Shiny Cowbird

SCI Name:  Molothrus bonariensis
Protonym:  Tanagra bonariensis Syst.Nat. 1 pt2 p.898
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Icteridae / Molothrus
Taxonomy Code:  shicow
Type Locality:  Buenos Aires.
Author:  Gmelin, JF
Publish Year:  1789
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

MOLOTHRUS
(Icteridae; Ϯ Brown-headed Cowbird M. ater) Unattested Gr. μολοθρος molothros  uninvited guest (Merriam 1884) (cf. Gr. μωλος mōlos  struggle, battle; θρωσκω thrōskō  to sire, to impregnate); alluding to the parasitic habits of the Brown-headed Cowbird; "MOLOTHRUS Sws. 1831.  ...  Die Etymologie des Gattungsnamens ist nicht recht klar. Die Ableitung von μωλος, im Sinne von moles für Gebäude (Nest) und etwa θρωσκω, θορειν, springen, eilen, schleunig eintreten, wäre etwas sehr gesucht. Swainson giebt an "μολοθρος, qui non vocatus alienas aedes intrat" vielleicht soll es heissen μολοβρος, ein Schmarotzer, einer der bei andern zu fressen sucht, mit Bezug auf die Eigenthümlichkeit der Erziehung der Jungen durch an die Vögel; es würde der Name dann richtiger Molobrus zu schreiben sein" (Cabanis 1853); “Swainson wrote molothrus more than once, showing it not to be a misprint or other mistake” (Coues 1882); "[85.]  1. MOLOTHRUS PECORIS. (Swainson.)  Cowpen or Cuckoo-Bunt.   SUB-FAMILY, Agelainae.  Genus, Molothrus *, SWAINS.  Cowpen Finch. PENN. Arct. Zool., ii, p. 371, No. 241.  Cow Bunting (Emberiza pecoris). WILS., ii., p. 145, pl. 18, ff. 1, 2, and 3.  Fringilla pecoris. SAB. Frankl. Journ., p. 676.  Agelaius pecoris. SWAINS. Syn., No. 55.  Icterus pecoris. BONAP. Syn., p. 53, No. 53.  ...  FORM, typical.  Bill short, conic, Finch-like; the culmen or ridge is convex and very slightly arched, the tip not depressed, and both mandibles entire. Wings long, pointed; the first quill generally longest, the second very nearly equal; lesser quills truncate and slightly emarginate. Tail slightly forked in the middle; but its sides rounded (as in the Ceblepyrinæ), reaching an inch and a quarter beyond the wings. Tarsi lengthened; claws slender; anterior lateral toes equal.   ...  *Mολοθρος, qui non vocatus alienas ædes intrat." (Swainson 1831); "Molothrus Swainson, 1832, in Swainson and Richardson, Fauna Bor.-Amer., 2 (1831), p. 277. Type, by original designation, Fringilla pecoris Gmelin = Oriolus ater Boddaert." (Blake in Peters 1968, XIV, 195).  
Var. Molobrus (Gr. μολοβρος molobros beggar, parasite), Molothru, Mothrus.
Synon. Callothrus, Cyanothrus, Cyrtotes, Hypobletis, Pecoris, Psomocolax, Scaphidura, Strepitovagus, Tangavius.

bonariae / bonariensis
Mod. L. Bonaria  Buenos Aires, Argentina  < Med. Spanish buen ayre  fair wind  < Med. Italian Bonaria  name of a hill overlooking Cagliari, Sardinia, beseiged by the Aragonese in 1324  < L. bonus  good; aer, aeris  air, atmosphere.
● ex “Tangavio du Buenos-Ayres” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 710, “Tangavio” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Violet Tanager” of Latham 1783 (Molothrus).
● ex “Noir-Souci” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Pipraeidea).
● ex “Demi-fin noir et roux” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “White-chinned Warbler” of Latham 1783 (unident.).

SUBSPECIES

Shiny Cowbird (minimus)
SCI Name: Molothrus bonariensis minimus
minima / minimum / minimus
L. minimus  smallest, least  < super. parvus  small.
● ex “Cabaret” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 485, fig. 2 (syn. Acanthis cabaret).
● ex “Petit Sénégali rouge” of Vieillot 1805 (syn. Lagonosticta senegala).
● ex “Petite Becassine” of Brisson 1760 (Lymnocryptes).
● "60. TROCHILUS.  ...  minimus. 18.  T. rectricibus lateralibus margine exteriore albis, corpore fusco nitente, subtus albido.  Avis mellivora minima. Edw. av. 105. t. 105. s. infima.  Habitat in America.  Avis minima inter omnes notas." (Linnaeus 1758) (Mellisuga).
● ex “Long-legged Warbler” of Latham 1783 (syn. Xenicus longipes).

