Grey trembler

The grey trembler (Cinclocerthia gutturalis) is a songbird species in the family Mimidae. It is found only in Martinique and Saint Lucia, the Martinique trembler (C. g. gutturalis) on the former island, the Saint Lucia trembler (C. g. macrorhyncha) – which might be a distinct species – on the latter.

"White Mascarene starling" redirects here. For another species known by this name, see Rodrigues starling.

Grey trembler
1869 illustration

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Mimidae
Genus: Cinclocerthia
Species:
C. gutturalis
Binomial name
Cinclocerthia gutturalis
(Lafresnaye, 1843)
Synonyms

Cinclocerthia macrorhyncha Sclater, 1868
Necropsar leguati Forbes, 1898
Orphanopsar leguati (Forbes, 1898)
Ramphocinclus gutturalis Lafresnaye, 1843

Mascarene Starling
Albinistic specimen which was named "Necropsar leguati"

In 1898 a unique skin (accession number D1792 (S)) was discovered in the World Museum Liverpool. This specimen was obtained by Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby from bird collector Jules Verreaux in 1850 and was on display in the Liverpool Museum since then. It was believed to be an extinct starling from Madagascar, or the Mascarenes, described by Henry Ogg Forbes under the name Necropsar leguati and sketched by bird illustrator John Gerrard Keulemans. It was thought to be a close relative of the Rodrigues starling. A vernacular name for this supposed species was "white Mascarene starling".

However, in April 2000 ancient DNA analysis of that skin in the Smithsonian Institution led by Storrs Olson had shown that the Liverpool specimen was nothing more than a misidentified and mislabeled albinistic specimen of C. g. gutturalis.[2]

Footnotes
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Cinclocerthia gutturalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Expunging the Mascarene starling Necropsar leguati
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References
  • Raffaele, Herbert; Wiley, James; Garrido, Orlando; Keith, Allan & Raffaele, Janis (2003) Birds of the West Indies, Christopher Helm, London.


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