A NEW GENUS OF AFRICAN STARLINGS

By
Harry C. OBERHOLSER

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SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS
OF THE
CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Vol. I, No. 3, pp. 81-82, plate XVII
Issued, September 30, 1930
CLEVELAND, OHIO

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1430 SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS
BIRD OF THE
CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Vot. I, No. 3 IssuUED, SEPTEMBER 30, 1930

A NEW GENUS OF AFRICAN STARLINGS
BY
Harry C. OBERHOLSER

The ornithological collection of the Cleveland Museum of Natural
History has been much enriched by the specimens of birds that have
from time to time been received from Mr. Kenyon V. Painter, who
is one of the Trustees of the Museum.

These birds are chiefly desirable foreign species that have died in
his aviary, some of them rare and difficult to obtain in any other
way. This aviary has been a lifelong interest of Mr. Painter’s, and
in it he has a collection of rare and attractive foreign birds, many
of which have been gathered by him personally in Africa and else-
where. It is said to be the best private aviary in the United States.
In the course of these activities he has also placed many rareties in
American zoological parks.

Among the specimens donated to the Cleveland Museum is an
adult male of that beautiful African starling, Spreo superbus (Plate
XVII), which proves to be generically different from Spreo. Since
the type of the genus Spreo! is Turdus bicolor Gmelin, and since the
same species is also the type of the only synonym, Notauges Cabanis
and Heine?, the generic group represented by Spreo superbus Riippell
is without a name.

We therefore take pleasure in naming this genus in honor of Mr.
Kenyon V. Painter, of Cleveland, Ohio, as a slight token of appre-
ciation of his generous interest in the bird collection of the Cleve-
land Museum of Natural History.

Painterius, gen. nov.

Generic characters.—Similar to Spreo Lesson, but exposed culmen

1 Spreo Lesson, Traité d’Ornith., March 1, 1831, p. 40
2 Notauges Cabanis and Heine, Mus. Hein., I, 1851 Gee October 23), p. 198.

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LIPRARIES

equal to hind toe with claw (instead of decidedly shorter); ahi oO ‘ |
4th and 5th, primaries instead of 3d) longest, 2nd primary shorter
than 5th (instead of longer), the wing formula thus 6<2 <3 smh ie
Cor>) 5 Cin Spreo [bicolor], 6<5<2=4<3), counting from the "q
outermost primary; 5 instead of 4) primaries sinuate on outer webs; —
notch on inner web of primaries very pronounced (instead of weak);
palate smooth just anterior to angle of gonys (instead of more or A
less ridged throughout); feet reaching to end of tail (instead of - i:
somewhat shorter); tail relatively shorter, only 7 of wing Cinstead .
_of 24); tail much less strongly rounded, the graduation amounting =—=—
to only 14 Cinstead of 4) of the tail; lower tail-coverts relatively eS)
longer, falling short of the tip of the tail by about 34 Ginstead of 84)
of the length of the tarsus; and plumage more metallic in luster.

Type.—Lamprotornis superbus Riippell.

Remarks.—We have examined all the species commonly referred to _
Spreo, excepting Spreo fischeri (Reichenow), which, to judge from
descriptions and plate, belongs in Spreo proper as here restricted.
The only species, other than the type, which appears to belong in _
Painterius is Turdus pulcher Miller. The species composing this new Any
genus, therefore, are: Aue

Painterius superbus (Riippell).
Painterius pulcher (Miller).

It may not be out of place in this connection to note that Sclater
recently? has again placed Spreo albicapillus Blyth in Spreo, where, —
however, it seems almost as little at home as in Heteropsar, where
it was allocated by Sharpe. It has good characters of its own, which
appear to entitle it to segregation in Pomeropsar, a monotypic genus
already provided for its reception*. These characters will be sie i

common in cahleceie and it is another of He rare birds ae
Painter has contributed to the collection of the Cleveland Mus
of Natural History.

"Syst. Avium Ethiopicarum, II, January 11, 1930, p. 668.
4 Oberholser, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXVIII, July 8, 1905, p. 888.
5Ibid., pp. sing

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Sci. Pub. C.M.N.H.

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