Cinclus melanogaster Brehm

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 : 106

Cinclus melanogaster Brehm

Cinclus melanogaster Brehm, 1822: 111–118 (original description not seen).

Now Cinclus cinclus cinclus (Linnaeus, 1758) . See Hartert, 1918b: 35, Tyler and Ormerod, 1994: 10, and Brewer and MacKay, 2001: 200.

HOLOTYPE: AMNH 457443 , adult male, collected on the shore of Rügen Island , Germany, on

4 December 1819, by Dr. Schilling. From the Brehm Collection via the Rothschild Collection.

COMMENTS: Hartert (1910a: 788) originally thought that Brehm had described this form in 1823, but later he (1918b: 35) found the earlier description ( Brehm, 1822: 111–118) listing the ‘‘shore of Rügen’’ as the type locality. He discussed several points with regard to this type: (1) In the description, Brehm noted that the tail had only 10 rectrices. Hartert (1910a: 788) thought the tail to be incomplete, but decided by 1918 that the tail was aberrant and really did have only 10 feathers. I agree, as there is no apparent loss of feathers in the tail, and the plumage is unworn. (2) Hartert also called attention to the discrepancy in the collection date of November 1819, given by Brehm in the description, and that of 4 December 1819, given on the specimen label. He thought that the error was on the label. The discrepancy is small and may only indicate the lapse of time between when the specimen was collected and its arrival in Brehm’s hand. (3) Brehm (1856a: 189) stated that only this specimen was obtained for him by Schilling and that later a second specimen was obtained by Schilling for the museum in Greifswald. Because the description refers explicitly to the specimen with 10 rectrices, and Brehm stated that he had only one, I have concluded that the above specimen is the holotype.