Black-headed Greenfinch

SCI Name:  Chloris ambigua
Protonym:  Chrysomitris ambigua Bull.Mus.Hist.Nat.Paris 2 p.186
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Fringillidae / Chloris
Taxonomy Code:  bkhgre1
Type Locality:  Mienning; Yun Chou, a little north of Mienning ; and banks of Sang pi Kiang River, Yunnan.
Author:  Oustalet
Publish Year:  1896
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

CHLORIS
(Fringillidae; Ϯ European Greenfinch C. chloris) Specific name Loxia chloris Linnaeus, 1758; "Verdiers ...... Chloris" (Cuvier 1800); "Chloris Cuvier, 1800, Lecons Anat. Comp., 1, tab. 2. Type, by tautonymy, Loxia chloris Linnaeus." (Paynter in Peters, 1968, XIV, p. 234). 
Synon. Chlorospiza, Hypacanthis, Ligurinus.
● (Parulidae; syn. Setophaga Ϯ Northern Parula S. americana) Gr. myth. Chloris the nymph, also known as Flora, wife to Zephyrus and goddess of flowers and springtime (Bob Dowsett in litt.); "Chloris: Sylv. americana Lath.  u.s.w." (Boie 1826); "Chloris (not of Cuvier, 1800) Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 972—type, by virtual monotypy, Sylvia americana Latham = Parus americanus Linnaeus." (Hellmayr, 1935, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. VIII, p. 347).

chloris
● Gr. χλωρις khlōris, χλωριδος khlōridos  greenfinch  < χλωρος khlōros  green. In Gr. myth. Chlōris was one of the daughters of Pierus, who, having failed to best the Muses in a singing contest, was transformed into a finch (or a magpie, according to some!) (Acanthisitta, Chloris (see below), syn. Chlorodrepanis flava, Piprites).
● Mod. L. chloris  green, greenish  < Gr. χλωρις khlōris, χλωριδος khlōridos  greenfinch < χλωρος khlōros  green (cf. Gr. myth. Meliboea, a daughter of Niobe and Amphion, who was so traumatised by the slaughter of her siblings by a vengeful Apollo that she turned pale and changed her name to Chloris, the pale one) (Anthus, syn. Camaroptera brachyura (ex “Olivert” of Levaillant 1801-1804, pl. 125), subsp. Melanocharis longicauda, Nicator, syn. Picus canus, subsp. Sicalis olivascens, subsp. Thapsinillas affinis, Todiramphus (ex “Martin-pêcheur à tête verte du cap de Bonne Espérance” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 783, fig. 2, and “Green-headed Kingsfisher” of Latham 1782), Zosterops, unident. (ex “Chloris Indicus” of Aldrovandus 1599-1603, and “Oriolus Indicus” of Brisson 1760)).
● "96. LOXIA.  ...  Chloris.  20. L. flavicanti-virens, remigibus primoribus antice luteis, rectricibus lateralibus quatuor basi luteis.  Fringilla eadem. Fn. svec. 202.  Chloris. Gesn. av. 259. Will. orn. 129. Raj. av. 85. n. 4. Alb. av. I. p. 56. t. 58. Frisch. av. l. 8. f. 3. 4. Aldr. orn. l. 18. c. 18.  Habitat in Europa.  Media quasi inter Loxias & Emberizas, sed rostrum crassius quam in Emberizis." (Linnaeus 1758) (Chloris).

ambigua / ambiguum / ambiguus
L. ambiguus  doubtful, uncertain  < ambigere  to doubt  < preposition  ambi-  around; agere  to set in motion.
● ex “Grand Ara militaire” of Levaillant 1801, who was uncertain as to whether the Great Green Macaw was distinct from the Military Macaw A. militaris or just a constant variety (Ara).
● Despite an apparent series of transitional specimens between the Black-headed Greenfinch and the Oriental Greenfinch C. sinica, Oustalet 1896, still believed them to be two distinct spp. (Chloris).
● “Similar to S. r. rufifrons  ...  Distribution, — Probably Sikhim, Butan Duars, Assam, Naga Hills and Manipur” (Harington 1915) (subsp. Cyanoderma rufifrons).
● “While it is practically certain that this new bird is a conspecies of M. sclateri, the wide gap in the distribution of the two forms with no close relative known from the intervening area makes me hesitate to unite them at present” ( J. Zimmer 1932) (Myrmotherula).
● “Doubtful Toucan ... The species now selected is one I have never seen; but I have no doubt of its existence, and little of the accuracy of its delineation” (Swainson 1823) (Ramphastos).
● “This Bird is very nearly related to Trog. elegans ... These distinctions, although apparently trivial, having been observed ... in many specimens ... he is induced to regard the two Birds as being, very probably, specifically distinct” (Gould 1835) (Trogon).

SUBSPECIES

Black-headed Greenfinch (taylori)
SCI Name: Chloris ambigua taylori
taylori
● Dr Sir George Taylor (1904-1993) Scottish botanist, collector, Director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh 1956-1971 (subsp. Chloris ambigua).
● Claude H. Taylor (fl. 1914) South African naturalist, collector (syn. Chlorophoneus olivaceus).
● Frank Mansfield Taylor (1850-1930) US businessman, patron and President of Colorado Mus. of Natural History 1916-1930 (subsp. Colinus virginianus).
● Frederic William Taylor (1876-1944) US agronomist, botanist, Director- Gen. of El Salvador Agriculture 1923-1927 (subsp. Dactylortyx thoracicus).
● Charles B. Taylor (fl. 1896) collector in Jamaica and Cayman Is. (Pyrrhulagra, syn. Trochilus polytmus).
● Anthony Taylor (fl. 1884) collector in Ecuador (subsp. Tangara ruficervix).
● Edward Cavendish Taylor (1831-1905) English ornithologist, traveller, collector in the West Indies 1862-1863 (subsp. Tyrannus caudifasciatus).

Black-headed Greenfinch (ambigua)
SCI Name: Chloris ambigua ambigua
ambigua / ambiguum / ambiguus
L. ambiguus  doubtful, uncertain  < ambigere  to doubt  < preposition  ambi-  around; agere  to set in motion.
● ex “Grand Ara militaire” of Levaillant 1801, who was uncertain as to whether the Great Green Macaw was distinct from the Military Macaw A. militaris or just a constant variety (Ara).
● Despite an apparent series of transitional specimens between the Black-headed Greenfinch and the Oriental Greenfinch C. sinica, Oustalet 1896, still believed them to be two distinct spp. (Chloris).
● “Similar to S. r. rufifrons  ...  Distribution, — Probably Sikhim, Butan Duars, Assam, Naga Hills and Manipur” (Harington 1915) (subsp. Cyanoderma rufifrons).
● “While it is practically certain that this new bird is a conspecies of M. sclateri, the wide gap in the distribution of the two forms with no close relative known from the intervening area makes me hesitate to unite them at present” ( J. Zimmer 1932) (Myrmotherula).
● “Doubtful Toucan ... The species now selected is one I have never seen; but I have no doubt of its existence, and little of the accuracy of its delineation” (Swainson 1823) (Ramphastos).
● “This Bird is very nearly related to Trog. elegans ... These distinctions, although apparently trivial, having been observed ... in many specimens ... he is induced to regard the two Birds as being, very probably, specifically distinct” (Gould 1835) (Trogon).