Yes, and so the name Imitatress, one might be led into thinking the honeyeater mimics
others (at least if it references vocal mimicry, which is the usual use
of the word “mimic” in birds) would best fit the Regent Honeyeater. I am
wondering if it is fair to say that Graceful/Cryptic/Yellow-spotted complex do imitate one another in
looks. Rather than imitate or mimic, isn’t it just the case that they
are closely related and nearby species that have not yet diverged much and
still look so similar just because of that. A real mimic is something that is
not at all closely related, that has come (historically) from afar and developed
attributes to resemble something very different, usually for a specific
function, like ants that copy a spider or an octopus that looks like a fish.
Bird vocal mimics generally don’t mimic similar species but the
Regent Honeyeater is an exception to that.
Philip
From: Birding-Aus
[ On Behalf Of Tom Wilson
Sent: Sunday, 26 January, 2020 2:52 PM
To: Tony Russell; Phil Gregory
Cc: Birding-Aus
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Cryptic Honeyeater
I
have no influence over any of this...but I like Cryptic – as Imitatress means a
female imitator, one might be led into thinking the honeyeater mimics others
(although I appreciate that Graceful/Cryptic/Yellow-spotted complex do imitate
one another in looks) – Cryptic works better to me.
Sent: Sunday,
January 26, 2020 10:55 AM
Subject: Re:
[Birding-Aus] Cryptic Honeyeater
On
Sat, 25 Jan 2020 at 19:29, Phil Gregory <> wrote:
IOC Michael,
after quite a lengthy process, which involved Lloyd as the proposer of the new
species. To cut a long story short he was happy with Cryptic, one can go round
and round forever so I am hoping we can persuade BirdLife to forgo Imitatress!
ornithological
writer/tour leader/tour facilitator
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