310 



AVIFAUNA OF LAYSAX, ETC. 



HEMIGNATHUS ELLISIANUS, Gray. 

 Antea, Pt. II. p. 87 (1893) ; Hartl. Abh. wiss. Ver. Bremen, xiv. p. 29 (1895). 



Hemignathus lichtensteini, Scott Wilson & Evans, Aves Hawaii, pt. v. (text, and plate from the type in Berlin) 



I had hoped that my acceptance of Gray's name ellisianus for the extinct Oahu species 

 would be followed by everybody, as it was by llartlaub (I. c). Mr. Wilson, however, 

 attempts to show that Drepanis (Hemignathus) ellisianus, Gray, should be quoted as a 

 synonym of Hemignathus obscurus, Gm. This is clearly erroneous. Gray, in his Cat. B. 

 Trop. Isl. Pacific Ocean, p. 9, gives as a first quotation in the synonymy of his ellisianus 

 •* Vieillot, Ois. Dor. tab. 53," which Mr. Wilson correctly places as a synonym of II. obscurus, 

 but Mr.* Wilson omits the fact that Gray quotes it with a query. This being the case, that 

 quotation must be cast aside in determining the priority and meaning of the name ellisianus. 

 The first quotation without a query is Gray's second one, " Lichtenstein, Abh. k. Akad. 

 Berlin, 1838, p. 449, tab. v. fig. 1." 



Gray must have clearly perceived that the description and figure of Lichtenstein referred to 

 a bird different from the one described by Latham which formed the basis of Gmelin's " Certhia 

 obscura." Lichtenstein's description and figure being fairly good, Gray considered Liechten- 

 stein's bird as diagnosed and named it (*. e. the H. obscurus, Lichtenstein, non Linnyeus) in 

 honour of Ellis. Gray then quotes also Ellis's unpublished drawing of a Hemignathus which, 

 as Mr. Wilson correctly says, is unquestionably II. obscurus, but it does not affect a name, if 

 subsequently (in another line) wrong quotations are added to the synonymy. If this were 

 the case there would be many names to be altered in zoology. Gray also quotes Cassin in 

 his synonymy of I), ellisianus, but this also alter referring to Lichtenstein, so that this 

 cannot affect the name ellisianus either. It is quite true, as Mr. Wilson says, that Gray 

 never saw a specimen of his D. ellisianus ; but the fact remains that this name Avas bestowed 

 on the bird of Lichtenstein, which was sufficiently characterized, and which therefore 

 required no further diagnosis by Gray, who could not examine it. The erroneous quotations 

 of Gray added to his name cannot be used as a reason for rejecting his name. Mr. Wilson is 

 of opinion that the name of Ellis being chosen by Gray must mean that Ellis's unpublished 

 drawing formed the type of his name, but this is an unfounded assumption. It frequently 

 happens in ornithology that names of persons are given to birds which they incorrectly 

 figured under another name. Besides, in determining the priority of names, the supposed 

 meaning of the names should never be considered at all. I therefore believe that those who 

 care for strict priority of names in zoology must accept the name Hemignathus ellisianus for 

 the Oahu bird. 



Mr. Hartert, during his visit to Berlin in 1893, made the following description of the 

 type of Hem. ellisianus : — 



" Above greenish olive-brown, more greenish on the back and rump and more greyish on 

 the head and hind-neck ; the dark bases of the feathers on the head showing through. 

 Lores deep brown. A distinct yellow superciliary stripe. Chin, throat, and middle of 

 abdomen dull broAvnish white (apparently somewhat faded). Upper breast olive-greenish, 

 sides of breast and flanks dull olive-greenish, more olive-brown on the flanks. Wings and 



