White-tufted Sunbeam

SCI Name:  Aglaeactis castelnaudii
Protonym:  Trochilus Castelnaudii Rev.Zool. 11 p.270
Taxonomy:  Caprimulgiformes / Trochilidae / Aglaeactis
Taxonomy Code:  whtsun1
Type Locality:  South America, i.e. Mountains near Cuzco, Peru.
Author:  Bourcier & Mulsant
Publish Year:  1848
IUCN Status:  Near Threatened

DEFINITIONS

AGLAEACTIS
(Trochilidae; Ϯ Shining Sunbeam A. cupreipennis) Gr. αγλαια aglaia  splendour, magnificence  < αγλαος aglaos  splendid; ακτις aktis, ακτινος aktinos  sunbeam; "Genus AGLÆACTIS.  ...   Gen. char. — Bill rather short, a little depressed at the base and straight; nostrils basal; wings long and powerful; primaries, particularly the outer one, sickle-shaped; tail moderately large and slightly forked when closed; feet strong and powerful; tarsi partially clothed with feathers; hind-toe and nail longer than the middle toe and nail.  Types, Trochilus cupripennis and T. Pamela." (Gould 1848); "Aglæactis Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pt. 16, 1848, p. 11. Type, by subsequent designation, Trochilus cupripennis Bourcier. (Elliot, Classif. Syn. Trochil., 1879, p. 185.)¹  ...  ¹ G. R. Gray, Cat. Gen. Subgen. Bds., 1855, p. 22 designates Trochilus cupriventris Bourcier as type of this genus. Doubtless this is a lapsus for cupripennis, nevertheless the designation is invalid since cupriventris is a nomen nudum." (Peters 1945, V, 95).  Gould's dry diagnosis belies a typical hummingbird epithet, the scientific names and English names given to these brilliant small birds reflecting their iridescent plumages and sometimes gaudy, even bizarre, ornamentation. The nineteenth century saw the blossoming of trochilidomania, the passion for collecting and describing new species of hummingbirds. In the years between 1830 and 1860 over 52% of all hummingbird species were described, as specialist collectors (or trochilidists) like John Gould, Jules Bourcier and George Loddiges vied to have the largest collection of specimens, regardless of cost (Gould paid £20 for a specimen of Oreonympha nobilis in 1868 (when a London labourer's wage was about £1.50 per week, and a farm-worker's 60p per week)).

castelnau / castelnaudi / castelnaudii / castelnaui
François Louis Nompar de Caumont La Force Comte de Castelnau (1802-1880) French diplomat, explorer, collector in tropical America 1843-1847 (Aglaeactis, subsp. Glyphorhynchus spirurus, subsp. Onychorhynchus coronatus, Picumnus).

SUBSPECIES

White-tufted Sunbeam (regalis)
SCI Name: Aglaeactis castelnaudii regalis
regalis
L. regalis  royal, regal  < rex, regis  king  < regere  to rule.
● TL Real del Monte, Hidalgo, Mexico  < Spanish real  royal (Buteo).
● ex “Ouira Ouassou” of de Buffon (Sonnini ed.) 1800-1802  < Tupí name Uirassú great bird, for an eagle (syn. Harpia harpyja).

White-tufted Sunbeam (castelnaudii)
SCI Name: Aglaeactis castelnaudii castelnaudii
castelnau / castelnaudi / castelnaudii / castelnaui
François Louis Nompar de Caumont La Force Comte de Castelnau (1802-1880) French diplomat, explorer, collector in tropical America 1843-1847 (Aglaeactis, subsp. Glyphorhynchus spirurus, subsp. Onychorhynchus coronatus, Picumnus).