Shiny Cowbird (cabanisii)
SCI Name: Molothrus bonariensis cabanisii
cabanisii
Jean Louis Cabanis (1816-1906) German ornithologist, founding editor of Journal für Ornithologie 1853 (syn. Calidris pusilla, subsp. Chloroceryle americana, subsp. Colibri thalassinus, syn. Criniger ochraceus sordidus, subsp. Molothrus bonariensis, subsp. Ploceus intermedius, syn. Tigrisoma mexicanum, syn. Turdus olivaceus smithi) (see cabanisi).

Shiny Cowbird (venezuelensis)
SCI Name: Molothrus bonariensis venezuelensis
venezuelae / venezuelana / venezuelanus / venezuelense / venezuelensis
Venezuela (Italian Venezuola, a diminutive of Venezia Venice, alluding to native houses on stilts in the waters of Lake Maracaibo).

Shiny Cowbird (aequatorialis)
SCI Name: Molothrus bonariensis aequatorialis
aequatoriale / aequatorialis
Late L. aequatorialis  equatorial  < aequator  equator  < L. aequare  to make equal  < aequus  equal. Frequently given to species with a distribution in the equatorial latitudes of Africa (e.g. subsp. Jynx ruficollis, Sheppardia), but more commonly applied to birds from Ecuador (Spanish ecuador  equator) (e.g. Momotus, Thamnistes, Xiphorhynchus).
● Erroneous TL. Guayaquil (= Panama City) (subsp. Dendroica petechia).
● Erroneous TL. Guayaquil (= interior of Ecuador) (subsp. Falco sparverius).
● Erroneous TL. Ecuador (= Bahia, Brazil) (syn. Heliothryx aurita auriculata).
● Erroneous TL. Bogotá (= San Lucas, Ecuador) (subsp. Rallus limicola).

Shiny Cowbird (occidentalis)
SCI Name: Molothrus bonariensis occidentalis
occidentale / occidentalis
L. occidentalis  western  < occidens, occidentis  west  < occidere  to set. This toponym was frequently given to taxa discovered in locations west of previously known populations.
● Cocal, Western Andes, Colombia (Dysithamnus).
● Jamaica; ex “Onocrotalus” or “Pelecanus fuscus” of Sloane 1725, “Pelican of America” of Edwards 1747, and “Pelecanus” of Browne 1756 (Pelecanus).
● TL. Day Dawn, Western Australia; "Westralian Wedgebill" (Mathews 1912) (Psophodes).

Shiny Cowbird (riparius)
SCI Name: Molothrus bonariensis riparius
riparia / riparium / riparius
L. riparius  bank-nesting  < ripa  river-bank.
● "101. HIRUNDO.  ...  riparia.  4. H. cinerea, gula abdominque albis. Fn. svec. 247.  Hirundo riparis s. Drepanis. Gesn. av. 656. Aldr. orn. l. 17. c. 8. Will. orn. 156. t. 39. Raj. av. 71. n. 3. Alb. av. 2. p. 52. t. 56. f. B. Frisch. av. t. 18. f. 2.  Habitat in Europæ collibus arenosis abruptis, foramine serpentino." (Linnaeus 1758) (Riparia).

Shiny Cowbird (bonariensis)
SCI Name: Molothrus bonariensis bonariensis
bonariae / bonariensis
Mod. L. Bonaria  Buenos Aires, Argentina  < Med. Spanish buen ayre  fair wind  < Med. Italian Bonaria  name of a hill overlooking Cagliari, Sardinia, beseiged by the Aragonese in 1324  < L. bonus  good; aer, aeris  air, atmosphere.
● ex “Tangavio du Buenos-Ayres” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 710, “Tangavio” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Violet Tanager” of Latham 1783 (Molothrus).
● ex “Noir-Souci” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Pipraeidea).
● ex “Demi-fin noir et roux” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “White-chinned Warbler” of Latham 1783 (unident.).