Rennell Starling

SCI Name:  Aplonis insularis
Protonym:  Aplonis insularis Am.Mus.Novit. no.486 p.19
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Sturnidae / Aplonis
Taxonomy Code:  rensta1
Type Locality:  Rennell.
Author:  Mayr
Publish Year:  1931
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

APLONIS
(Sturnidae; Ϯ Norfolk Starling A. fusca) Gr. ἁπλοος haploos  simple, plain; ορνις ornis, ορνιθος ornithos  bird; “AT a meeting at the Society's Rooms, Leicester Square, Mr. Gould, after making some remarks on various birds which were on the table, entered into a description of a new genus of birds, for which he proposed the name of Aplornis, on account of its simple structure. This genus, Mr. Gould observed, partakes of the characters of the genera Lamprotornis, Lanius, and Turdus; we will, however, endeavour to give an idea of of its distinguishing characters by comparing it with with the genus Lamprotornis. When thus compared, Mr. G. remarked that the species of Aplornis are altogether of a more robust form: the beak, which is distinctly notched, the wings, the legs, and the tail, are shorter in proportion; the latter is slightly forked. It may also be distinguished by the want of the splendid colouring so remarkable in Lamprotornis, all the species of which, it will be remembered, are of a beautiful rich green colour, with a satin-like gloss. There were two species of this new genus on the table, both belonging to the society; one from New Holland, and the other from the Friendly Islands.” (Gould, 1836, The Analyst, XVII, p. 152); "Mr. Gould exhibited specimens of two new species of Birds from the Friendly Islands and New Holland, of which he proposed to form a genus. He stated them to approximate, in his opinion, in nearly an equal degree to the genera Lanius, Turdus, and Lamprotornis; but believed that they might with propriety be arranged among the Thrushes. Their characters were given as follows:  APLONIS.  ...   In both species the feathers of the head are lanceolate; and the general plumage above has a slight glossy hue, especially on the head and back of the neck" (Gould, 1836, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, IV, p. 73); "APLONIS  ...  According to Mathews (Ibis, 1942, p. 342) this name, spelled Aplornis, was first proposed in the "Analyst" for Oct. 1, 1836 [not seen], by an anonymous reviewer of Gould's forthcoming description. Even if this citation must stand, the spelling Aplonis may be retained on the ground that Aplornis was a slip of the pen for Aplonis. Gould used the latter spelling in all his publications. He treated the genus as feminine and I have followed this usage." (Amadon in Peters 1962, XV, 75); "APLONIS Gould, 1836 F — Aplonis fusca Gould, 1836; type by subsequent designation (G. R. Gray, 1840, A List of the Genera of Birds, p. 40)." (Dickinson & Christidis (eds.), H. & M. Complete Checklist, 4th ed., 2014, 2 (Passerines), p. 581). Bruce & McAllan 1990, state that Gould’s description of Aplornis in The Analyst was published about two weeks before his description of Aplonis in the Proceedings (see above). They recommend the use of Aplornis (“has been used at least three times in the last 50 years”), but, following Schodde et al. 2007, and by reason of recent majority usage (e.g., Mayr 1941, Baker 1951, Ripley 1961, Mayr & Greenway (ed.) 1962, Rand & Gilliard 1967, Ali & Ripley 1972, Schodde 1975, White & Bruce 1986, Sibley & Monroe 1990, Christidis & Boles 1994, Feare & Craig 1998, Mayr & Diamond, 2001, Dickinson (ed.) 2003, Higgins et al. (eds.) 2006b, Dickinson & Christidis (eds.) 2014, Winkler et al. 2015, Beehler & Pratt 2016, del Hoyo & Collar 2016, Thibault & Cibois 2017), in the interests of stability it is better to retain Aplonis (contra Christidis & Boles 2008). It is astonishing that such a simple name, of obvious etymons, should have caused this turmoil in the rarefied world of nomenclature.  Beehler & Pratt 2016 state that the generic spelling Aplonis is now conserved (ICZN Opinion 2285).
Var. Aplornis.
Synon. Calornis, Kittlitzia, Lamprocorax, Macruropsar, Metallopsar, Psaroides, Rhinopsar, Santaplonis, Sturnoides.

