Proposal (972) to South American Classification Committee

English name for Chlorothraupis frenata

With the passage of SACC proposal 950 we have to choose an English name for newly recognized Chlorothraupis frenata. An easy choice, in my opinion, is to go with Yellow-lored Tanager, which is already in use by classifications that treat it as a separate species. Note that this is not a true phylogenetic parent-daughter split, so no need to select new names for both (and to continue with Carmiol’s Tanager, sensu stricto, for C. carmioli as in Chesser et al. (in press).

As discovered by Oscar Johnson in SACC 950, Berlepsch (1907) noted that this character consistently distinguished frenata from carmioli:

“ “In the latter the lores and the small feathers of the frontal line near the nostrils are yellowish (purer and brighter yellow in the younger and more greenish-yellow in the adult specimens), while in the Costa Rican birds these parts are of the same dark olive-green as the upper part of the head.

This character also shows up in photos, e.g. see this nice one by Chris Fisher/Macaulay. These active skulkers are tough to photograph.:

Contrast that with the best one I could find of C. carmioli by Carmelo López Abad/Macaulay:

Nonetheless, “Olive Tanager” has become entrenched in the literature for C. frenata. When Ridgely & Greenfield (2001) first treated frenata as a separate species, they called it Olive Tanager, despite the irreparable confusion this would cause with another Chlorothraupis, C. olivascens. I figure this must have been some sort of lapsus because Ridgely astutely followed the Isler & Isler (1987) changed of C. olivacea from Lemon-spectacled to Lemon-browed Tanager in all his subsequent works. Further, frenata is arguably the least olive of any species in the Chlorothraupis – it is brighter and yellower than any other taxon, so this is actually a borderline misnomer.

Specimens from top to bottom: carmioli, olivacea, olivacea, frenata:

Unfortunately, “Olive Tanager” was followed by Restall et al. (2007), del Hoyo and Collar (2016) and subsequent BLI/HBW publications, and the IOC. To make matters worse, “Olive Tanager” had also been used to refer to the C. carmioli sensu lato by AOU (1983, 1998). I strongly suggest that “Olive Tanager” be permanently retired, never to see print again.

The earliest use of Yellow-lored for frenata that I can find is by the AOU (1998) for the frenata “group.” So, this is not a novel name, and has been used by the Clements/eBird classification. Thus, it also has an established track record.

Therefore, with both accuracy and history on its side, I strongly recommend using Yellow-lored Tanager (or Yellow-lored Chlorothraupis, to be addressed in a follow-up proposal).

In the interests of due diligence …. frenata is derived from the Latin word for “bridled” (fide Jobling). There is nothing in the plumage that suggests to me that this is an appropriate name in the modern sense of “bridled”. The only other English name I can dig up for frenata was Hellmayr’s (1936) “Peruvian Olive Tanager”, which at that time was known only from Peru.

Van Remsen, May 2023

Vote tabulation: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCPropChart864+.htm

Comments from Donsker (voting for Bonaccorso): “YES. Yellow-lored Tanager is a perfect English name for C. frenata. That's my vote. I would be more than pleased to retire the concept of ‘Olive Tanager’ for that species.”

Comments from Peter Kaestner (voting for Areta): “YES. Fully agree that Yellow-lored Tanager is the best choice.”

Comments from Oscar Johnson (voting for Remsen): “YES. Yellow-lored Tanager has precedent and highlights one of the few plumage differences that separates it from carmioli.”

Comments from Steve Hilty (voting for Claramunt): “YES. Regarding an English name for C. frenata, I vote for Yellow-lored Tanager, as it highlights a distinguishing mark for field ID. There also is some precedent for using this name, rather than choosing yet another new and unfamiliar invention that may not prove to be an improvement.

“And, if it comes up in the future, I would also certainly favor using Chlorothraupis over "Tanager," even though the genus Chlorothraupis really just translates as "green(ish) tanager." It does, at least, disguise the implication that it was once a "tanager" and that might even turn out to be a good thing by preserving a bit of history.”

Comments from Gary Rosenberg (voting for Del Rio): “YES to call Chlorothraupis frenata Yellow-lored Tanager - I think this is a unique feature that distinguishes this species from other Chlorothraupis - and I never liked the name ’Olive Tanager’.”

Comments from Lane: “YES to Yellow-lored Tanager.”

Comments from Zimmer: “YES, to Yellow-lored Tanager as the English name for C. frenata, calling attention to the most distinctive identifying plumage character.”