chlorostilbon bracei lawrence, an extinct species of

CHLOROSTILBON
BRACEI LAWRENCE, AN EXTINCT
SPECIES OF HUMMINGBIRD
FROM
ISLAND,
NEW PROVIDENCE
BAHAMAS
GARY R. GRAVES AND STORRS L. OLSON
Departmentof VertebrateZoology,NationalMuseumof Natural History,
Smithsonian
Institution,Washington,
D.C. 20560 USA
ABSrRAcr.--Chlorostilbon
braceiLawrence,known from the unique holotype taken on New
ProvidenceIsland, Bahamas,in 1877,is shown to be a valid speciesthat is evidently now
extinct.Comparedwith C. ricordiiof Cubaand the Bahamas,C. braceiis smaller,hasa longer
bill, and has distinctly different plumage.Fossilevidencedemonstratesthat a small Chlorostilbon,tentatively referred to C. bracei,was present on New Providencein the Pleistocene.
Populationsof C. ricordiifrom Andros, Abaco,and Grand Bahamaare indistinguishablefrom
Cuban birds, and C. ricordiiis therefore regardedas monotypic.Received
18June1986,accepted
25 November 1986.
THE first record of the genus Chlorostilbon
in
the Bahamaswas Lawrence's(1877) description
of "Sporadinus"
braceibased on a single male
specimentaken on New Providence(Fig. 1) by
L. J. K. Bracethat Lawrenceregarded as being
closest to C. ricordiiof Cuba. Elliot (1878: 240)
known only from a single specimen,and listed
both braceiand aeneoviridis
as synonymsof C.
ricordii.
Riley (1905),sayingnothing further aboutC.
bracei, considered the other Bahaman birds as
comparedthe specimenwith the type of C. ricordii,"but was not able to satisfy myself that
it was certainly distinct. More specimensof this
bird, and perfect ones,are necessarybefore its
proper specific position can be fully demon-
separablefrom those of Cuba and maintained
them as a subspecies,Riccordiaricordiiaeneoviridis. This treatment was followed by Ridgway
(1911), who noted, however, "In case SporadinusbraceiLawrence should prove not different
from the ordinary Bahamanbird, the name of
strated."
this form would
He
listed
C. ricordii from
Cuba
and
"Abajo of the Bahamas"(= Abaco),apparently
the first reference
to Chlorostilbon elsewhere
in
then be Riccordia ricordii bracei"
(p. 544,footnote).Toddand Worthington(1911)
tentatively continued to segregatethe Baha-
the Bahamas.
man from Cuban birds under
Cory (1880) maintained C. braceias a distinct
speciesbut later listed it as a synonym of C.
ricordii with no comment (Cory 1886, 1889,
1890). Northrop (1891) reported C. ricordiias
viridis,and while quotinga communication
from
Riley to the effectthat the type of C. braceiwas
unique, they (1911:423) doubted that the specimen "is anything more than an abnormal
specimenof the ordinary Bahamanbird."
Cory (1918: 209) probably had the most in-
abundant on Andros, and additional records for
Abaco and Grand Bahamawere listed by Cory
(1891a,b), Ridgway (1891), and Salvin (1892).
Palmer and Riley (1902) recognizedC. bracei
as a valid speciesand differentiated the other
populationsof Chlorostilbon
in the Bahamasfrom
those of Cuba as a new species, "Riccordia"
aeneoviridis.Under this name Allen (1905: 127)
mentioned that the birds occurred commonly
the name aeneo-
fluence on the present systematicstatus of C.
bracei:"I have examined the type of S. bracei
Lawrence. The specimen is a mummy in poor
condition and apparently discolored(probably
by preservative)and in my opinion is a discolored specimenof the bird which occurscom-
on "Great Abaco, Little Abaco, and Great Ba-
monly on Andros and AbacoIslands.The fact
that no specimens of Riccordia[Chlorostilbon]
hama." Previously, however, Bonhote (1903:
have
293) had studied a seriesfrom Abaco and failed
dencewould suggestthat no race existsthere
since
been
recorded
from
New
Provi-
"to see the very smallestreasonfor separating and that the occurrenceof the type specimen
the Abaco bird" from those of Cuba. He intiof braceion that island (if the locality given is
mated
New
that
the occurrence
Providence
of Chlorostilbon
was fortuitous
because
on
it was
correct) was accidental."
