Hemithraupis guira fosteri (Sharpe, 1905) (1 Viewer)

OD of Hemithraupis guira fosteri claims.

Hab. Sapucay, Paraguay, March 31, 1904 (W. Forster) Type in Brit. Mus.

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So the The Eponym Dictionary of Birds explains:

Foster
Guira Tanager ssp. Hemithraupis guira fosteri Sharpe, 1905
William T. Foster (1867–1915) was a field naturalist and collector. He was a seaman who became a shopkeeper at Sapucay, Paraguay (1894–1915) and regularly supplied bird and mammal specimens to the British Museum.

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Assume this is correct what was his middle name?

I know nothing about this Mr Foster (he's neither in my MS, nor in my notes), but see the various clues in ...

Floyd E. Hayes. 1993. Status, Distribution and Biogeography of the Birds of Paraguay. Loma Linda University (Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects. 570.)

... The British immigrant William T. Foster arrived in Paraguay in 1894, and resided in Sapucai (Dept. Paraguari), where he obtained large collections of vertebrates and invertebrates. Portions of his bird collections were sent to the United States National Museum in Washington, D.C. (78 specimens reported by Oberholser 1901, 1902), the British Museum (several hundred specimens reported by Sharpe 1905, Chubb 1910) and the Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires (Argentina, now the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; several specimens reported by Partridge [1954)). Foster also established the Museo de Historia Natural de la Escuela Normal de Asuncion (Dept. Central; Robebar 1930), but this museum no longer exists (Podtiaguin 1941). Although Foster published papers on many natural history subjects (Robebar 1930), he apparently did not publish any on Paraguayan ornithology.

[from here, pp.67-68]​

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Hopefully of some help finding him (in full).

Good luck solving the missing "T." part (if it truly belongs there, of course).

Björn
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Martin, also see here (all in Spanish) [my blue bold]:

Un científico en Sapucái
En 1894 vino al Paraguay un científico inglés llamado William Foster. Nació en Inglaterra, en 1873, y en nuestro país se dedicó al estudio de las ciencias naturales. [...] Falleció en Sapucái, el 17 de marzo de 1915.

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Thus, to me, it looks like you're dealing with a certain William Foster, born in ... ?

He's apparently a k a Guillermo Foster, in his new homeland Paraguay, see, for example/s; here or here (p.257).

Like I said; good luck ... finding him (in full).

/B
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Suddenly not only the missing T. part but also the year (or date) of birth in question.

Well done.

Here p. 3 of 47 as well as Guillermo Fóster.

Taphrospilus said:

Here p. 3 of 47 as well as Guillermo Fóster.

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Or; on p.5 in the paper itself, in the intro of Mamiferos/Mammals; (it's paginated: 3-49).

He's also listed (in the Aves/Bird part), but there only as an anonymous "Foster" (on p.16, at the end of the intro.)

Foster's Guira Tanager – summary

At this point (if this bird was included in my MS, which it isn't), from what we've seen this far, I wouldn't dare to say more than the following, regarding the guy commemorated in ...

fosteri as in:
• the Guira Tanager ssp. Hemithraupis guira fosteri SHARPE 1905 (OD in post #1), as "Nemosia fosteri"

= the (most likely British) collector (allegedly, originally a Sailor?) William Foster (†1915), who, arrived in Paraguay in 1894, where he settled down (and opened a shop) in Sapucái, [onwards a k a Guillermo Foster (alt. ditto Fórster)], from where he delivered various Naturalia (Birds, Mammals, Reptiles, etc., etc.) to different museums on various continents [at least to the United States National Museum, in Washington, D.C., USA, and the British Museum (todays BNHM, British Natural History Museum), UK, as well as the Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, Argentina (today's Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia")].

He apparently also established "his own", more modest, museum; the (no longer existing) Museo de Historia Natural, at (de la Escuela Normal de), in Asunción, Paraguay (at a local School?). Collector of the Type 31 March, 1904 [verified; here and here]: "Collected by and purchased of W. Foster", and onwards ... until he died, the 17th of March 1915, in the same Sapucái (alt. Sapucay, in English), a small town in the departament of Paraguari (located some 80-90 km East Southeast of the capital Asunción).

This far I haven't seen anything pointing in favour of "1867" or "1873" (as his Birth year). Could be either one. Or not. And no sight (absolutely nothing) of the missing "T." ... !?

For what it is worth.

Björn

PS. "His" Tanager is also listed as "Hemithraupis Fosteri (SHARPE)", by Dabbene 1914, (here).

PPS. And beware (if googling/searching for him); there seems to have been some other guys by the name "Guillermo Foster" (adapted, or not), in various parts of South America, in about the same Era (see for example, this earlier 'namesake'), some mentioned as "norteamericano", others of unclear Origin.