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Cyclopsitta diophthalma macleayana Ramsay, EP, 1874 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Taphrospilus
- Start date
l_raty
laurent raty
It largely depends on how you read the Code.
The only criterion that a printed and distributed newspaper may arguably not meet is "8.1.1. it must be issued for the purpose of providing a public and permanent scientific record".
Here, this purpose presumably existed in the mind of the author (Ramsay) at least. It may admittedly be less clear that it existed in the mind of the publisher of the newspaper, whose main purpose may have been immediate spread of information, rather than the creation of permanent records. Still, note that, as you found the 1874 description readily available online in 2021, it seems hardly questionable that a "public and permanent record" was indeed created by its publication.
I cannot readily think of an actual printed and distributed bird description that is currently rejected only on the account that it does not meet the requirement of this article. Can you ? There have been attempts to have the publication of some names suppressed systematically on this account in the past (e.g., all the names published in The Literary Gazette and The Athenaeum before being published in PZS), but these have not been accepted.
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mb1848
Well-known member
Mathews in Birds of Australia:
In the Proceedings of the Zool. Soc. (Lond.) 1875, p. 602, Ramsay,
writing on the Birds of Queensland, included :
“ Cydopsilta madeayana Ramsay, ‘Sydney Morning Herald 5 Newspaper,
Nov. 15, 1874.
“ This interesting and prettily-marked species was discovered first by
Mr. K. Broadbent near Cardwell, and found feeding on the native figs with
which the scrubs abound. The specimens in the Dobroyde Collection are
the only fully adult specimens obtained. I believe I forwarded to the Society
a full description of the adults, male and female, and the young, several
months ago. In case I should not have done so, I enclose a slip from the
‘ Sydney Morning Herald,’ in which a portion of my notes appeared about
the same time. [Ed. note. — This description was never received. The
species appears to be the same as C. maccoyi Gould, P.Z.S. 1875, p. 314, and
Birds of New Guinea , pt. i., pi. 10.]”
Then followed a detailed description and the following “ Remarks . —
This very prettily-marked species is the second of the genus Cydopsilta now
known to inhabit Australia ; it is closely allied, though quite distinct from
C. coxeni Gould, being much smaller and more beautifully and distinctly
marked about the face and head. The specimens now gracing the collection
of William Macleay, Esq., M.L.A., of Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, those in the
Australian Museum and in the Dobroyde Museum collection, from which
the above descriptions have been jointly taken, were procured by Mr. K.
Broadbent, taxidermist, during a collecting tour in the neighbourhood of
Cardwell. They were found feeding on the fruit of the native fig-trees, which
abound in the dense scrubs and brushes clothing the margins of creeks and
rivers at the foot of the coast range. It is doubtless the northern representative
of Cyclopsitta coxeni , which, I believe, has not been met with north of the
Brisbane district.”
The editorial reference to Gould’s description was correct, the same species,
from the same lot, having been sent to him by Mr. Waller, while even
previously it had been described by McCoy, again from the same collector’s
material.
It would appear that Broadbent got quite a number and sold them to
everyone, and the beauty of the small Parrot attracted three recipients so
70
BLUE-FACED LORILET.
much that they named the species. Quaintly Gould, at Waller’s request,
named the species maccoyi after Professor Maccoy, while the latter, ignorant
of this proposal, independently named it leadbeateri, and this last name is the
oldest. Ramsay claimed to have described it in a newspaper, but I have
been unable to trace his description.
Apart from the confusion in connection with the triple nomination of
the bird, little has been written concerning the species. Thus Campbell
writes : “ In February, 1894, Mr. W. B. Barnard, after a northern tour,
forwarded me some interesting field notes, including one referring to this
Lorilet, with a skin for identification. Two nests were found in small holes
in trees, at a height of about forty feet from the ground ; the eggs were
deposited about a foot downward from the entrance. The birds were discovered
breeding in the scrub and forest country alike, from September to November.
During my own Cardwell camp-out (1885) we procured skins of the Blue-faced
Lorilet.”
In the Austr. Mus. Spec. Cat., No. 1, Vol. III., dealing with the “ Nests
and Eggs of Birds found breeding in Australia and Tasmania,” no mention
is made of either of these Lorilets, the author, North, absolutely ignoring
their occurrence in the country. Such action makes caustic criticism necessary,
and H. J. White has already commented upon the manner in which his Title
had been neglected by the author.
In the South Austr. Ornith., Vol. II., 1915, I have given a note written by
Bowyer-Bower at Barron River, Queensland : “ Appears plentiful, but is often
overlooked, as it makes no noise when feeding, and creeps about like a mouse.
The only indication of its presence is the quantity of seeds that keep dropping
all the time it is feeding, but even under the very tree it is in one can see and
hear nothing of it, except by carefully watching. It only makes a noise as it
leaves or arrives at a tree.
In the Proceedings of the Zool. Soc. (Lond.) 1875, p. 602, Ramsay,
writing on the Birds of Queensland, included :
“ Cydopsilta madeayana Ramsay, ‘Sydney Morning Herald 5 Newspaper,
Nov. 15, 1874.
