Tropical Boubou

SCI Name:  Laniarius major
Protonym:  Telephonus major Rev.Zool. 11ème Année p. 108-109
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Malaconotidae / Laniarius
Taxonomy Code:  trobou1
Type Locality:  Elmina, Gold Coast.
Author:  Hartlaub
Publish Year:  1848
IUCN Status:  

DEFINITIONS

LANIARIUS
(Malaconotidae; Ϯ Yellow-crowned Gonolek L. barbarus) Genus Lanius Linnaeus, 1758, shrike; "128. GONOLEK, Laniarius.  Lanius, Linn. Gm. Lath.  Bec nu à la base, un peu grêle, convexe en dessus, droit, comprimé; mandibule supérieure échancrée et crochue vers le bout; l'inférieure aiguë et retroussée à la pointe. — Bouche ciliée. — Ailes à penne bâtarde; le deux^e. remige la plus longue.   Esp. Gonolek, Buff." (Vieillot 1816); "Laniarius Vieillot, 1816, Analyse, p. 41. Type, by monotypy, "Gonolek" Buffon = Lanius barbarus Linnaeus." (Rand in Peters 1960, IX, 326).
Var. Lanairius, Lanarius, Lanirius.
Synon. Diplophoneus, Pelecinius, Rhynchastatus, Thamnocataphus.

major
L. maior, maioris  greater, larger  < comp. magnus  great, large, powerful.
● ex “Poule d’eau de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 352; “Even if [Statius Müller, 1776] ...should some day be repudiated by ornithologists on account of his carelessness and his apparent colour-blindness, then the proper name of the species would be Aramides major (Boddaert), founded on Daubenton’s plate” (Sharpe 1894) (syn. Aramides cajanea).
● ex “Grand Corbeau” of Levaillant 1800, pl. 51 (unident.;?Corvus sp.).
● ex “Crotophagus major” of Brisson 1760, “Grand bout de Petun” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 102, fig. 1, “Ani des palétuviers” of Salerne 1767, and “Greater Ani” of Latham 1781 (Crotophaga).
● 54. PICUS.  ...  major.  10. P. albo nigroque varius, ano occipiteque rubro.  Picus albo nigroque varius, rectricibus tribus lateralibus utrinque albescentibus. Fn. svec. 81.  Picus varius major. Ges. av. 708. Aldr. ornith. l. 12. c. 32. Will. orn. 94. t. 21. Raj. av. 43. Alb. av. I. p. 19. t. 19. Frisch. av. . . t. 36. f. 1.  Habitat in Europa." (Linnaeus 1758) (Dendrocopos).
● ex “Grande Egrette d’Amérique” of d’Aubenton, 1765-1781, pl. 925 (syn. Egretta garzetta).
● ex “Scolopax media” of Frisch 1733-1763, “Great Snipe” of Pennant 1768, and Latham 1785 (syn. Gallinago media).
● ex “Grand Indicateur, mâle” of Levaillant 1807, pl. 241, fig. 1 (syn. Indicator indicator).
● ex “Pie-grièche Blanchot” of Levaillant 1810, pl. 285 (syn. Malaconotus blanchoti).
● ex “An other sort of Loggerhead” of Sloane 1707-1725, “Sitta” or “Picus cinereus major, rostro curvo” of Ray 1713, “Grand Sittelle à bec crochu” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Great Nuthatch” of Latham 1781 (?syn. Myiarchus validus).
● ex “Parus major” of Gessner 1555, Belon 1555, Aldrovandus 1599, and Willughby 1676, “Fringillago”, “Great Titmouse” or “Ox Eye” of Ray 1713, and Albin 1731, and “Parus capite nigro, temporibus albis, nucha luteis” of Linnaeus 1746 (Parus).
● ex “Grèbe de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 404, fig. 1, and “Grand Grèbe” of de Buffon 1770-1785 (Podiceps).
● ex “Barbican des côtes de Barbarie” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 602 (syn. Pogonornis dubius).
● ex “Grande Quiscale” of Vieillot 1819 (Quiscalus).
● ex “Tangara des grands bois de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 205 (syn. Saltator maximus).
● ex “Batara mayor” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 211 (Taraba).
● ex “Macucagua” of Marcgrave 1648, Willughby 1676, and Ray 1713, “Perdix brasiliensis” of Brisson 1760, and “Magoua” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Tinamus).
● ex “Trepadore grande” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 241 (Xiphocolaptes).