Bond (1936) was the first to use the combi296
The Auk 104:296-302. April 1987
April 1987]
ExtinctHummingbird
297
nation Riccordiaricordiibraceito apply to all the
Bahamanpopulations,in the opinion that "the
unique type of bracei[was] a straggler to New
Providence" (p. 206, footnote). He continued
this treatment (Bond 1940: 15) and added fur-
ther doubt by listing the type locality of bracei
as "'New Providence,'but possiblyAndros or
Abaco."
With
the use of the combination
Chlo-
rostilbonricordiibraceifor all Bahamanpopulations by Bond (1945, 1956), who continued to
query the type locality, and by Peters (1945),
this concept of the systematicsof Bahaman
Chlorostilbonbecame fixed in the literature, and
the true nature of the type of C. braceihas been
overlooked
outlined.
since.
THE PROVENANCE OF THE HOLOTYPE OF
CHLOROSTILBON BRACEI
The geographicalorigins of the holotype of
C. braceihave been questionedby severalauthors.
Fig. 1. Present-dayislandsin the Bahamas.Banks
exposedduring glacialperiodsin the Pleistoceneare
To establish
the circumstances
of its ac-
quisition, we examined the correspondence
wings purplish, when closednearly reaching
to end of tail--tail, mostlyin sheaths,but those
grown out are of nearly equal width, the 2
centre rectrices& under vanes of others green-
ish, inner vanespurplishblack--crissum,grayish, the feathers edged with a faint tinge of
cinnamon, a few near anus with a spot of
from the collector,LewisJ. K. Brace,to Spencer green--on the flanksa pure white spotor rathF. Baird in the files of the Registrar,U.S. Na- er patch, tipped bright cinnamon."
tional Museum, and in the Archives of the
This detailedand sensitivedescriptionestabSmithsonian Institution. This correspondence lishesthat Bracewasawareof the greatsignifestablishesbeyond all doubt that the specimen icanceof his discoveryat the time. The descripwas taken on New Providence.
We were untion, down to the molting rectrices,matches
ableto learn moreaboutBrace,apartfrom what exactly the holotype of C. bracei.There can be
is evident in the Baird correspondenceand the no doubt that the bird was obtainedby Brace
indication that he probably lived on New on New Providenceon 13 July 1877.
Providence
at least until
1922.
In a letter to Baird from Nassau, Brace wrote
(16 July 1877):"the principal & most important
communication
I have to make is the fact that
I procured on the 13th inst., about 3 miles from
In a letter to Baird (23 October 1877) Brace
mentioned
"I rec d a communication
from
Mr.
G. N. Lawrenceby which I am glad to see the
Humming bird I wrote to you about, is proba-
bly a new species."On 18 March 1878, Brace
town, inland somewhat, a Humming bird, wrote: "About the Sporadinus--itis certainly
which, not having the descriptionsof them, I very singularI have not seenany other specihave to beg you to identify for me. I send it mens of the male. I have procured several feyou [sic] marked No. [left blank]. I also send, males& thosesitting & procuredfromthe nest
for what it may be worth, the following note [emphasisBrace's].I hope to send specimens
of its measurementsetc. made shortly after it soon to the Smiths." This was followed by a
was killed. Lgth 3 •A"e[xtent] 4 •A"wing 1 •A letter on 30 August 1878:"Sincereceiptof you
width of wing near body •%2"tail 1 1/•
2"culmen last of March 28th, sickness has cast its shadow
•1/•6"commissure •6" tarsus rm3/•2"--bill,with a aroundmy house--thusI apologizefor my long
very slight curve,conicallypointed, black:tarsi silence--I have forwarded by post to Mr. Lawblack--Above bronzed green with a golden rence,2 femalesof his Sporadinus,
one of which
sheen--head, like the backwithout the gold & I have beggedhim to forward to the Smithsonian."
