Vanuatu streaked fantail explained

The Vanuatu streaked fantail (Rhipidura spilodera) is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae which is endemic to the Melanesian island of Vanuatu. It was formerly considered to be subspecies of the streaked fantail (now the New Caledonian streaked fantail). Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Taxonomy

The Vanuatu streaked fantail was formally described in 1870 by the English zoologist George Gray from a specimen that had been obtained from the island of Vanuatu by the collector Julius Brenchley. Gray coined the binomial name Rhipidura spilodera.^{[1] [2]} The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek spilos meaning "spot" with dera meaning "neck".^[3] This species was formerly treated as a subspecies of the streaked fantail (now the New Caledonian streaked fantail).^[4]

Notes and References

1. Gray . George Robert . George Robert Gray . 1870 . Descriptions of new species of birds from the Solomon and Banks's groups of islands . Annals and Magazine of Natural History . 4th series . 5 . 29 . 327–331 [330] . 10.1080/00222937008696167 .
2. Book: Mayr . Ernst . Ernst Mayr . Cottrell . G. William . 1986 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 11 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 548 .
3. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 362 .
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela C. Rasmussen . December 2023 . Orioles, drongos, fantails . IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 15 January 2024.