The Key to Scientific Names
- CHLORODREPANIS
(Fringillidae; Ϯ Kauai Amakihi C. stejnegeri) Gr. χλωρος khlōros green; genus Drepanis Temminck, 1820, mamo; "Leaving this question for future solution, it must here be remarked that of the species attributed in the present work to the genus Himatione, H. sanguinea, which is the type of that genus, should in Mr. Perkins's opinion alone remain in it 1, while those with straight bill (H. maculata, H. montana, H. mana, and H. newtoni)— though not H. parva — together with Loxops flammea, should be referred to Oreomyza and those with a curved bill should be placed in a new genus Chlorodrepanis, which he thus characterizes: — "Primaries pointed and not truncate at the apex; nasal opercula with bristles at the base and not overhung by antrorse feathers; brush tongue thin and tubular; second primary a little shorter than the third; bill curved." Hence we have:— Chlorodrepanis stejnegeri, C. chloris, C. chloridoïdes, C. kalaana, C. virens, C. wilsoni ... 1 H. freethi of the island of Laysan forming a second species." (Wilson & Evans 1899); "Chlorodrepanis Wilson and Evans (ex Perkins MS), 1899, Aves Hawaiienses, p. xxi. Type, by subsequent designation (Richmond, 1902, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 24, p. 673), Himatione stejnegeri Wilson." (Greenway in Peters, 1986, XIV, p. 96). The taxonomy of the Hawaiian honeycreepers is complex. The Kauai Amakihi (formerly Hemignathus kauaiensis) and its congeners have, in the past, been placed in divergent genera necessitating changes of specific names.
- DREPANIS
(Fringillidae; † Hawaii Mamo D. pacifica) Gr. δρεπανη drepanē or δρεπανηις drepanēis sickle < δρεπω drepō to pluck; "One of the largest (23cm) Hawaiian honeycreepers with huge sickle-shaped bill." (Pratt 2005); "16. HÉOROTAIRE (1), Drepanis. (Temm.) — Caract. Bec très-long, beaucoup plus que la tête, en quart de cercle, gros et triangulaire à sa base, subulé et très-effilé à la pointe; mandibule supérieure plus long que l'inférieure, sans échancrure. Langue courte, cartilagineuse. Narines basales, latérales, à moitié fermées en dessus. Pieds: tarse du double plus long que le doigt du milieu; latéraux égaux; l'extérieur soudé à sa base. Ailes: la 1re. remige nulle, la 2e. presque aussi longue que les 3e., 4e. et 5e. qui sont les plumes longues. Esp. Certhia pacifica, — Obscura. — Vestiaria et probablement falcata, que je n'ai pas vue. ... (1) Toutes espèces de l'Océanique." (Temminck 1820); "Drepanis Temminck, 1820, Man. Ornith., ed. 2, 1, p. 86 [sic = lxxxvj]. Type, by subsequent designation, Certhia pacifica Gmelin (G. R. Gray, 1840, List Genera Birds, ed. 1, p. 12)." (Greenway in Peters, 1968, XIV, p. 95).
Var. Depranis.
Synon. Acrulocercus, Drepanita, Drepanorhamphus, Falcator, Heorataria, Heorotarius, Hoerataria, Melithreptes, Vestiaria.
● (Apodidae; ?syn. Apus) L. drepanis swift < Gr. δρεπανις drepanis sickle-wing, a bird mentioned by Aristotle and Hesychius, latterly identified as a swift or a falcon; "1. Sous-famille. HIRUNDIA. Les Hirundiens: 3 doigts antérieurs, 1 postérieur G. 1. Hirundo L. 2. Caprimulgus L. 3. Agotilax R. 4. Ibijus R. 5. Drepanis R." (Rafinesque, 1815, Analyse de la Nature, p. 69).