a white spot immediately behind the eyes-gorget, unfortunately much injured, magnifiNo further specimens of Chlorostilbon
from
cent blue-green--beneath, green the feathers New Providence were received at the Smithtipped ash gray--about anus, a white bar-sonian (USNM) or at the American Museum of
298
GRAVES
ANDOLSON
[Auk,Vol.104
Fig. 2. Head and bill of male Chlorostilbon
ricordii(upper) and holotypeof C. bracei(lower) drawn to scale.
Feathersextendanteriorlyto the distalmarginof the nasalflangein C. bracei.Ink drawingby NancyA.
Payzant.
Natural History (AMNH), where most of Lawrence'scollectionwas deposited.However, we
found two female specimensof Philodiceevelynae(USNM 353320,collected29 January1878;
AMNH 46643, collected 13 March 1878) taken
by Braceon New Providence.Both specimens
formalin
or alcohol
on the reflectance
of hum-
mingbird feathershasnot been studiedin controlledexperiments.Fry (1985)found that green
plumage of bee-eatersbecame bluish-green
when
stored
in
70%
ethanol.
Postmortem
change has been recordedin gorget color of
were identified correctlyas Philodiceon tags hummingbird studyskinsnot subjectedto fluid
apparently prepared by Lawrence with the preservatives (Graves 1986). However, the
notation"Presentedby L. J.K. Brace.... "A por- plumage of Chlorostilbon
storedin 70% ethanol
tion of Brace'soriginal label is attached to at the National Museum (e.g.C. swainsonii
since
the AMNH specimen: "Sporadinus Bracei 1927,C. maugaeus
since1977;USNM) is identical
L[awrence], •, Nassau, N[ew Providence], shot in color,when air dried, to that of studyskins.
29/1/78." This indicates that the "Sporadinus" The arrangementof the wings, head, and tail
femalesmentioned by Bracein correspondence of the type and the texture of the plumageis
were referableto Philodice.
Thus,the type spec- consistentwith it being an air-dried preparaimen of C. braceiis the only known extant skin. tion of a freshly killed specimen.
The type of C. braceiwas describedpartly before and after preservationasa mummy.In refCHARACTERS AND VALIDITY OF
erenceto potentialeffectsof preservativefluids,
CHLOROSTILBON BRACEI
Brace's observation
that
the head
lacked
the
Plumagecolorand the possibility
of postmortem "golden sheen"of the backis important. In the
change.--Cory suspectedthat the plumage of formal description of C. bracei,prepared after
the type of C. braceimay have been discolored the specimenwas mummified, Lawrence (1877:
by preservatives.The effects of immersion in 50) noted the difference in crown and back col-
April 1987]
Extinct
Hummingbird
TABLE1. Measurements (mm) of selected characters
of male Chlorostilbon
ricordiiand the type of C. bracei.The first primary of both wings of the type of
C. braceiwas being replaced. Wing chord was measured from the tip of the secondprimary; culmen
length was measuredfrom the anterior edge of the
nasal flange. Values are rangesand means _+SD.
Wing
Culmen
299
TABLE2. Measurements(mm) of C. ricordiifrom Andros and fossil Chlorostilbon from New Providence.
