Turdus grayi suarezi, Avendaño & Cuervo & Montoya & Pulgarín-R & Stiles, 2021

Avendaño, Jorge Enrique, Cuervo, Andrés M., Montoya, Paola, Pulgarín-R, Paulo C. & Stiles, F. Gary, 2021, A new subspecies in the Turdus nudigenis complex (Aves: Turdidae) from the Cauca River valley of Colombia, Zootaxa 5060 (1), pp. 105-123 : 115-117

Turdus grayi suarezi subsp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/ 3A7401FD-0175-4775-BB36-AEA844756561

Holotype. ICN 39503 ( Fig. 7 ), collected by Andrés M. Cuervo (original number AMC 1365 ) on 26 June 2012, prepared as round skin with detached spread wing. Adult male; iris reddish-brown, a narrow olivaceous eyering, inner eyelids pale olive; basal half of bill dark olive green, shading to yellow on the tip and tomia; legs and feet greenish-gray, claws gray with yellowish tips. Moderate fat deposits in furcular area and ribs; skull completely ossified; left testis 12x10, right testis 11x 8mm; cloacal protuberance, no molt or bursa; plumage fresh. A tissue sample (breast muscle) was saved (now in Uniandes: Andes-T 2718); no voice recordings were made.

Type locality. Colombia: department of Antioquia, municipality of San Jerónimo, vereda Tefetanes, c. 4.2 km northwest of San Jerónimo (6º28’N, 75º46’W), elevation 550 m; border of second growth, in an area of tropical dry forest in the middle canyon of the Cauca River .

Diagnosis. Paler and more grayish below than T. grayi casius ( Fig. 7 ) of the wetter lowlands to the north; decidedly more grayish-brown rather than olive-brown above; throat more whitish rather than buffy, the brown streaking thus more contrasting. Wings average shorter and tarsi longer, sex for sex, although sample sizes are too small for statistical analyses.

Description of holotype. Color nomenclature and numbers follow Smithe (1975, 1981). Throat whitish, streaked brown (near 223C, Sayal Brown). Breast and flanks dull buffy-brown (near 119D, Drab-Gray), very slightly paler and grayer on medial abdomen and lower tail coverts. Upperparts uniform grayish-brown (near 119B, Dark Drab) with tail slightly darker (approaching 119A, Hair Brown); medial primaries edged slightly paler (near 27, Drab). Underwing coverts buffy-brown, brighter than underparts (approaching 223D, Tawny).

Paratypes and variation. ICN 34999: adult female, plumage slightly worn; collected by G. A. Suárez on 1 February 2004 in Jardín, Antioquia (5º35’N, 75º50’W); two specimens taken on 22 April 2013 at Liborina, Antioquia (6º41’N, 75º48’W): ICN 39240, adult male in worn plumage with cloacal protuberance, collected by E. Rodríguez; ICN 39241: adult female in worn plumage, collected by I. M. Rozo; and ICN 38930: adult male in fairly fresh plumage with enlarged testes, collected by D. A. Carantón at Quinchía, Risaralda (5º17’N, 75º41’W, elevation 1225m) on 4 April 2013. All of the specimens are from a c. 120 km stretch of the middle Cauca River valley . Variation in the type series is slight: ICN 38930 is slightly grayer below, and the two Liborina specimens, in more worn plumage, are slightly grayer and duller above; ICN 39240 is noticeably paler on the abdomen than the other specimens. All paratypes have undertail coverts completely buffy, while being gray in the center and edged buffy in the holotype. None of the type series show the strong contrast between brown breast and flanks and white medial abdomen typical of T. nudigenis ( Fig. 7 ) .

Etymology. We name this subspecies in honor of Gustavo Suárez, expert ornithologist and dedicated conservationist who collected the first known specimen, and whose tragic death by criminal hands in January 2017 cut short a promising conservation career.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Plumage variation among males of T. grayi suarezi (left), T. grayi casius (center) and T. n. nudigenis (right). Note the paler overall coloration of T. g. suarezi compared to the other taxa. Specimens exhibited: T. g. suarezi (ICN 39503; holotype); T. g. casius (ICN 35121), Granja Crocodylia, vereda La Florida, San Marcos, dpto. Sucre, Colombia; T. n. nudigenis (ICN 35988), finca La Marina, vereda El Manantial, San Martín, dpto. Meta, Colombia.