● (Meliphagidae; syn. Melithreptus † White-naped Honeyeater M. lunatus) "FAMIGLIA 17. ANTHOMYZI. (Trochilidæ) ... 126. Drepanis, Temm. (Melithreptus, V.) Am. m. 4." (Bonaparte 1831); "Drepanis "Temm." Bonaparte, 1831, Giornale Arcadico, XLIX, p. 48 (not of Temminck, 1820). Alternative name for Melithreptus Vieillot, 1816." (JAJ 2021).- DYSMORODREPANIS
‡ (Fringillidae; Ϯ Lanai Hookbill D. munroi) Gr. δυσμορος dusmoros ill-fated < δυσ- dus- hard, bad; μορος moros fate; genus Drepanis Temminck, 1820, mamo; "DYSMORODREPANIS, gen. nov. Nearest to Psittacirostra, but distinguished primarily by the form of the beak. Maxilla strongly decurved, compressed so as to be cariniform, and extending beyond the mandible for a distance equal to one-third (or more) of its full length. The nostril is subreniform, the lower margin of the operculum being rounded; numerous antrorse pale setiform feathers project over it from the base, and a few black setæ, longer than these, reach right to the apex. Seen in profile the mandible has its upper and lower margin subparallel on the basal part, but before the middle of its length they curve strongly upwards. The tip alone is received in the maxilla, about midway between its apex and the nostril, so that for most of the length of the mandible there is a free space between its edge and that of the maxilla and no co-adaptation at all. ... Dysmorodrepanis munroi, sp. n. ... When I collected on Lanai in 1893 and subsequently the forest was in a deplorable condition, being rapidly destroyed by countless wild goats, and it was also full of wild pigs and cats that had run wild. The latter, as I have elsewhere recorded, were destroying native birds wholesale" (Perkins 1919); "Dysmorodrepanis Perkins, 1919, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, 3, p. 251. Type, by monotypy, Dysmorodrepanis munroi Perkins." (Greenway in Peters, 1968, XIV, p. 101). The Lanai Hookbill, known from only one specimen collected in 1913, was for long treated as an aberration or hybrid.
Var. Desmodrepanis.-
Endrepanis (See: Eudrepanis)
Eudrepanis (Nectariniidae; syn. Aethopyga † Metallic-winged Sunbird A. pulcherrima) Gr. ευ eu fine; δρεπανη drepanē sickle, reaping hook < δρεπω drepō to pluck; "EUDREPANIS PULCHERRIMA. (SHORT-TAILED YELLOW-BACKED SUN-BIRD.) ... It is perhaps most nearly allied to Urodrepanis christinæ from Hainan, and appears to prove the affinity which exists between Æthopyga and the "Nectarophila" section of the genus Cinnyris. Mr. Sharpe writes to me that this species should, in his opinion, certainly be placed in a distinct genus, for which he proposes the following diagnosis:— EUDREPANIS, gen. nov., affine Æthopygæ sed cauda integra, breviore, et fasciis plumosis ut in genere Æthopyga ad latera dorsi inferioris positis distinguendum." (Shelley 1877); "Eudrepanis Sharpe, 1877, in Shelley, Monog. Nectariniidae, pt. 3, p. 83. Type, by monotypy and original designation [?], Aethopyga pulcherrima Sharpe." (Rand in Peters, 1967, XII, p. 271).
Var. Endrepanis.- NEODREPANIS
(Philepittidae; Ϯ Common Sunbird Asity N. coruscans) Gr. νεος neos new, strange; δρεπανη drepanē, δρεπανης drepanēs scimitar; "NEODREPANIS, gen. nov. Allied to Nectarinia and Cinnyris, but at once to be distinguished by its scimitar-like bill, and nearly obsolete first and sinuated second primary, as shsown in the accompanying woodcut. The type is NEODREPANIS CORUSCANS, sp. n. ... It is much to be regretted that this pretty little bird is not quite in full plumage; but the colour of its metallic upper surface shows that it is not a Mascarene or African Sun-bird, with nearly every one of which I am acquainted. It is, moreover, evidently the type of an entirely new genus, and undoubtedly distinct from every Sun-bird known to me or represented in the Museum." (Sharpe 1875); "Neodrepanis Sharpe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1875, p. 75. Type by original designation, Neodrepanis coruscans Sharpe." (W. Sclater, 1930, Syst. Av. Aethiop., II, p. 706).
- Urodrepanis
(Nectariniidae; syn. Aethopyga † Fork-tailed Sunbird A. christinae) Gr. ουρα oura tail; δρεπανη drepanē sickle < δρεπω drepō to pluck; "6. URODREPANIS. Urodrepanis, Shelley, Monogr. Sun-birds, part. 1 (1876). . .Type. U. christinæ. Similar to Æthopyga, but with the two centre tail-feathers abruptly narrowing into fine points. ... I have felt constrained to place this species in a separate genus, on account of the well-marked character presented by the very peculiar form of the centre tail-feathers; but that it is very closely allied to Æthopyga is shown in its general structure and the arrangement of its colours, especially in the bright yellow lower back, and in the long downy plumes in the centre of the back, which at times completely cover the yellow patch." (Shelley 1876); "Urodrepanis Shelley, 1876, Monogr. Nectariniidae, I, pp. 79, 80. Type, by monotypy, U. christinae, i.e. Aethopyga christinae Swinhoe, 1869." (JAJ 2021).