Humerus
Ulna
Andros
USNM
USNM
USNM
USNM
553355
553485
553486
553488
•
•
•
9
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.3
5.1
5.0
4.9
4.7
C. ricordii
Abaco (n = 15)
49.9-52.5
13.5-15.7
50.9 _+ 0.81
14.8 _+ 0.55
Andros (n = 6)
47.2-49.1
48.5 _+ 0.66
15.2-15.8
15.5 -+ 0.26
Cuba (n = 17)
49.0-52.9
51.6 + 0.99
14.2-16.0
15.1 + 0.45
C. bracei
(USNM 71386)
New
Providence
USNM
USNM
283393
283394
4.2
4.7+
ricordiiare of the magnitude observedamong
,unequivocal
full species
in thegenus.The type
of C. braceihasa reddish-bronzebackand wing
Right 45.2
Left
17.3
44.2
or: "Crown and gorgetof a glittering pale green;
back, the two central and the next pair of tailfeathers,bronzed golden-green ... breast and
abdomendull bronzy green." Theseand other
early descriptionsof the type (Brace in litt.,
Lawrence 1877, Todd and Worthington 1911,
Cory 1918) are in general agreementwith the
appearanceof the specimentoday, and postmortem change,if any, hasbeen slight.
Comparison
of C. bracei andC. ricordii.--The
type of C. braceiis unquestionablymale (Chlorostilbon
are highly sexuallydichromatic).Chlorostilbonbraceihas a significantly shorter wing
but a longer bill (two-tailed t-test, P < 0.0001)
than males of the Bahaman and Cuban populations of C. ricordii (Table 1). The tail of the
type of C. braceiis in molt. The lower mandible
of C. braceiis entirely dark. A small percentage
of male C. ricordii have dark lower mandibles;
the majorityhavelower mandiblesthat are pale
basally(number of maleshaving a dark lower
mandible: Bahamas, 0 of 38; Cuba, 1 of 79). A
characteristicof C. braceinot noted previously
is the forward extension of feathering past the
anterior edge of the nasal flange (Fig. 2). In a
large seriesof C. ricordii(USNM, males,n = 81;
coverts that contrastwith the bronze green of
the crown, hindneck, rump, and central rectrices.The back,wing coverts,rump, and hindneck of C. ricordiiare concolorousbronze green.
From a ventral perspective,the differencesare
more striking. When viewed in direct light, the
gorget of C. braceiis pale green, with silvery
bluish or oily green reflections, depending on
the angle of reflection, instead of rich golden
green as in C. ricordii.Although the center of
the gorget of the type of C. braceiis rumpled,
the glittering feathersof the chin are smooth
and
are of the
same color
as the
lateral
and
posteriorgorget feathers.When viewed headon in direct light, the brilliant reflectanceof
the gorget of C. ricordiiextendsposteriorly to
the lower breast;the breastand belly are of the
samecolor as the gorget and only slightly less
glittering. In C. braceithe pale green brilliance
of the gorgetendson the upper breastand contrastswith the bronzy green breastand belly,
the feathersof which have extensivepale gray
bases and narrow gray borders. The feather
basesof male C. ricordiiare dark gray. The undertail
coverts of male C. ricordii are white
and
nearly immaculate;those of C. braceiare pale
gray with buffy white borders.The tail of the
type of C. bracei,which was being replaced,resembles
that
of C. ricordii and C. swainsonii of
Hispanolain having bronzy green centralrectrices(thoseof C. maugaeus
are blue black, like
females, n = 34) the feathering extends forward, without exception,only to the posterior the other rectrices).
one- to two-thirdsof the nasalflange,which is
In summary, Chlorostilbon
braceiis a smaller
also more inflated than in C. bracei. The nasal
bird, with a longer bill, and plumage that is
featheringof otherWestIndian Chlorostilbon
(C. distinctlydifferent from C. ricordii.On this bamaugaeus,
n = 42; C. swainsonii,
n = 16) is some- sis C. braceimust be regarded as a valid species
what intermediate in this respect.
known from a single specimen from New
Plumagedifferencesbetween C. braceiand C. Providence and now presumed extinct.
300
GRAVES
AND
OLSON
[Auk,Vol.104
evidence demonstrates that a small Chlorostilbon
was present on New Providence in the Pleis-
tocene,which further supportsour contention
that C. bracei was resident on New
A
B
C
Providence
and not a vagrant.
