Little Raven

SCI Name:  Corvus mellori
Protonym:  Corvus marianae mellori Novit.Zool. 18 p.443
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Corvidae / Corvus
Taxonomy Code:  litrav1
Type Locality:  South Australia [= Angas Plains].
Author:  Mathews
Publish Year:  1912
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

CORVUS
(Corvidae; Ϯ Common Raven C. corax) L. corvus  raven. In fable the Raven was originally white but, despite its supposed gift of prophecy, was turned into a black bird for its treachery. The Common or Northern Raven is the largest species of passerine bird; "48. CORVUS.  Rostrum convexum, cultratum, basi pennis setaceis tectum.  Lingua cartilaginea bifida." (Linnaeus 1758); "Corvus Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, p. 105. Type, by tautonymy, "Corvus", i.e. Corvus corax Linnaeus." (Blake & Vaurie in Peters, 1962, XV, p. 261).  This is the ninth diagnosed genus in avian taxonomy.  Linnaeus's Corvus comprised twelve species (C. Corax, C. Corone, C. frugilegus, C. Cornix, C. Monedula, C. benghalensis, C. glandarius, C. cristatus, C. Caryocatactes, C. Pica, C. paradisi, C. infaustus).     
Var. Cervus, Coruus.   
Synon. Amblycorax, Anomalocorax, Archicorax, Coloeus, Corax, Corone, Corvultur, Frugilegus, Gymnocorax, Gymnocorvus, Heterocorax, Macrocorax, Microcorax, Monedula, Nesocorax, Palaeocorax, Physocorax, Pterocorax, Rhinocorax, Sitocorax, Trypanocorax.

corvus
L. corvus raven.
● From a local name Caa Maa crow gull, for the Black-legged Kittiwake in the Shetlands (syn. Rissa tridactyla).

mellori
John White Mellor (1868-1931) Australian ornithologist, founder member of the RAOU (syn. Acanthiza uropygialis, syn. Acrocephalus australis, syn. Chalcites basalis, Corvus, syn. Cracticus nigrogularis, subsp. Hypotaenidia philippensis, syn. Psitteuteles versicolor, syn. Ptilotula penicillata, subsp. Sericornis frontalis).