Macqueen's Bustard

SCI Name:  Chlamydotis macqueenii
Protonym:  Otis Macqueenii Ill.Ind.Zool.[Hardwicke] 2 pt12 pl.47
Taxonomy:  Otidiformes / Otididae / Chlamydotis
Taxonomy Code:  macbus1
Type Locality:  Himalayas.
Author:  Gray, JE
Publish Year:  1832
IUCN Status:  Vulnerable

DEFINITIONS

CHLAMYDOTIS
(Otididae; Ϯ Houbara Bustard C. undulata) Gr. χλαμυς khlamus,  χλαμυδος khlamudos  horseman’s cloak with weights sewn into the corners; ωτις ōtis, ωτιδος ōtidos  bustard; alluding to the black and white neck plumes of the male Houbara Bustard; "14^e  genre OUTARDE, Otis , L.  ...  2^e sous-genre Chlamydotis.  Une esp.: Otis houbara." (Lesson 1839); "Chlamydotis Lesson, Rev. Zool., 1839, p. 47. Type, by monotypy, Otis houbara Desfontaines = Psophia undulata Jacquin." (Peters, 1934, II, p. 220).
Var. Chlamodotis.
Synon. Hubara, Lophorhipis.

macqueenii
“The identity of Macqueen remains a mystery. In the 1940s, Sir Hugh Gladstone made extensive enquiries concerning Macqueen at the British Museum, the Royal Scottish Museum, the India Office and the Bombay Natural History Society. He also placed advertisements in national newspapers and though he received several suggestions there was no Macqueen with any ornithological connection” (Mearns & Mearns 1988). Coomans de Ruiter et al. 1947, refer to a Lt.-Gen. Macqueen of the Bengal Army, who is the same as Major Thomas Macqueen (1792-1840) of the 45^th Bengal Native Infantry, and Warren 1966, lists the type, a relaxed mount, as being collected and presented by General Macqueen. However, this link is tenuous (the original BM catalogue lists the type as being purchased from Mr Macqueen (Mearns & Mearns 1988)). The relaxed mount infers that the specimen must have been in a private museum or collection. Kirby 1939, refers to J. McQueen, a Scottish philanthropist with an interest in natural history who, in response to appeals published in the UK and in India, donated £300 in 1834 to Andrew Smith’s expedition in South Africa. Wynne 1969, not only has a question-mark against Maj. Th. R. MacQueen (son of John MacQueen of Lanark), but also against Kenneth MacQueen (dates not given), referred to in Sir Hugh Gladstone’s 1949 MS notes (Chlamydotis).