The Key to Scientific Names
- Amphilais
(Locustellidae; syn. Bradypterus † Grey Emu-tail B. seebohmi) Gr. αμφι amphi on both sides, about, near; Mod. L. laïs warbler < Gr. ὑπολαις hupolais small unidentified ground-nesting bird; "The genus Dromaeocercus Sharpe, 1877, as construed since 1879, consists of 2 species of sylviid warblers, D. brunneus Sharpe, 1877 and D. seebohmi Sharpe, 1879. Their association, now traditional, may be attributed to their shared characters of long, decomposed rectrices and restriction to Madagascar. In the present article I suggest that these 2 characters have been wrongly emphasized, and that the 2 species in fact belong each to a separate tribe of the Sylviidae, brunneus to the Bradypterini and seebohmi to the Megalurini. ... D. seebohmi, the Grey Emu-tail, is similar to brunneus in size and shape, but differs in its coloration, shorter legs and toes, lower tarsus/wing ratio, voice and habitat. ... On present evidence, I regard seebohmi as a member of the Megalurini, possibly closest to Megalurus, but in any event sufficiently distinctive to require a separate genus. The type-species of Dromaeocercus being brunneus, and no other generic name being available, I therefore propose: Amphilais, gen. nov. Type-species. Dromaeocercus seebohmi Sharpe, 1879. Diagnosis. Resembles Megalurus (especially M. gramineus) and Locustella (especially L. naevia) (see Plate 2), differing from the former by its finer, glossier plumage and subtler, less contrasting markings, from the latter by its much shorter upper- and under-tailcoverts, rounded wing, longer tenth primary and apparent lack of grasshopper-like song, and from both by its relatively much longer, more graduated and highly decomposed tail. Constitution. The type-species only, Amphilais seebohmi (Sharpe, 1879)." (S. A. Parker 1984); "Amphilais S. A. Parker, 1984, Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club, 104 (1), p. 15. Type, by original designation, Dromaeocercus seebohmi Sharpe, 1879." (JAJ 2020).