“ This interesting and prettily-marked species was discovered first by
Mr. K. Broadbent near Cardwell, and found feeding on the native figs with
which the scrubs abound. The specimens in the Dobroyde Collection are
the only fully adult specimens obtained. I believe I forwarded to the Society
a full description of the adults, male and female, and the young, several
months ago. In case I should not have done so, I enclose a slip from the
‘ Sydney Morning Herald,’ in which a portion of my notes appeared about
the same time. [Ed. note. — This description was never received. The
species appears to be the same as C. maccoyi Gould, P.Z.S. 1875, p. 314, and
Birds of New Guinea , pt. i., pi. 10.]”
Then followed a detailed description and the following “ Remarks . —
This very prettily-marked species is the second of the genus Cydopsilta now
known to inhabit Australia ; it is closely allied, though quite distinct from
C. coxeni Gould, being much smaller and more beautifully and distinctly
marked about the face and head. The specimens now gracing the collection
of William Macleay, Esq., M.L.A., of Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, those in the
Australian Museum and in the Dobroyde Museum collection, from which
the above descriptions have been jointly taken, were procured by Mr. K.
Broadbent, taxidermist, during a collecting tour in the neighbourhood of
Cardwell. They were found feeding on the fruit of the native fig-trees, which
abound in the dense scrubs and brushes clothing the margins of creeks and
rivers at the foot of the coast range. It is doubtless the northern representative
of Cyclopsitta coxeni , which, I believe, has not been met with north of the
Brisbane district.”
The editorial reference to Gould’s description was correct, the same species,
from the same lot, having been sent to him by Mr. Waller, while even
previously it had been described by McCoy, again from the same collector’s
material.
It would appear that Broadbent got quite a number and sold them to
everyone, and the beauty of the small Parrot attracted three recipients so
70
BLUE-FACED LORILET.
much that they named the species. Quaintly Gould, at Waller’s request,
named the species maccoyi after Professor Maccoy, while the latter, ignorant
of this proposal, independently named it leadbeateri, and this last name is the
oldest. Ramsay claimed to have described it in a newspaper, but I have
been unable to trace his description.
Apart from the confusion in connection with the triple nomination of
the bird, little has been written concerning the species. Thus Campbell
writes : “ In February, 1894, Mr. W. B. Barnard, after a northern tour,
forwarded me some interesting field notes, including one referring to this
Lorilet, with a skin for identification. Two nests were found in small holes
in trees, at a height of about forty feet from the ground ; the eggs were
deposited about a foot downward from the entrance. The birds were discovered
breeding in the scrub and forest country alike, from September to November.
During my own Cardwell camp-out (1885) we procured skins of the Blue-faced
Lorilet.”
In the Austr. Mus. Spec. Cat., No. 1, Vol. III., dealing with the “ Nests
and Eggs of Birds found breeding in Australia and Tasmania,” no mention
is made of either of these Lorilets, the author, North, absolutely ignoring
their occurrence in the country. Such action makes caustic criticism necessary,
and H. J. White has already commented upon the manner in which his Title
had been neglected by the author.
In the South Austr. Ornith., Vol. II., 1915, I have given a note written by
Bowyer-Bower at Barron River, Queensland : “ Appears plentiful, but is often
overlooked, as it makes no noise when feeding, and creeps about like a mouse.
The only indication of its presence is the quantity of seeds that keep dropping
all the time it is feeding, but even under the very tree it is in one can see and
hear nothing of it, except by carefully watching. It only makes a noise as it
leaves or arrives at a tree.
l_raty
laurent raty
Thanks, Mark. (Mathews' full text is here if anyone wants to see it.)
So the history of the naming of this bird was as follows:
Cyclopsitta macleayana Ramsay, The Sydney Morning Herald, 70 (11378): 5; 5 Nov 1874: here.
Cyclopsitta macleayana Ramsay, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 18 (749): 587; 7 Nov 1874: here.
Cyclopsitta leadbeateri McCoy, Annals and Magazine of Natural History, ser. 4, 16: 54; 1 Jul 1875 (date fide Evenhuis 2003): here.
Cyclopsitta maccoyi Gould, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, year 1875: 314; [31] Aug 1875 (date fide Duncan 1937): here.
Cyclopsitta macleayana Ramsay, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, year 1875: 602; [30] Apr 1876 (date fide Duncan 1937): here.
Avibase shows that macleayana is in universal use, and has been so for decades. (Mathews maintained leadbeateri in his publications until 1946, but he was pretty much the only one, it seems.) Given that, of the three names the bird received, macleayana was the last to be published in a dedicated scientific journal, this means that there is currently universal acceptance of the newspaper publication.
So the history of the naming of this bird was as follows:
Cyclopsitta macleayana Ramsay, The Sydney Morning Herald, 70 (11378): 5; 5 Nov 1874: here.
Cyclopsitta macleayana Ramsay, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 18 (749): 587; 7 Nov 1874: here.
Cyclopsitta leadbeateri McCoy, Annals and Magazine of Natural History, ser. 4, 16: 54; 1 Jul 1875 (date fide Evenhuis 2003): here.
Cyclopsitta maccoyi Gould, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, year 1875: 314; [31] Aug 1875 (date fide Duncan 1937): here.
Cyclopsitta macleayana Ramsay, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, year 1875: 602; [30] Apr 1876 (date fide Duncan 1937): here.
Avibase shows that macleayana is in universal use, and has been so for decades. (Mathews maintained leadbeateri in his publications until 1946, but he was pretty much the only one, it seems.) Given that, of the three names the bird received, macleayana was the last to be published in a dedicated scientific journal, this means that there is currently universal acceptance of the newspaper publication.
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