Corvus azureus ̔ MS Lichtenstein’ W. Deppe, 1830

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 : 9

Corvus azureus ̔ MS Lichtenstein’ W. Deppe, 1830 : [1]

TL: Mexico.

Now Aphelocoma ultramarina ultramarina (Bonaparte, 1825) . See Meise MS, Stresemann identification on label.

SYNTYPES: ZMB 1397. Adult male. Loc.: Real-Arriba, Mexico. Coll.: Deppe [Ex, Mus, Meise MS]. ZMB 1398. Adult male. Loc.: Uzhitaka, Mexico. Coll.: Deppe [Mount, Mus].

COMMENTS: For an itinerary of Deppe’s travels see Stresemann (1954 a: 86–88). These birds were collected during Deppe’s second Mexico visit, together with Wilhelm Schiede, from May 1829 (end of direct shipments to the ZMB) to 1830. Wilhelm Deppe, the brother of Ferdinand back in Berlin, tried to sell the remaining specimens by distributing a Preis-Verzeichniss. In this, W. Deppe (1830) referred to four specimens on sale, adding therein a short description and the MS name azureus of Lichtenstein (the latter probably helped in compiling the list). The name azureus is a junior homonym of Corvus azureus Temminck, 1822 , and a junior synonym of Corvus ultramarinus Bonaparte, 1825 . Pica sieberii of Wagler (1827: Pica, No. 23), which also refers to this taxon, was based on specimens in Benjamin Leadbeater’s (fl. 1800s-1840s) collection in London and Wagler’s own collection, probably collected by William Bullock (c. 1773–1849) on his Mexico trips in 1823 and 1825 onwards ( Costeloe 2006), but not on any ZMB bird.