G’day Ian and all,
Philip is correct when he says that Dick Schodde has
checked out the correct spelling and it is indeed “cirrocephalus” probably based on
something noted in my next paragraph.
When I did the revised CSIRO List of Australian Vertebrates – and I think
it was also in the first edition - I queried Dick at the time and he said much
the same to me as he has to Philip. I also remember an item on Birding-aus (I
think) where someone else queried the spelling (was it you Philip?) and Walter
Boles admitted that they had the wrong spelling in C&B1 and it would be
corrected in C&B2. I don’t know if they have corrected it as I have yet
to see a copy of the new C&B.
I have checked the spelling in Howard and Moore 2003
(3rd edition) and they list Accipiter
cirrocephalus Collared Sparrowhawk as the “generic” name
but list A. c. cirrohcephalus
(Vieillot, 1817) for the nominate subspecies with a postscript – “The
emended name used here is judged to be in prevailing usage; see Art. 33.2 of
the Code (I.C.Z.N., 1999) and p.000 herein”. The Clements (6th
edition) 2007 checklist uses cirrocephalus
for both the generic name and the nominate subspecies. I do not yet possess a
copy of the Gill and Wright 2006 book that I gather the IOC list is based upon
but do have a printout from the IOC’s website which gives the spelling as
cirrocephalus – it does not
list subspecies. Obviously you are correct in what you have said about the
original spelling but there does appear to be legitimate exceptions to the
rule. I have heard of other examples but off the top of my head can’t
remember them.
Cheers,
Mark
Perhaps we could/should get Dick to give a short(ish)
talk to COG on the workings of this mysterious international body and just who
its members are.
