Blue-bearded Bee-eater / Nyctyornis athertoni
WBN 
Blue-bearded Bee-eater
SCI Name:
Protonym: Merops athertoni Ill.Orn. 2 pl.58,text
Taxonomy: Coraciiformes / Meropidae / Nyctyornis
Taxonomy Code: bbbeat1
Type Locality: India = near Bangalore.
Author: Jardine & Selby
Publish Year: 1828
IUCN Status: Least Concern
DEFINITIONS
NYCTYORNIS
(Meropidae; Ϯ Red-bearded Bee-eater N. amicta) Gr. νυκτι- nukti- night < νυξ nux, νυκτος nuktos night; ορνις ornis, ορνιθος ornithos bird; "MEROPS ATHERTONI, (NOBIS). Azure-throated Bee-eater ... According to his [Lt. J. Atherton's] notes which accompanied the bird, it is stated to be very scarce and rare, inhabiting the thickest jungles in the interior of India, and feeding by night, at which time it is very noisy, repeating frequently the short cry of curr, curr. ... ADDENDA. ... MEROPS ATHERTONI, PLATE 58. Mr. SWAINSON has constituted this, with the M. Amictus of TEMMINCK, into a genus, under the title of Nytcyornis. ... It is placed by him among the Scansores, at the extremity of the Fissirostres, adjoining to Prionites: NYCTYORNIS, Swain." (Jardine & Selby 1830); "Its genuine name, however, appears founded on erroneous information, as it feeds during the day, and the note of the Bucco viridis, seems to have been mistaken for that of this bird, which has a loud rolling warble" (Jerdon 1845); "Nyctyornis Swainson MS.1 Jardine and Selby, Illustr. Orn., 2, 1830. Addenda, sign. D 2. Type, by diagnosis, Merops amictus Temminck. ... 1 Not preoccupied by Nyctornis Nitzsch, 1829 (Caprimulgidae)." (Peters 1945, V, 238).
Var. Nycthiornis.
Synon. Alcemerops, Bucia, Napophila, Nyctinomus.
athertoni
● Atherton, northern Queensland, Australia (syn. Heteromyias cinereifrons).
● Lt. J. Atherton (1797-1827) British Army in India, naturalist (Nyctyornis).
SUBSPECIES
Blue-bearded Bee-eater (athertoni)
SCI Name: Nyctyornis athertoni athertoni
athertoni
● Atherton, northern Queensland, Australia (syn. Heteromyias cinereifrons).
● Lt. J. Atherton (1797-1827) British Army in India, naturalist (Nyctyornis).
Blue-bearded Bee-eater (brevicaudatus)
SCI Name: Nyctyornis athertoni brevicaudatus
brevicaudata / brevicaudatus
L. brevis short; caudatus tailed < cauda tail.
UPPERCASE: current genus
Uppercase first letter: generic synonym
● and ● See: generic homonyms
lowercase: species and subspecies
●: early names, variants, mispellings
‡: extinct
†: type species
Gr.: ancient Greek
L.: Latin
<: derived from
syn: synonym of
/: separates historical and modern geographic names
ex: based on
TL: type locality
OD: original diagnosis (genus) or original description (species)