SUBSPECIES

Tropical Boubou (major)
SCI Name: Laniarius major major
major
L. maior, maioris  greater, larger  < comp. magnus  great, large, powerful.
● ex “Poule d’eau de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 352; “Even if [Statius Müller, 1776] ...should some day be repudiated by ornithologists on account of his carelessness and his apparent colour-blindness, then the proper name of the species would be Aramides major (Boddaert), founded on Daubenton’s plate” (Sharpe 1894) (syn. Aramides cajanea).
● ex “Grand Corbeau” of Levaillant 1800, pl. 51 (unident.;?Corvus sp.).
● ex “Crotophagus major” of Brisson 1760, “Grand bout de Petun” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 102, fig. 1, “Ani des palétuviers” of Salerne 1767, and “Greater Ani” of Latham 1781 (Crotophaga).
● 54. PICUS.  ...  major.  10. P. albo nigroque varius, ano occipiteque rubro.  Picus albo nigroque varius, rectricibus tribus lateralibus utrinque albescentibus. Fn. svec. 81.  Picus varius major. Ges. av. 708. Aldr. ornith. l. 12. c. 32. Will. orn. 94. t. 21. Raj. av. 43. Alb. av. I. p. 19. t. 19. Frisch. av. . . t. 36. f. 1.  Habitat in Europa." (Linnaeus 1758) (Dendrocopos).
● ex “Grande Egrette d’Amérique” of d’Aubenton, 1765-1781, pl. 925 (syn. Egretta garzetta).
● ex “Scolopax media” of Frisch 1733-1763, “Great Snipe” of Pennant 1768, and Latham 1785 (syn. Gallinago media).
● ex “Grand Indicateur, mâle” of Levaillant 1807, pl. 241, fig. 1 (syn. Indicator indicator).
● ex “Pie-grièche Blanchot” of Levaillant 1810, pl. 285 (syn. Malaconotus blanchoti).
● ex “An other sort of Loggerhead” of Sloane 1707-1725, “Sitta” or “Picus cinereus major, rostro curvo” of Ray 1713, “Grand Sittelle à bec crochu” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Great Nuthatch” of Latham 1781 (?syn. Myiarchus validus).
● ex “Parus major” of Gessner 1555, Belon 1555, Aldrovandus 1599, and Willughby 1676, “Fringillago”, “Great Titmouse” or “Ox Eye” of Ray 1713, and Albin 1731, and “Parus capite nigro, temporibus albis, nucha luteis” of Linnaeus 1746 (Parus).
● ex “Grèbe de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 404, fig. 1, and “Grand Grèbe” of de Buffon 1770-1785 (Podiceps).
● ex “Barbican des côtes de Barbarie” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 602 (syn. Pogonornis dubius).
● ex “Grande Quiscale” of Vieillot 1819 (Quiscalus).
● ex “Tangara des grands bois de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 205 (syn. Saltator maximus).
● ex “Batara mayor” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 211 (Taraba).
● ex “Macucagua” of Marcgrave 1648, Willughby 1676, and Ray 1713, “Perdix brasiliensis” of Brisson 1760, and “Magoua” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Tinamus).
● ex “Trepadore grande” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 241 (Xiphocolaptes).

Tropical Boubou (ambiguus)
SCI Name: Laniarius major ambiguus
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).

Tropical Boubou (limpopoensis)
SCI Name: Laniarius major limpopoensis
limpopoensis
Limpopo River, south-central Africa.

Tropical Boubou (mossambicus)
SCI Name: Laniarius major mossambicus
mossambicus / mossambiquensis
Mozambique  < Portuguese Ilha de Moçambique, a thriving Arab port at the time of Vasco da Gama's visit  < Ali Musa ibn Mbiki (fl. 1498) local sultan.