The misidentification of Turdus ustulatus Nuttall, and the names of the nightingale-thrushes (Turdidae: Catharus)

Abstract

An extensive review of Turdus ustulatusNuttall, 1840, and T. swainsoni Cabanis inTschudi, 1845, and comparison of John K. Townsend's extant study skins (1835–36) to freshly prepared skins of Catharus ustulatus (Nuttall), C. swainsoni (Cabanis) and C. guttatus (Pallas, 1811), reveals that the original description of T. ustulatusNuttall, 1840, was most likely based on a single specimen (now lost) of Hermit Thrush C. guttatus (Pallas, 1811). The original description of T. swainsoni Cabanis inTschudi, 1845, is also not unambiguously identifiable and the type material is untraceable. To resolve and stabilise nomenclature, (1) a petition will be filed with the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) to set aside Art. 75.3.5 of the Code (ICZN 1999) so that a neotype of T. ustulatusNuttall, 1840, can be designated; and (2) the name C. swainsoni (Cabanis inTschudi, 1845) is herein rescued via neotypification. Finally, updated common names are proposed to standardise the English group name of the genus to ‘nightingale-thrush’ and reduce further confusion with respect to common names that have been applied to multiple taxa. This is the second in a series of papers concerning historical aspects of Catharus taxonomy and nomenclature.