Proposal (783) to South American Classification Committee

Establish English names for Machaeropterus regulus splits

In Proposals 761A and 761B, accepted 6 April 2018, Machaeropterus regulus was redefined, M. striolatus was split from it, and M. eckelberryi was newly recognized. Dan Lane suggested two possible sets of names for the three species. They are:

Set A

M. regulus Eastern Striped-Manakin

M. striolatus Western Striped-Manakin

M. eckelberryi Peruvian Striped-Manakin

Set B

M. regulus Kinglet Manakin

M. striolatus Striolated Manakin

M. eckelberryi Painted Manakin

The Set A names have the advantages of highlighting the heritage, close relationship, and geography of the three species. The Set B names have the advantages of brevity, descriptiveness, and uniqueness.

My personal preference as a birder is set B. English names are primarily used by lay persons and I believe they should (to the extent possible) be easy for non-professionals to remember.

I therefore propose that SACC accept Set B (= YES vote). A NO vote would be for Set A or something other than those in Set B.

Craig Caldwell, April 2018

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Comments from Remsen: “YES. Although I value the much greater information in the hyphenated group names, I think the three short names in this case really have some character. “Painted” is Dan’s nod to Eckelberry, which I think is very clever, and the other two help me remember the species epithets.”

Comments from Schulenberg: “YES for set B (Kinglet, Striolated, and Painted). Other things being equal, shorter, simpler names are preferred.”

Comments from Stiles: “Another YES for the neat names in Group B!”