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WHAT IS AZARA’S (1805) No. 193 SUIRIRI PARDO AMARILLO MENOR?

DOI ® 10.5281/zenodo.4601227 HOLOTIPUS ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS Published on 26 March 2021 Smith, P. 2021. Holotipus rivista di zoologia sistematica e tassonomia II (1) 2021: 3-10

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03 February 2021 / Accepted on 02 MarchResearch 2021 / Article Published on 26 March 2021

What is Azara’s (1805) No. 193 Suiriri pardo amarillo menor? Paul Smith1,2

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B9278B33-4247-4B02-98A5-3BBFE4A35D4B 10.5281/zenodo.4601227

1 FAUNA Paraguay, Encarnación, Dpto. Itapúa, Paraguay. www.faunaparaguay.com. Contact email: [email protected].

2 Para La Tierra, Centro IDEAL, Mariscal Estigarribia 321 c/ Tte. Capurro, Pilar, Dpto. Ñeembucú, Abstract.Paraguay. www.paralatierra.org. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8758-4816.

Indeed, during the 19th Century it was usually associated with species in the genus Myiarchus, despite the cup nestDespite description being well-described, provided being Azara’s incompatible No. 193 withSuiriri that pardo genus. amarillo In the menor early 20th has neverCentury been it became conclusively associated identified. with Elaenia obscura, and that has not been seriously questioned since. However, Paraguayan populations formerly attributed to E. obscura are now known as E. sordida, a species that is rare in Paraguay and incompatible with the E. spectabilis (Pelzeln, 1868), a common species in Paraguay, and this error of understanding is responsible for many early 20th Century Paraguayanoriginal description. reports of In E. this obscura paper. Azara’sI argue descriptionthat the true predates identity theof No. type 193 description is Large Elaenia of E. spectabilis by 63 years.

Key words. Elaenia flavogaster; Elaenia sordida; Elaenia spectabilis; Large Elaenia; Myiarchus ferox.

Published in three tomes “Apuntamientos para la over half of his species proving to be new to science historia natural de los páxaros del Paraguay y Río de la at the time. As a result, Azara’s true contribution to Plata” (1802-1805) by Félix de Azara (1742-1821) was ornithology is often overlooked. Azara’s life and work an early to attempt to document the South American is documented by Contreras (2010). avifauna. Azara’s detailed descriptions, punctuated with ecological observations and incorporating Azara’s work has been reviewed by several authors indigenous knowledge, indicated a meticulous and (Sonnini in Azara 1809; Hartlaub 1847; Burmeister careful approach, despite his lack of formal biological 1861; Berlepsch 1887; Bertoni 1901; Laubmann training. In total he documented 448 species, 1939; Pereyra 1945), but areas of disagreement which were ordered into “families” based on their persist and some descriptions have never been morphological characteristics and to which he applied common names. His failure to apply Linnean names to 193 Suiriri pardo amarillo menor, which he describes conclusivelyas follows (my identified. translation, One original such speciestext in appendix). is his No. Europe, academics clamoured to claim “authorship” of his species meant that when his work finally reached (=25.4 mm) and lines (=2.21 mm): Cover photo: Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Naturalis-Zoology and Geology catalogues, RMNH.AVES.68680. Note that Azara’s measurements are given in inches Accessible at https://data.biodiversitydata.nl/naturalis/specimen/RMNH.AVES.68680. his species by applying scientific names to them, with

