii) the name aptly describes the
most notable morphological feature of the species.
"YES" = change to something besides
"Bare-eyed."
Reasons against retaining Bare-eyed: (i) English name synonyms are
best avoided where possible; (ii) this name is barely used in post-1990
publications, and (iii) other names are used in recent publications, so
concocting a novel name is not necessary.
Recommendation: I
recommend a "YES" vote to avoid English name synonymy here. The
English name nomenclature for this species is a complete mess. I hope that,
rather than invoking retro-stability arguments, the SACC will show leadership
on this issue. Given that many books are requiring or recommending SACC use and
given that so many alternatives exist, whatever is chosen is likely to become
widely used in the future.
If this proposal passes, then one of the following names is
available and will constitute a separate proposal.
1. "Yellow-eyed"
Reason in favour: this was the more widely used of the three available
new names in the 1990s and early 2000s. Reasons against: (i) the name is
misleading - it is the bare skin, not eye, that is yellow and the iris is
brown, not yellow; see, e.g. the following photograph:
http://www.avesphoto.com/WEBSITE/TT/species/THUBEY-1.htm; (ii) more recent
authors have sought to avoid using this name.
2. "Spectacled"
Reasons in favour: (i) this is arguably the best descriptively of
the two alternative names: (ii) following its adoption in Handbook of the Birds
of the World, this name could be regarded as a standard. Reasons against: (i)
it is a novel name; (ii) it is not as widely used as "Yellow-eyed";
(iii) the "spectacles" don't join in the middle, thus one would be
referring here to some class of spectacles with a transparent or very thin nose
bridge.
3. "American Bare-eyed"
Gill & Wright (2006) have recently adopted "American
Bare-eyed Thrush" as a further possible name for this species. Reasons in
favour: (i) it retains the existing and formerly used "Bare-eyed"
moniker; (ii) following its adoption by the IOC, this name could be regarded as
a standard. Reasons against: (i) the name incorrectly suggests sister species
status for T. nudigenis and T. tephronotus; (ii) it is a long
name.
4. "Naked-eyed"
This was the name used by Ridgway (1907), but it has seen little
use since, although arguably the best descriptive name (and fairly close to
translation of scientific name, "naked cheeked") given that
'Bare-eyed" is "preoccupied."
References: All on SACC page.
Thomas Donegan (with minor modifications by Remsen), 18 July 2007
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Comments from Remsen: "YES. If
"Bare-eyed" was the only name ever used for this species, then I
would vote NO, regardless of the problem with T. tephronotus (which is
pointed out in AOU 1998 and our Note 11a), but given the unprecedented lack of
stability, anything is better than "Bare-eyed."
Comments from Stiles: "YES. Given the current chaos,
"Bare-eyed" is best dropped. "American Bare-eyed" is clumsy
and implies a nonexistent sister-group relation, hence it can go too.
"Naked-eyed" is OK if ugly, but has no track record in nearly
100 years, so is best not revived. "Yellow-eyed" is just plain wrong
- of the various alternatives it´s the worst as it is actively misleading. So,
I´m left with "Spectacled", which doesn´t enthrall me but seems to be
the best of the available choices."
Comments from Stotz: "YES. I think if we created
an identical English name to an Old World species, we have to fix this. I would
favor Spectacled, although admit I am not thrilled by any of the options."
Comments from Jaramillo: "NO - This is a mess, but it
is my gut feeling that at least within the New World leaving this name as it is
will cause the least amount of confusion. It seems relatively well established,
even if known as a Robin previously and now a Thrush."
Comments from Robbins: "YES. I would prefer to stay
with "Bare-eyed", but given that it is preoccupied,
"Spectacled" is the least disagreeable option."
Comments from Zimmer: "YES. I would stick with
"Bare-eyed" if not for the English name synonymy with African T.
tephronotus. "American Bare-eyed" is clumsy, and worse, implies a
sister relationship with tephronotus. "Yellow-eyed" is
terrible, and just wrong. "Spectacled" is okay, although not entirely
accurate when we compare nudigenis to other birds that we describe as
"spectacled". I would actually favor "Naked-eyed Thrush" as
the most descriptive name, and one that is closest to the more entrenched
"Bare-eyed". I could live with "Spectacled" but I'm not
thrilled by it, and the other proposed names are simply unacceptable for the
reasons already stated."