Status of Chlorostilbon ricordii aeneoviridis.--Geographicvariationamongisland populationsof C. ricordiiis minor.Palmerand Riley
(1902) comparedpopulationsfrom Cuba and
Abacoand distinguishedthe latter asa separate
species, Ricordia aeneoviridis:"The bird from
Abacois of a more copperygreen both above
Fig. 3. Left humeriof hummingbirds
compared: and below than the bird from Cuba. In the
(A) Philodice
evelynae;
(B) Pleistocenefossilfrom New Abaco bird the bill is slenderer, the fork of the
Providenceprobablyreferableto Chlorostilbon
bracei;
(C) C. ricordiifrom Andros. Arrows indicate the areas
of majorapparentdifferencesbetweenthe fossiland
C. ricordii;e = ectepicondylarprocess,v = ventral
tail lesspronounced,and the middle tail feath-
ers broader than in Cuban birds; also the tail
of ricordiiis not copperybronzeasin the Abaco
tubercle.Scalein mm.Photograph
byVictorE.Krantz, birds." Bonhote (1903) noted that the middle
rectricesof the Abacospecimenswere slightly
broaderand the tail more copperybronzethan
in Cuban specimensbut that the differences
Fossil
record
ofChlorostilbon
bracei.--Thepa- did not seemto be consistentat the subspecific
leontological record substantiatesthe occur- level. In a largeseriesof specimensfrom Abaco
Smithsonian
Institution.
rence of Chlorostilbon on New Providence. Sev(including the type of aeneoviridis),Andros,
eral specimensof Trochilidae were obtained Grand Bahama, and Cuba we found that differ-
from a Pleistocene
sink depositon New Prov- encesbetweenpopulationsin the lengthof the
idence (Olson and Hilgartner 1982). Two of tail fork, rectrixwidth, and plumagecolorare
these, a humerus and an ulna, were referred to subsumedby intrapopulationalvariation. We
Chlorostilbon
ricordii,
asthey were similarin size considerthe Cubanand Bahamanpopulations
to that speciesand markedly different from of Chlorostilbon
to be monotypicand thusplace
Philodice
evelynae,
the only otherhummingbird Ricordiaaeneoviridis
Palmerand Riley, 1902,in
expectedon New Providence. With the discovery of the distinctivenessof C. bracei,we compared these specimenswith four skeletonsof
the synonomyof C. ricordii(Gervais, 1835).
DISCUSSION
Chlorostilbon ricordii from Andros.
The fossilhumerusis slightly smallerthan
any of the modern series,while the fossilulna
is near the minimum size of C. ricordii(Table
It is curiousthat Bracewas the only person
to have
encountered
Chlorostilbon
on New
Providence.Bryant (1859) failed to find it dur2). Because
of the smallsamplesize,the differ- ing a 4-month stay20 yr earlier. Bracewrote to
ence is not significant, but the smaller size of Baird(26 January1879)that "Prof.Cory of Bosthe fossils correlate well with the smaller size ton [was]returning to your city by this steamer
of the type of C. bracei.
after some5 weeksstay[in the Bahamas]
with
There are also some qualitativedifferences very good resultshe informsme." One may
between the fossil humerus and those of C. riimaginethat Bracetold Cory exactlywhere the
cordii(Fig. 3). The ectepicondylarprocessin
C.bracei
ispracticallyperpendicularto the shaft,
whereasin C.ricordii
it isangledstronglyproximally;andtheventraltubercle
isdecidedly
more
gracileand doesnot slopeasstronglydistally.
If these differences are consistent, the fossil
Chlorostilbonfrom New Providence could be re-
garded as specificallydistinct from C. ricordii
and tentatively referred to C. braceœ
The fossil
typeof C.bracei
wasobtained,yet neitherCory
nor any subsequent collector obtained the
specieson New Providence.A smallpopulation
of C. braceiapparentlysurvivedundetectedin
the impenetrable
coppicesurrounding
the town
of Nassauuntil Brace'sdiscoveryin 1877,but
disappearedsoon afterwards. The causeof its
extinction
is not dear.