4 HOLOTIPUS ARTICLE HOLOTIPUS ARTICLE 5 WHAT IS AZARA’S (1805) No. 193 SUIRIRI PARDO AMARILLO MENOR? NUM CXCIII “Cet oiseau, aux dimensions près, est le même Laubmann (1939), correctly recognized the genus, Short-crested Flycatcher (ie. black, sometimes with DEL PARDO AMARILLO MENOR que le petit tyran de Cayenne, Buffon, tom. viii, pag. but he opted for Elaenia obscura obscura pinkish tinge to the base of the lower-mandible), but 405.—Muscicapa ferox, var. Linn. syst. nat. gen. 113, & Lafresnaye, 1837) (almost certainly fide Bertoni much shorter. In combination with the measurements, “I have had several identical in Paraguay, because sp. 32.—Latham, syst. ornith. gen. 40, sp. 72. Au reste, 1907), and the same conclusion was repeated (d’Orbigny by the lack of a mention of white in the crown and the they show no sexual dimorphism. Its customs are like il y a tant de ressemblance entre ces tyrans, grands Pereyra (1945). However, given that that taxon does nest description, these characteristics are diagnostic et petits, de Cayenne et du midi de l’Amérique , que not occur in Paraguay (Rheindt et al. 2008, Tang et in Paraguay for the Large Elaenia nest with two chicks, which left the nest on the fourth l’on ne peut qu’adopter l’opinion de Buffon, qui les al. 2018) and Azara reported having several identical day,the following although thespecies. tail had On barely the 5 ofemerged. January Three I bought days a donnés comme des variétés de la même espèce”. individuals, the identity of this description is worthy There is also considerable circumstantial evidence of a closer look. the commonest Paraguayan Elaenia (at least during laterto the they ground flew veryand remainedlittle; and twosuddenly days after crippled, that one or Six species of Elaenia theto support summer this months), conclusion. mention Despite of the being Large arguably Elaenia attempted a long flight but, crashing into the wall, fell “This(My bird,translation) to the closest dimensions, is the same as the Paraguay 2004, Smith & Clay in press), three was omitted entirely from the works of Bertoni, the feathers of the other one that was somewhat smaller, petit tyran de Cayenne, Buffon, tom. viii, pag. 405.— “large” species (E. spectabilis occur, E.in flavogaster Paraguay (Guyra and E. althoughunable to usethey its later legs; attained for this reasonthe same I cut size. the flightThey var. Linn. syst. nat. gen. 113, sp. 32.— sordida) and three “small” species (E. parvirostris, during the early 20th Century, whilst Elaenia obscura happily ate pieces of raw meat and they begged for it Latham, syst. ornith. gen. 40, sp. 72. Besides, there is E. chiriquensis and E. albiceps chilensis). From the (=mostsordida significant) was referencedornithologist on working repeated in occasions Paraguay frequently, cheeping melancholically. Their plumage Muscicapaso much similarity ferox, between these tyrants of Cayenne measurements provided it is clear that this bird is one (Bertoni 1907, 1914, 1922, 1939). Bertoni repeatedly does not differ from that of their parents, apart from and South America, both great and small, that we have of the “large” species. Comparative measurements for cited Azara throughout his career, indicating that it being a little darker above , and that the yellow below no recourse but to adopt the opinion of Buffon, who all are provided in Table 1. was a key reference to him, especially in his early is somewhat paler. When they brought them to me considers them all varieties of the same species”. years. Bertoni’s references to “E. obscura” include the they did not have the crest ; but they took on this The species that most closely approaches the claimed rediscovery of the species in Paraguay where Sonnini (in Azara 1809) was the French translator measurements provided by Azara (1805) is the Large and annotator of Azara’s work, and at times was Elaenia E. spectabilis (note that the bill measurements wascharacteristic very shallow after and they made began of scarce to fly. materials.The nest is The so presumptuously dismissive of its contents. Indeed, are not compared here because of the non-standard eggshe specifically as 24 x 16 states mm. These that he measurements believed his bird correspond to be the small that they fitted into it with difficulty; and it he attempted repeatedly (and as often as not measurement technique employed by Azara). This tosame published as Azara measurements No. 193 and provided for Large measurements Elaenia (de ofla seem like hairs and a few mane bristles , with the rest erroneously) to associate Azara’s descriptions with is also the species that most closely resembles the Peña 2010), with Bertoni (1907) himself noting that consistingbase was little of moss, more a than few barbsspider and webs plant and fibres the same that known species, and frequently rejected Azara’s Short-crested Flycatcher (with which Azara compares they were larger than the published measurements first hand conclusions in favour of second hand it) and the species to which Azara’s description most available to him for E. sordida (21-22 x 15-16 mm) had been located on a trunk or horizontal branch of assumptions by French zoologists, despite never applies. Below I discuss the three