insularis
L. insularis  of an island  < insula, insulae  island.
● Ceylon (= Sri Lanka) (syn. Accipiter badius, subsp. Chloropsis aurifrons, subsp. Dicrurus caerulescens, subsp. Prinia inornata).
● New Caledonia (syn. Accipiter fasciatus vigilax).
● Phu-Quoc I., Cochin China (=Vietnam) (subsp. Aethopyga siparaja).
● Andaman Is., Bay of Bengal (subsp. Amaurornis phoenicurus).
● Bahrain, Arabian Gulf (subsp. Ammomanes deserti)
● Erroneous TL. Madagascar (= Zanzibar) (subsp. Andropadus importunus).
● Santa Cruz I., Channel Is., California, USA (subsp. Aphelocoma californica, subsp. Eremophila alpestris).
● Rennell I., Solomon Is. (Aplonis).
● Jobi I. (= Japen = Yapen), New Guinea (Arses, subsp. Pachycephalopsis hattamensis).
● Sardinia (Bubo).
● Fernando Póo (= Bioko), Gulf of Guinea (syn. Campethera tullbergi, syn. Cinnyris chloropygius).
● Isla Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico (syn. Cathartes aura, subsp. Cyclarhis gujanensis).
● Aldabra, Indian Ocean (subsp. Centropus toulou).
● Sardinia (syn. Coccothraustes coccothraustes).
● Grand Cayman, Caribbean Sea (subsp. Columbina passerina).
● New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea (Corvus).
● Formosa/Taiwan (subsp. Dendrocopos leucotos, Myophonus, syn. Garrulus bispecularis).
● Borneo (syn. Dicrurus paradiseus).
● Nicobar Is., Bay of Bengal (syn. Ducula aenea nicobarica).
● Corsica (syn. Emberiza calandra, syn. Saxicola rubicola).
● Socotra (subsp. Emberiza tahapisi, Passer).
● Weda Is., Halmahera, Indonesia (syn. Eos squamata).
● Tres Marías Is., Nayarit, Mexico (Forpus, subsp. Myadestes occidentalis, subsp. Nyctidromus albicollis, subsp. Pachyramphus aglaiae, subsp. Setophaga pitiayumi, syn. Zenaida asiatica).
● Lord Howe I., Tasman Sea (syn. Fregetta grallaria, ‡Gerygone).
● Rottnest I., Western Australia (syn. Gavicalis virescens).
● Meco I., Quintana Roo, Mexico (subsp. Habia fuscicauda).
● Ship I., off Gulfport, Mississippi, USA (syn. Hirundo rustica erythrogaster).
● Tobago (Hylophilus, subsp. Platyrinchus mystaceus, subsp. Psarocolius decumanus).
● Isla Guadalupe, Baja California, Mexico (Junco).
● Isla Margarita, Venezuela (syn. Leptotila verreauxi,  subsp. Quiscalus lugubris).
● New Providence, Bahamas (sym. Leuconotopicus villosus maynardi).
● King I., Bass Strait, Australia (syn. Melithreptus brevirostris).
● Kangean Is., Java Sea, Indonesia (subsp. Oriolus chinensis).
● Fergusson I., D'Entrecasteaux Is., Papua New Guinea (Otidiphaps).
● Mahé I., Seychelles (Otus).
● Kodiak I., Alaska, USA (subsp. Passerella unalaschcensis).
● Honshu, Japan (subsp. Periparus ater).
● Stewart I., New Zealand (syn. Poodytes punctatus).
● Henderson I., Pitcairn Group, Pacific Ocean (Ptilinopus).
● Naochow I., Kwangtung, China (syn. Pycnonotus aurigaster resurrectus).
● Banggai I., North Borneo (syn. Pycnonotus plumosus hachisukae).
● Madagascar (Sarothrura, subsp. Thalassornis leuconotus).
● Forsyth I., Bass Strait, Australia (syn. Sericornis frontalis).
● Grand Bahama I., Bahamas (Sitta).
● Trinidad (syn. Sporophila intermedia).
● Nias I., Sumatra (subsp. Terpsiphone affinis).
● Terangan I., Aru Is., Indonesia (syn. Todiramphus macleayii).
● Isla Socorro, Colima, Mexico (syn. Troglodytes sissonii).
● Erroneous TL. São Vicente, Cape Verde Is. (= St. Vincent, West Indies) (subsp. Tyto glaucops).
● Vancouver I., British Columbia, Canada (syn. Vireo huttoni).
● Stephens I., Cook Strait, New Zealand (‡syn. Xenicus lyalli).
● Curaçao, Dutch Antilles (subsp. Zonotrichia capensis).
● Tanegashima, south of Kyushu, Japan (subsp. Zosterops japonicus).