Changes in dimate since the Wisconsinan
April 1987]
ExtinctHummingbird
301
glaciationhave been postulatedasa majorcause Graveswaspartly supportedby a grant from the Reof vertebrate
extinction
in
the
Bahamas
and
elsewherein the West Indies (Pregill and Olson 1981, Olson 1982). Fossils of an undeter-
searchOpportunities Fund of the Smithsonian Institution. We thank Richard L. Zusi for long hours of
discussion.
mined hummingbird speciesfrom New Providence exceeded both Chlorostilbon and Philodice
LITERATURE CITED
in size (Olson and Hilgartner 1982). These
specimensrepresent a speciesthat is also ex-
tinct in the Bahamas.The paleontologicalevidencesuggestsNew Providencemay have had
as many as three contemporaneous
speciesof
hummingbirds.Whatever precipitatedthe extinction of C. braceiand the larger humming-
ALLEN, G. M.
1905. Summer birds in the Bahamas.
Auk 22: 113-133.
BOND, J. 1936. Birds of the West Indies. Philadel-
phia, Academyof Natural Sciences.
ß 1940.
Check-list
of birds of the West Indies.
Philadelphia,Academyof Natural Sciences.
bird evidently had no noticeableeffect on Philodice evelynae, which has been variously
describedover the past125yr as"common"or
Philadelphia,Academyof Natural Sciences.
"abundant"on New Providence.Althoughhu-
Philadelphia, Academyof Natural Sciences.
man disturbance
could
have been a factor
in
the extinction of C. bracei, the last remnant of
the speciessurvivedon the mostpopulousisland of the archipelago.
During the last glacial period, New Providencewas part of a much larger island that is
now the Great Bahama Bank. There is no rea-
ß 1945.
ß 1956.
endemic
that
arose on New
of birds of the West Indies.
the northern islandsof the Bahamagroup. Ibis
set. 8, 3: 273-315.
BRYANT, H. 1859. A list of birds seen at the Baha-
mas,from Jan.20, to May 14, 1859,with descriptions of new or little known species.BostonNat.
Hist.
Soc. Proc. 7: 1-32.
CORY, C. B. 1880. Birds of the Bahama Islands. Bos-
ton, publishedby the author.
ß 1886. The birds of the West Indies, includ-
Provi-
ing the BahamaIslands,the GreaterAntilles, exceptingthe islandsof Tobagoand Trinidad. Auk
dence. Fossilsof it may be expectedon other
islandsof the GreatBahamaBank,and perhaps
3: 337-381.
elsewherein the Bahamas.During interglacial
1889. The birds of the West Indies. Boston,
periods of the Pleistocenethe Bahamaswould
have been inundatedto varying degrees,and
Check-list
of birds of the West Indies.
BONHOTE,J. L. 1903. On a collection of birds from
son to postulate that C. braceiwas an autochthonous
Check-list
Estes & Lauriat.
--.
1890. Birds of the Bahama Islands, revised
during the maximum rise in sea level would
ed. Boston, Estes & Lauriat.
have existed as a few small, scattered islets.
1891a. List of the birds collectedby C. L.
Winch in the CaicosIslandsand Inagua, Bahamas, during Januaryand February, and Abaco,
Therefore,mostof the apparentlyendemicelements in the fauna are probably relicts of
speciesthat were distributedwidely in the West
Indies in the past. For example, the Bahama
Mockingbird (Mimusgundlachii),
which today
occursoutsidethe Bahamasonly in a small,arid
portion of Jamaica,is known from Pleistocene
fossils in Puerto Rico (Olson 1985).
Although Chlorostilbonbraceiremains an
enigmatic bird, it should be restored as a full
speciesand taken into accountin analysesof
speciationand biogeographyof West Indian
in March
S. Winch
on the islands of Great Bahama
and
Abaco, Bahama Islands, during June, and on
Eleutherain July, 1891.Auk 8: 350-351.