species separately: (Ihering 1900). Bertoni (1922) reports the species fibres.one inch The thickness. clues from It is the not underside off topic to indicated mention that that it I having seen the birds in question. have also observed chicks of other birds that, as soon Yellow-bellied Elaenia E. flavogaster: This is a Asunción, where Large Elaenia is to this day a common as they touch the cold earth after leaving the nest, This contributed to a rather dim view of Azara’s fromspecies, the but Parque Small-headed Municipal Elaenia in the has capital never city been of scholarly efforts in French society at the time, which Smith & Clay in press). The species is distinguished commonfrom other species large in Paraguayan Paraguay (Guyra Elaenias Paraguay by the 2004, long, Yellow-bellied Elaenia E. flavogaster is referred to in findLength themselves 7 inches: suddenly tail 3: crippled,wingspan or 11. a few The days colours later. the perspicacity of the original author. Sonnini’s untidy crest, two yellowish wing-bars and the thesubsequently work of Bertoni been underrecorded. the synonyms On the other E. pagana hand, are those of the following (Short-crested Flycatcher flippantpersisted conclusion until the voyages can be of rejected d’Orbigny easily, confirmed firstly extensively pinkish yellow mandible. It generally (Bertoni 1901), E. martinica flavogaster (Bertoni Myiarchus ferox), with no other difference other than shows some white in the crown (Smith et al. 2017). 1914) and E. f. flavogaster (Bertoni 1939), providing not having white edges to the outermost feather of ability to tell such species apart, but also because the strong evidence that Bertoni at least did not see that the tail , nor those of the secondaries; and that the descriptionbecause he seems of the to nest have clearly little confidence suggests these in his birds own Small-headed Elaenia E. sordida: This is an uncommon species in the description of Azara. three sets of wing coverts have the tips notably whiter. were in the genus Elaenia, and cannot be Myiarchus So that this bird is not confused with the following (which are cavity nesters) (Lanyon 1978, de la Peña Clay in press). The species is distinguished from other I add: that the head of the current bird is notably 2010). largespecies Paraguayan in Paraguay Elaenias (Guyra by Paraguay the small, 2004, rounded Smith head & Large Elaenia E. spectabilis (Pelzeln, 1868). To my more rounded, and the feathers of the crown are (i.e. it lacks a crest), two white wing-bars and the dull I conclude that the true identity of No. 193 is Sonnini apparently also failed to convince other ventral colouration with pale yellow restricted to the detect, that it may be said that it does not have any. researchers of the time. Hartlaub (1847) noted lower abdomen. Lacks white in the crown (Smith et Azara’sknowledge description no scientific predates names that were of Pelzeln based (1868) upon Thesomewhat hook of longer. the bill The is almost vibrissae invisible; are so and difficult in length to that the identity of the description “was not certain”, al. 2017). Azara’sby over No.half 193a century. Suiriri pardo amarillo menor, but whilst Bertoni (1901) omitted mention entirely that it can be inferred that its volume is not even a and Berlespch (1887) proposed “Contopus Large Elaenia E. spectabilis: This is a common species Acknowledgements itthird is 4 of1/2 the lines following: , height mouth 2 escasas, lining and yellow: width leg 3 , 14so lines: tarsus 10, black, and more robust than in the were Sclater & Salvin (1869) who considered?” with the a press). The species is distinguished from other large Biodiversity Heritage Library made some of the, descriptionquery. The first to authors refer to settle Swainson’s on a specific Flycatcher identity Paraguayanin Paraguay Elaenias(Guyra Paraguay by the short, 2004, neat Smith crest, & Clay three in once hard to find, literature cited here available made in the presence of both.” Myiarchus swainsoni, but this falls foul of the same yellowish wing-bars and the shortish bill with a mostly aforementioned: mid-toe 6 1/3. This comparison was ecological error as Sonnini and bears little resemblance dark mandible. Usually shows either no white in the Previous reviewers of Azara’s work have struggled otherwise to the description. crown, or only a slight trace of it (Smith et al. 2017). reviewersfor download. for suggestions The author tois gratefulimprove to the the quality PRONII of to agree on an identity for this description. Sonnini Programthis manuscript. of CONACyT Paraguay and anonymous peer (in Azara 1809) was rather too quick to dismiss the pale-tipped coverts (wing-bars), a somewhat rounded Declaration of conflicting interests Suiriri pardo amarillo mayor, expressing limited headAzara with (1805) long specifically feathers (ie. mentions a crest three that rowscan be of descriptionunderstanding as the of thesame true as diversityAzara’s (1805) of Tyrannidae No. 194 lowered) and a bill that is similar in colour to that of by stating: The author declares no conflicting interests. 6 HOLOTIPUS ARTICLE HOLOTIPUS ARTICLE 7 Smith, P. 2021. Holotipus rivista di zoologia sistematica e tassonomia II (1) 2021: 3-10

