Himalayan Shortwing

SCI Name:  Brachypteryx cruralis
Protonym:  Calliope ? cruralis J.Asiat.Soc.Bengal Vol. 12, Part 2, N° 143 p. 929, 935
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Muscicapidae / Brachypteryx
Taxonomy Code:  whbsho4
Type Locality:  Darjeeling.
Author:  Blyth
Publish Year:  1843
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

BRACHYPTERYX
(Muscicapidae; Ϯ Javan Shortwing B. montana) Gr. βραχυς brakhus  short; πτερυξ pterux, πτερυγος pterugos  wing (cf. βραχυπτερος brakhupteros  short-winged  < βραχυς brakhus  short; πτερον pteron  wing); "Gen. 22. BRACHYPTERYX.  Rostrum mediocre, subcultratum, basi latius, ultra medium subconicum, attenuatum.  Culmen inter nares carinatum, deinde rotundatum, apicem versus arcuatum, emarginatum.  Mandibula lateribus marginatis, apice inclinata; tomiis maxillæ mandibulæque subinflexis.  Nares maximæ, in fovea subrotunda basali elongata obtusa sitæ; supra et postice membrana clausæ.  Alæ brevissimæ: remiges integræ, 1 subspuria, 2—5 gradatim increscentes, 5—10 subæquales longiores, reliquæ gradatim breviores.  Cauda rotundata.  Pedes elongati.  Digitus medius longissimus.  Ungues compressissimi, hallucis medio duplo majore, fortius arcuato.   The characters which distinguish this genus from Motacilla are the robustness of the bill, the arch or curvature of the culmen or back, the margin and inclination of the lower mandibule, and the size and protrusion of the nares.  It possesses likewise peculiarities in the shortness of the wings and the elevation of the tarsi.   Spec. 1. Brachypteryx montana.  ...  Ketek Javanis.   ...   Spec. 2. Brachypteryx sepiaria.  ...  Chichohan Javanis." (Horsfield 1821); "Brachypteryx Horsfield, 1822, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, p. 157. Type, by subsequent designation (G. R. Gray, 1855, Cat. Gen. Subgen. Birds, p. 41), Brachypteryx montana Horsfield." (Ripley in Peters, 1964, X, p. 14).  
Var. Brachypterix, Brachypterux.
Synon. Goldana.
● (Rallidae; syn. Gallirallus Ϯ Weka G. australis) "The third skull, with a beak like that of the Porphyrio and Brachypteryx was referred to the same family—'Rallidæ'—to which those genera belong.  ...  In these characters the Brachypteryx or Short-winged Rail of New Zealand more resembles Notornis." (Owen 1848 (April 13)); "Amongst the rarer and more instructive parts of this collection are some portions of a sternum of a small species of Dinornis or Palapteryx, and two nearly entire sternums of the new genus Notornis, which belongs to the same family (Rallidæ) as the rare Brachypteryx or short-winged Rail of New Zealand." (Owen 1848 (April 22)); "Genus Brachypteryx.   1280. The skeleton of the Short-winged Rail of New Zealand (Brachypteryx Australis)." (Owen 1853) (Laurent Raty in litt.)"Brachypteryx Owen, 1853, Descr. Cat. Ost. Ser. Mus. Roy. Coll. Surgeons, I, p. 237.  Type, by monotypy, Brachypteryx australis, i.e. Rallus australis Sparrman, 1786." (JAJ 2021).  

Brachypterus
(Falconidae; syn. Micrastur Ϯ Collared Forest Falcon M. semitorquatus) Specific name Falco brachypterus Temminck, 1822 (= syn. Micrastur semitorquatus); "LES BRACHYPTÈRES (¹)  Forment une petite tribu qui s'éloigne des éperviers ordinaires par quelques traits de physionomie  ... leurs ailes sont courtes ou dépassent à peine le croupion  ... Le type de cette tribu est l'autour brachyptère de M. Temminck  ... (¹) Brachypterus, Less." (Lesson 1838); "Brachypterus (not of Latreille, 1819, nor of Kugelann, 1794) Lesson, Compl. Buffon, 7, p. 113, 1836—type, by tautonymy, Falco brachypterus Temminck = Sparvius semitorquatus Vieillot." (Hellmayr and Conover, 1949, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. I (4), p. 242).
Var. Brachypteryx.

cruralis
L. cruralis  of the leg  < crus, cruris  shin.