CYMINDIS WILSONII CASSIN, 1847 (= CUBAN KITE CHONDROHIERAX WILSONII): ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION, TYPES, COLLECTOR, AND TYPE LOCALITY

Cuban Kite Chondrohierax wilsonii has usually been considered a species-level taxon endemic to Cuba, where it is now confined to the extreme east and is exceptionally rare. It was described by John Cassin, whose text was repeated basically verbatim in two different periodicals in 1847. The later of the two to appear has been frequently but erroneously cited as the original description. Equally, the type locality has been reported with varying levels of vagueness, but the collector of the specimens, Richard Cowling Taylor, mentioned a rather precise locality. A report on the latter’s geological work reveals they were collected in 1836. Cassin and later Wilmer Stone, the first person to revise type material held at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, confused the sexes of this kite, so that the female specimen must be considered the lectotype, although Stone apparently wished to nominate the male as the “type”

SYSTEMATIC PLACEMENT OF THE BEE HUMMINGBIRD (MELLISUGA HELENAE) (AVES: TROCHILIDAE) AND POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR NOMENCLATURE OF THE MELLISUGINAE

The Near Threatened Cuban endemic, Bee Hummingbird Mellisuga helenae, is iconic for its tiny size—the male is the smallest bird in the world. In this study, one mitochondrial gene (ND2) and introns of two nuclear genes (encoding adenylate kinase and beta-fibrinogen), were sequenced and aligned to homologous sequences from other hummingbird species. With high statistical support, both Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian analyses resolved Bee Hummingbird as sister to Bahama and Inagua Hummingbirds Calliphlox (or Nesophlox) evelynae and lyrura, rather than the congeneric Vervain Hummingbird Mellisuga minima. This finding highlights the need for nomenclatural rearrangement of several hummingbird species in line with the results of recent molecular phylogenies

First genetic data for the critically endangered Cuban endemic Zapata Rail Cyanolimnas cerverai, and the taxonomic implications

Funding Information: GMK and AK are grateful to staff, particularly Ianela García-Lau, Manolo Barro and volunteers at the Museo de Historia Natural ‘Felipe Poey’, La Habana, Cuba, for access to relevant specimens. This study was funded by University of Aberdeen (AB) and The Sound Approach Ph.D. Studentship (TJS).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Avifauna of the Paredon Grande and Coco keys during fall migration of 1990 and 1991

Volume: 1Start Page: 31End Page: 3

The Context and Function of Duet and Solo Songs in the Red-Shouldered Blackbird

Volume: 109Start Page: 279End Page: 28