Myioborus bairdi ( Salvin, 1878 )

Cuervo, Andrés M. & Céspedes Arias, Laura N., 2023, The type of Setophaga ruficoronata (Kaup 1851) is a hybrid: implications for the taxonomy of Myioborus warblers (Passeriformes: Parulidae), Zootaxa 5383 (4), pp. 476-490 : 486

Myioborus bairdi ( Salvin, 1878) , name resurrected, and elevated to species rank

Proposed English name: Ecuadorian Redstart. The name highlights that the distribution range of this species is mostly confined to the Andes of Ecuador. Protonym: Setophaga bairdi . Type: NHMUK 1885.3.8.801 ( Fig. 3 ). Type locality: Sical = Sicalpa Viejo, Province of Chimborazo, Ecuador. Range of the species: western slope of the Andes in extreme southwestern Nariño, Colombia, south through both slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes to departments of Piura and Cajamarca, north of the Marañón river valley, Peru. Polytypic , with two subspecies:

Myioborus bairdi bairdi ( Salvin, 1878) . The nominate form occurs from southwestern Nariño, Colombia south to extreme southern Ecuador. ( Chapman 1927; Zimmer 1949; Céspedes-Arias et al. 2021).

Myioborus bairdi griseonuchus Chapman, 1927 . Type: AMNH 229332 ( Fig. 3 ). Type locality: Taulis [Playa], Pacific slope NE Pascamayo, Department of Cajamarca, Peru. Range of subspecies: both slopes of the Andes west and north of the Marañón river valley in northern Peru to possibly extreme southern Ecuador. The range limits between M. b. bairdi and M. b. griseonuchus are not well known. This is complicated by variation observed in extreme southern Ecuador, where specimens have less black on hind crown (i.e., grayer nape) as in griseonuchus, but otherwise more closely resemble bairdi ( Chapman 1927; Zimmer 1949; Céspedes-Arias et al. 2021). As in the case of M. ornatus , under the three-species alternative both subspecies included in M. bairdi would be subsumed under a polytypic M. ornatus . In the future, griseonuchus may prove to merit elevation to species rank, when nuclear genomic data are fully analyzed.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Top: the syntype of Setophaga bairdi Salvin, 1878 (NHMUK 1885.3.8.801). This specimen exhibits the facial color and pattern observed in individuals from most of the Ecuadorian Andes that are currently considered as the “pure” southern form hybridizing with chrysops (Céspedes-Arias et al. 2021). Photographs by Mark Adams (Natural History Museum, Tring). Bottom: the type of Myioborus bairdi griseonuchus Chapman, 1927 (AMNH 229332). This taxon is restricted to northern Peru (departments of Piura and Cajamarca). Photographs by Paul Sweet (American Museum of Natural History).