Pica, MS

Steinheimer, Frank D., 2009, The type specimens of Corvidae (Aves) in the Museum für Naturkunde at the Humboldt-University of Berlin, with the description of a new subspecies of Dendrocitta vagabunda, Zootaxa 2149 (1), pp. 1-49 : 14

P. [Pica] ornata ̔ MS Lichtenstein’ Wagler, 1829 : col. 749

TL: India orientali [= Sri Lanka, cf. Blake & Vaurie 1962: 240].

Now Urocissa ornata ( Wagler, 1829) . See Sharpe 1877: 87 [as Cissa ornata ], Blake & Vaurie 1962: 240, Madge & Burn 1999: 103, Dickinson 2003: 509, Dickinson et al. 2004b: 115.

HOLOTYPE: ZMB 1534. [Adult]. Loc.: Ost-Indien [ Sri Lanka]. Date: [not given; acquisition in October 1826]. Coll.: Becker. [Ex, Mus, Meise MS].

COMMENTS: Probably only this single specimen was received by the ZMB, making it the holotype of the name. Wagler (1829) referred exclusively to this ZMB bird. Lichtenstein had originally labelled the specimens Corvus ornatus , the epithet subsequently published by Wagler. I assume however, that Lichtenstein later changed the name in favour of the more descriptive name Cissa pyrrhocyanea . This name was subsequently published by John Gould (see below), creating, at least partially, an objective synonym of Wagler’s name (cf. Dickinson et al. 2004b: 129). August Becker (fl. 1821–1829) was natural history dealer in Leipzig ( Pelzeln 1890: 518, 528; ZMB archives). The sales’ list of Becker erroneously refers to the specimen as “ Indien Roller” but the original acquisition record corrects this to Corvus ornatus (ZMB archives, Zool. Mus. S.I. Becker, A.: Blatt 16 & Blatt 18, no. 2709; Blatt 19, no. 16). No collecting locality or source of the specimen are given in the original documents.