Ashy Tailorbird

SCI Name:  Orthotomus ruficeps
Protonym:  Edela ruficeps TraitedOrn. livr.4 p.309
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Cisticolidae / Orthotomus
Taxonomy Code:  ashtai1
Type Locality:  cote nord-ouest de la Nouvelle-Hollande; corrected to Java by Lesson, 1832, Centurie Zool., p. 212, and restricted to the region of Surabaya, eastern Java, by Stresemann, 1953, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 29, p. 97; incorrectly changed to Sumatra by Robinson and Kloss, 1923, Journ. Fed. Malay States Mus., 8, p. 349, and to Malacca by Oberholser, 1932, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., no. 159, p. 88.
Author:  Lesson
Publish Year:  1830
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

ORTHOTOMUS
(Cisticolidae; Ϯ Olive-backed Tailorbird O. sepium) Gr. ορθος orthos  straight; τομευς tomeus, τομεως tomeōs  knife, edge (cf. ορθοτομεω orthotomeō  to cut straight); "Gen. 34. ORTHOTOMUS.   Rostrum mediocre, rectum, subdepressum, basi triquetrum, attenuatum: culmine basi carinato, versus apicem leviter arcuato.  Mandibula tomiis rectissimis.  Nares basales, magnæ, superne membrana clausæ, inferne rima longitudinali apertæ.  Alæ: remiges, 1 spuria, 2 et 3 abrupte longiores, 4—8 longiores subæquales externe emarginatæ, ceteræ gradatim breviores cuneatæ.  Pedes subelongati.  Digitus exterior a medio ad basin connexus: hallux validus.  Ungues compressi arcuati acuti, postico medio duplo majore.  Acropodia scutulata.   The straightness and slenderness of the bill distinguish Orthotomus from the two former genera [Pomatorhinus, Prinia]; these characters, with the depression and triangular form of the base of the bill, prevent its union with the other genera of this family. I have not been able to determine satisfactorily the affinity of this genus. The slenderness of the bill and its other habits associate it with the Certhiadæ; in the acumen of the bill and the size of the hallux it resembles in some degree the genus Sitta.    Spec. 1. Orthotomus sepium.  ...  Chiglet Javanis." (Horsfield 1821); "Orthotomus Horsfield, 1821, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, p. 165. Type, by monotypy, Orthotomus sepium Horsfield." (Watson in Peters 1986, XI, 173).  
Var. Orthotoma.
Synon. Edela, Sutoria.

ruficeps
L. rufus  red, ruddy; -ceps  -headed  < caput, capitis  head.
● ex “Tordo del corona de canela” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 72 (syn. Chrysomus ruficapillus).

SUBSPECIES

Ashy Tailorbird (cineraceus)
SCI Name: Orthotomus ruficeps cineraceus
cineracea / cineraceum / cineraceus
L. cineraceus  ash-grey  < cinis, cineris  ashes.
● ex “Cotinga cendré” of Levaillant 1801 (syn. Lipaugus vociferans).
● ex “Cinereous Godwit” of Pennant 1768, and Latham 1785 (syn. Tringa nebularia).

Ashy Tailorbird (baeus)
SCI Name: Orthotomus ruficeps baeus
baeus
Gr. βαιος baios small, little.

Ashy Tailorbird (concinnus)
SCI Name: Orthotomus ruficeps concinnus
concinnus
L. concinnus  elegant, neat, pleasing.

Ashy Tailorbird (ruficeps)
SCI Name: Orthotomus ruficeps ruficeps
ruficeps
L. rufus  red, ruddy; -ceps  -headed  < caput, capitis  head.
● ex “Tordo del corona de canela” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 72 (syn. Chrysomus ruficapillus).

Ashy Tailorbird (palliolatus)
SCI Name: Orthotomus ruficeps palliolatus
palliolatus
L. palliolatus  hooded, mantled  < palliolum  little cloak, hood  < dim. pallium  mantle.

Ashy Tailorbird (baweanus)
SCI Name: Orthotomus ruficeps baweanus
baweana / baweanum / baweanus
Bawean I., Java Sea, Indonesia.

Ashy Tailorbird (borneoensis)
SCI Name: Orthotomus ruficeps borneoensis
bornea / borneana / borneanum / borneanus / borneense / borneensis / bornensis / borneoensis / borneonense / borneonensis / borneus
Borneo  < Malay Brunei  the Barunai or Brunei Sultanate, wealthy, powerful and more extensive in the 15th century  < Sanskrit Váruna  water, rain.
● Erroneous TL. Borneo (= Amboina); "44. PSITTACUS.  ...  borneus.  6. P. macrourus ruber, remigibus rectricibusque apice viridibus, alis macula cærulea.  Psittacus coccineus, cauda longiore. Edw. av. 173. t. 173.  Habitat in India: Borneo." (Linnaeus 1758) (Eos). This name, albeit erroneous, is the fourth toponym in avian nomenclature.

Ashy Tailorbird (cagayanensis)
SCI Name: Orthotomus ruficeps cagayanensis
cagayanense / cagayanensis
● Cagayan Sulu, Tawi-Tawi Province, Philippines (subsp. Anthreptes malacensis, syn. Dicrurus palawanensis, subsp. Mixornis gularis, subsp. Orthotomus ruficeps).
● Cagayan Province, north-eastern Luzon, Philippines (subsp. Dasylophus superciliosus, subsp. Dicaeum hypoleucum).