Myioborus melanocephalus (Tschudi, 1844)

Cuervo, Andrés M. & Céspedes Arias, Laura N., 2023, The type of Setophaga ruficoronata (Kaup 1851) is a hybrid: implications for the taxonomy of Myioborus warblers (Passeriformes: Parulidae), Zootaxa 5383 (4), pp. 476-490 : 486

Myioborus melanocephalus sensu stricto (von Tschudi, 1844)

Proposed English name: Black-crowned Redstart. The name reflects the etymology of the specific epithet, and highlights that its three subspecies are distinguish from all the above taxa in having a black center of crown. Protonym: Setophaga melanocephalus . Type: MHNN 92.9187 ( Fig. 8 ). Type locality: Maraynioc, Junín, Peru ( Zimmer 1949). Range of the species: Restricted the eastern slope of the Andes from south and east of the Marañón river valley in northern Peru to central Bolivia. The taxa griseonuchus and bairdi (and individuals formerly treated as M. m. ruficoronatus) are excluded from this redefined M. melanocephalus . Although the diagnosability and range limits between the three taxa included in M. melanocephalus are not clearly established (see photos of type, Figs. 8–10 ), we provisionally recommend maintaining those names at the subspecies level. Polytypic, with three subspecies:

Myioborus melanocephalus melanocephalus ( Tschudi, 1844) . The nominate subspecies occurs along the eastern slope of the Andes in central Peru. Its northern and southern range limits are not well known, but it might extend as far north as to the Huallaga valley in Huánuco , and as far south to the Apurimac valley, or even the Marcapata valley in Department of Cusco .

Myioborus melanocephalus malaris Zimmer, 1949 . Type: AMNH 235067 ( Fig. 9 ). Type locality: La Lejía, north of Chachapoyas, Department of Amazonas, Peru. Range of subspecies: south and east of the Marañón river valley in northern Peru in departments Amazonas and San Martín, Peru. Its southern range limit is unknown but may reach the Huallaga valley .

Myioborus melanocephalus bolivianus Chapman, 1919 . Type: AMNH 137927 ( Fig. 10 ). Type locality: Incachaca, Department of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Range of subspecies: the Yungas of the eastern Andean slope in southern Peru, probably from the Apurimac valley south through departments of Cusco and Puno to the Bolivian Department of Santa Cruz.

Figures

FIGURE 8. The type of Setophaga melanocephalus Tschudi, 1844 (MHNN 92.9187). Dorsal, ventral and side views, with the detail of the face. Currently treated as the nominate subspecies of a polytypic species: Myioborus melanocephalus. Photographs by Maciej Czepiel and Celia Bueno (Musée d’Histoire Naturelle de Neuchâtel).

FIGURE 9. The type of M. melanocephalus malaris Zimmer, 1949 (AMNH 235067). Dorsal, ventral, and side views, with the detail of the face. Currently treated as a subspecies of a Myioborus melanocephalus. Photographs by Paul Sweet (American Museum of Natural History).

FIGURE 10. The type of M. melanocephalus bolivianus Chapman, 1919 (AMNH 37927). Dorsal, ventral and side views, with the detail of the face. Considered a subspecies of the polytypic species Myioborus melanocephalus. Note the lack of appreciable differences with respect to M. m. malaris (Fig. 10). Photographs by Paul Sweet (American Museum of Natural History).