Mirafra fischeri omoensis Neumann

LeCROY, M. A. R. Y., 2003, TYPE SPECIMENS OF BIRDS IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. PART 5. PASSERIFORMES: ALAUDIDAE, HIRUNDINIDAE, MOTACILLIDAE, CAMPEPHAGIDAE, PYCNONOTIDAE, IRENIDAE, LANIIDAE, VANGIDAE, BOMBYCILLIDAE, DULIDAE, CINCLIDAE, TROGLODYTIDAE, AND MIMIDAE, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 278 (278), pp. 1-156 : 9

Mirafra fischeri omoensis Neumann

Mirafra fischeri omoensis Neumann, 1928: 787 (Lange­Tombaro an der Grenze von Kambatta und Djimma).

Now Mirafra rufocinnamomea omoensis Neumann, 1928 . See Keith et al., 1992: 29.

HOLOTYPE: AMNH 269067 , adult male, collected at Lange­Tombaro (= Tambaro Mt), 07°12′N, 37°32′E ( R. J. Dowsett, personal commun.), Ethiopia, on 1 May 1925, by Oscar Neumann. This specimen was among 53 specimens purchased by Dr. Leonard C. Sanford from Neumann and presented to AMNH in December 1929.

COMMENTS: In addition to the single specimen he collected, Neumann (1928: 787) mentioned a specimen in the Rothschild Collection collected by Kovacz (Kovács) ‘‘in der Landschaft Marocco etwa 70–80 km nordnordöstlich meines Fundorts’’ with a wing of 83 mm. AMNH 556583, adult male, collected at Maraco, southern Ethiopia, on 27 April 1915 by M. Trofimoff (no. 2765) with a wing of 83 mm is undoubtedly the specimen referred to and is the paratype. On the reverse of the Rothschild label is the following unsigned note: ‘‘ omoensis Neum. but does not agree with descr.’’ This specimen was cataloged as Mirafra degeni (= M. r. rufocinnamomea ) and agrees with that subspecies. Two male specimens collected by Kovács and also identified as Mirafra degeni came to AMNH with the Rothschild Collection. AMNH 556584, immature, wing 86, and AMNH 556585, adult, wing 89. In his remarks, Neumann (1928: 787) considered M. degeni ‘‘nur das grössere ϐ von Mirafra fischeri rufocinnamomea Salvad. , der schoanisch­hararischen Rasse von M. fischeri ’’, undoubtedly including these two large males in M. degeni , as he had indeed looked at Rothschild specimens as well as those in several other collections.