1918. Catalogue of birds of the Americas,
part 2, no. I. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Zool. Set. 13:
1-313.
ELLIOT,
D.G. 1878. A classification
and synopsisof
the Trochilidae.
Smithsonian
Contrib.
Know. 317:
1-277.
FRY, C.H.
birds.
1891. Auk 8: 296-298.
1891b. List of the birds obtainedby Mr. C.
1985. The effect of alcohol immersion on
the plumage coloursof bee-eaters.Bull. Brit. OrACKNOWLEDGMENTS
nithol.
Club
105: 78-79.
GRAVES,
G. R. 1986. Systematicsof the gorgeted
We thank the curatorsand staffof the Academyof
woodstars (Trochilidae: Acestrura).Proc. Biol. Soc.
Natural Sciencesof Philadelphia, American Museum
Washington 99: 218-224.
of Natural History, Field Museum of Natural Histo- LAWRENCE,
G.N. 1877. Descriptionsof new species
of birds of the families Trochilidae and Tetraonry, and National Museum of Natural History (USNM)
idae. Ann. New York Acad. Sci. 1: 50-52.
for loaning specimensand for the use of collections.
302
GR•VES
ANDOLSON
NORTHROP,J. T. 1891. The birds of Andros Island,
Bahamas. Auk 8: 64-80.
Contrib.
Paleobiol.
48.
ß 1985. Pleistocene birds of Puerto Rico. Natl.
Geogr.Res.Rept. 1977Projects18: 563-566.
ß& W. B. HILGARTNER.1982. Fossil and subfossil birds from the Bahamas. Smithsonian
Paleobiol. 48: 22-56.
Contrib.
PALMER,W., & J. H. RILEYß1902. Descriptionsof
three
new
birds
from
of West Indian
vertebrates
in relation
to Pleis-
tocene climatic cyclesßAnn. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 12:
OLSON,S. L. (Ed.) 1982. Fossil vertebrates from the
Bahamas. Smithsonian
[Auk, Vol. 104
Cuba
and
the
Bahamas.
Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 15: 33-34.
PETERS,
J.L. 1945. Check-list of birds of the world,
vol. 5. CambridgeßMassachusettsß
Harvard Univ.
Press.
PREGILL,
G. K., & S. L. OLSONß1981. Zoogeography
75-98.
RIDGWAY, R. 1891. List of birds collected on the Ba-
hama Islandsby the naturalistsof the Fish Commission
steamer
1911.
Albatrossß Auk 8: 333-339ß
The birds of North
and Middle
Amer-
icaßpart 5. Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus. 50.
RILEYß
J.H. 1905. List of birds collected or observed
during the Bahamas Expedition of the Geographic Societyof Baltimore.Auk 22: 349-360ß
SALVIN,O. 1892. Catalogueof the birds in the British Museum, vol. 16.
TODD, W. E. C., & W. W. WORTHINGTONß 1911.
A
contribution to the ornithology of the Bahamas
IslandsßAnn. Carnegie Mus. 7: 388-464ß
The StandingCommitteeon OrnithologicalNomenclatureof the InternationalOrnithologicalCommittee
hasprepareda list of establishednamesof avian family-group taxa(subtribesto superfamilies)
and their
synonymsas the first step in the processof writing an applicationto the International Commissionon
Zoological Nomenclature to stabilize the use of these names.The SCON wishes to obtain input from all
interestedornithologistsand zoologistson this list of avian family-group namesand its proposedapplication
to the ICZN. The list is available to interestedornithologistsand zoologistswho are willing to examine it
carefullyand provide the SCON with corrections,additionsßcomments,and suggestions.
This list of avian
family-group namesis unofficial and should not be used for any purposesother than that just mentioned.
Copiesof the list may be obtainedby writing to ProfessorWalter J. Bock,ChairpersonSCON, Department
of BiologicalSciences,Columbia University, New York, NY 10026USA.