Table 1 References Lista comentada de las Comparative measurements for the “large” Paraguayan Elaenias, Short-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus ferox) and aves de Paraguay Azara, F. de (1805) Apuntamientos para la Historia Guyra Paraguay. (2004) Natural de los Páxaros del Paraguay y Río de la Plata. 200 pp. /Annotated checklist of the birds of Azara’s Nos. 193 and 194. Measurements are based on my own field measurements of Paraguayan birds unless Tomo 2 Paraguay. Guyra Paraguay, Asunción, Paraguay. a reference is provided, and sexes are combined (as the sex of his birds was not clarified by Azara). 562 pp. Systematischer Index Measurements have been converted from inches and lines used by Azara into millimetres. . Imprenta de la Viuda de Barra, Madrid, Spain. zu Don Félix du Azara´s Apuntamientos para la Azara, F. de (1809) Voyages dans l’Amérique HistoriaHartlaub, Natural C.J.G. de (1847) los Páxaros del Paraguay y Río Méridionale. Oiseaux. Vol. 3. de la Plata. Schünemann, Bremen. 479 pp. 29 pp. FLYCATCHER Dentu, Paris, France. NO 193 YELLOW- ElaeniaLARGE SMALL- NO 194 SHORT-CRESTEDMyiarchus ferox Berlepsch, H. von (1887) Appendix. Ihering, H. von. (1900) Catalogo critico- PARDO BELLIED ELAENIA HEADED PARDO Elaenia f. spectabilis Elaenia australis comparativo dos ninhos e ovos das aves do Brasil. AMARILLO flavogasterELAENIA (n=3) ELAENIAsordida AMARILLO (n=1) Revista do Museu Paulista, 4: 191-300. MENOR (n=6) MAYOR JournalSystematisches für Ornithologie Verzeichniss, 35: 113–134. in der Republik Paraguay bisher beo bachteten Vogelarten. Lanyon, W.E. (1978) Revision of the Bertoni, A. de W. (1901) Aves nuevas del Myiarchus flycatchers of South America. Paraguay. Continuación a Azara. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 161: 429-627. Anales Científicos Paraguayos, 1: 1-216. Laubmann, A (1939) Die Vögel von Paraguay. Band Total 178 147-160 170-176 180-200 190.5 190 Bertoni, A. de W. (1907) Segunda contribución a la 1 Length (del Hoyo 246 pp. et al. 2020) Revista del Instituto Paraguayo, 1906: 298-309. . Strecker und Schröder Verlag, Stuttgart. ornitologia Paraguaya. Nuevas especies Paraguayas. Pelzeln, A. von. 1868-1870 (1871). Zur ornithologie Tail 76.2 66-70 72-81 75-91 82.6 77-94 Bertoni, A. de W. (1914) Fauna Paraguaya. Brasiliens. Resultate von Johann Natterers reisen in den (Lanyon 1978) 1941) Catálogos sistemáticos de los vertebrados del jahren 1817 bis 1835. Pichler Witwe & Sohn, Wien. (Zimmer Paraguay 462 pp. 86 pp. Tarsus 22.1 20-23 20-23 21 24.3 23 . M. Brossa, Asunción, Paraguay. La obra ornitológica de Don 1941) Bertoni, A. de W. (1922) Aves observadas en el Parque y Félix de Azara. Biblioteca Americana, Buenos Aires. Pereyra, J.A. (1945) (Zimmer 163 pp. Revista de la Sociedad Científica del Paraguay, 1(3): 40-42. 14 10-12 10-12 15.5 12 Museo Municipal de Asunción ex “Quinta Caballero” 1920-1921.

