Abyssinian Roller

SCI Name:  Coracias abyssinicus
Protonym:  Coracias abyssinica TabulaAffin.Anim. p.197
Taxonomy:  Coraciiformes / Coraciidae / Coracias
Taxonomy Code:  abyrol2
Type Locality:  Ethiopia.
Author:  Hermann
Publish Year:  1783
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

CORACIAS
(Coraciidae; † European Roller C. garrulus) Gr. κορακιας korakias  type of crow or daw, perhaps a chough  < κοραξ korax, κορακος korakos  raven  < κρωζω krōzō  to croak; the European Roller has a distinctive rolling or tumbling display flight, from which it received its substantive English name;  “A genus nearly related to the Crow. Thence Linnaeus calls it Coracias: A word of Aristotle’s applied only to what we call the Cornish chough” (Pennant 1773); the rollers were formerly included in the Corvidae next to the jays Garrulus and choughs; "49. CORACIAS.  Rostrum cultratum apice incurvato, basi pennis denudatum.  Lingua cartilaginea, bifida." (Linnaeus 1758); "Coracias Linné, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 107.  Type, by subsequent designation, Coracias garrulus Linné. (Gray, Cat. Gen. Subgen. Bds., 1855, p. 13 ¹)   ...   ¹ In list Gen. Bds., 1840 and ed. 2, 1841, Gray designates Coracias abyssinica Gm. as type of the genus, a designation that is invalid since this was not one of the orignally included species." (Peters, 1945, V, p. 241).  This is the tenth diagnosed genus in avian taxonomy.  Linnaeus's Coracias comprised six species (C. Garrulus, C. caffra, C. Oriolus, C. Galbula, C. aurea, C. Xanthornus).   
Var. Coracius, Coriacias, Caracias.   
Synon. Ampelis, Coraciura, Eucoracias, Galgulus, Titia, Trimenornis.

coracias
Gr. κορακιας korakias  type of crow or daw  < κοραξ korax, κορακος korakos  raven  < κρωζω krōzō  to croak (syn. Coracias garrulus).

abyssinaica / abyssinica / abyssinicus / abyssinus
Mod. L. Abyssinicus Abyssinian, of Abyssinia or Ethiopia (Arabic name Habaš for the area < Geez, the classical language of Ethiopia, used Habaśā for the peoples of the region). In ornithology ‘Abyssinian’ is often still used, since it covers both Eritrea and Ethiopia and cannot be confused with ‘Ethiopian’, a former term for the Afrotropical zoögeographical region.
● ex “Grand Calao d’Abyssinie” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 779, “Calao d’Abyssinie” of de Buffon 1770-1786, and “Abyssinian Hornbill” of Latham 1781 (Bucorvus).
● ex “Rollier d’Abyssinie” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 626, and “Abyssinian Roller” of Latham 1781 (Coracias).
● ex "Gros bec d'Abyssinie" of de Buffon 1770-1786, and "Abyssinian Grosbeak" of Latham 1783 (subsp. Ploceus cucullatus).
● ex “Waalia Pigeon” of Bruce 1790 (syn. Treron waalia).
● ex “Merle brun d’Abissinie” of Brisson 1760, and “Abyssinian Thrush” of Latham 1783 (Turdus).
● See: habessinicus