Mid-toe N/A Bertoni, A. de W. (1939) Catálogos sistemáticos de los vertebrados del Paraguay. Rheindt, F.E., Christidis, L. & Norman, J.A. (2008) Revista de la Sociedad Científica del Paraguay, 4: 3-60. BMCHabitat Evolutionary shifts in the Biology evolutionary, 8(193): history 1-16 of a Neotropical flycatcher lineage from forest and open landscapes. Burmeister, H. (1861) Reise durch die La Plata- Staaten mit besonderer Rücksicht auf die physische birds collected at Conchitas Argentine Republic by Beschaffenheit und den Culturzustand der Argentinischen Sclater, P.L. & Salvin, O. (1869) Second list of Republik, Zweiter Band. HW Schmidt, Halle. upon another collection from the same locality. 503 pp. ProceedingsMr. William of H. the Hudson; Zoological together Society of with London some, 37: 158-162.notes

Félix de Azara. Su Vida y su Smith, P. & Clay, R.P. (In press) The Birds Época. Tomo 2 of Paraguay: An Annotated Checklist. British 466Contreras, pp. J.R. (2010) . Calidad Gráfica, Zaragoza, Spain. Guía de nidos de aves Ornithologists Club, Tring, UK. Guía de del Paraguay campo de las aves de San Rafael. Pro Cosara, Hohenau. 694de pp. la Peña, M. R. (2010) 250Smith, pp. P., Güller, R.M. & del Castillo, H. (2017) . Guyra Paraguay, Asunción.

(2020). Small-headed Elaenia (Elaenia sordida), Rapid diversification and hybridization have del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, and G. M. Kirwan shapedTang, theQ., Edwards, dynamic historyS.V. & Rheindt, of the genus F.E. (2018) Elaenia . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 127: 522-533. version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, Elaenia and Myiopagis. USA. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2173/bow. AmericanZimmer, Museum J.T. (1941) of Natural Studies History of PeruvianNovitates, 1108:birds 1-24. higela3.01 (Date of access 15 September 2020). No.36. The genera 8 HOLOTIPUS ARTICLE HOLOTIPUS ARTICLE 9 Appendix: Azara’s (1805) original Spanish text.

NUM CXCIII HeDEL tenido PARDO bastantes AMARILLO idénticos MENOR en el Paraguay, porque no conoce diferencia sexual. Sus costumbres son las del siguiente. El 5 de enero compré un nido con dos pollos, que al quarto dia salían del nido, aunque apenas apuntaba la cola. Tres dias después volaron muy poco; y á otros dos dio el uno un vuelo grande, y tropezando con la pared, cayó en el suelo, y quedó repentinamente tullido ó sin juego en las piernas; por cuyo motivo corté los remos al otro que era algo menor , aunque se igualaron luego. Comían bien pedacitos de carne cruda, y la pedían con freqüencia piando melancólicamente. Su vestido no difería del de los padres, sino en ser algo mas obscuro encima , y que lo amarillo de abaxo era algo mas

amontonada; pero tomaron esta insignia luego que apagado. Quando los traxéron no tenían la cabeza cabían; y tenia muy poca profundidad y escasez volaron.de materiales. El nido Elera colchón tan pequeño se reducia , que con á barbitas dificultad y

reduciéndose el resto á musgo, pocas telas de araña, y fibras de plantas qué parecen pelos y pocas crines, que estuvo sobre un tronco ó rama horizontal del dichas fibras. La señal que se conocía debaxo indicaba que también he observado en pollos de otros páxaros, quegrueso luego de queuna tocanpulgada. con No el tarsoes fuera la frialdad del caso del advertir, suelo al salir del nido, quedan tullidos repentinamente ó pocos dias después.

Longitud 7 pulgadas: cola 3: braza 11. Los colores son los del siguiente, sin mas diferencia que no ser blancas las bordas de la pluma externa de la cola, ni la de los remos en los trozos internos; y la de que los tres órdenes mayores de cobijas tienen la puntita notablemente mas blanquizca. Para que no se confunda este páxaro con el que sigue añado: que la cabeza del presente es notablemente mas redonda, y la pluma sobre ella mas larguita. Los bigotes se notan tan poco, que puede decirse que no los tiene. El gancho del pico es casi insensible; y siendo largo

que su volumen no es el tercio que el del siguiente: 4boca 1/2 amarilla: líneas, alto pierna 2 escasas, 14 líneas: y tarsoancho 10, 3, negrizco, se infiere y

comparación se hizo en presencia de los dos. mas fuerte que en el dicho: dedo medio 6 1/3. Esta

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