Species Leucosarcia melanoleuca (Latham, 1801)
Wonga Pigeon
- Columba melanoleuca Latham, J. 1801. Supplementum Indicis Ornithologici, sive Systematis Ornithologiae. London : G. Leigh, J. & S. Sotheby 74 pp. [59] [based on the White-faced Pigeon in Latham, J. 1802. Supplement II. to the General Synopsis of Birds. London : Leigh, Sotheby & Son 376 pp. pls CXX–CXL [publication dated as 1801] (268), and identified with Thomas Watling drawing no. 225 in BMNH by Sharpe, R.B. 1906. Birds. pp. 79–515 in, The History of the Collections contained in the Natural History Departments of the British Museum. London : British Museum Vol. 2.; cf. Hindwood, K.A. 1970. The "Watling" drawings, with incidental notes on the "Lambert" and the "Latham" drawings. Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 1968–69: 16–32 pls IV–VII; name chosen over Columba picata Latham, 1802, published simultaneously, on grounds of line priority by Mathews, G.M. 1911. Alterations in the nomenclature of "Handlist of the Birds of Australia". Emu 10: 317–326, and in all literature since—but melanoleuca Latham is still junior by action of first reviser: Strickland, H.E. 1843. Remarks on a collection of Australian drawings of birds, the property of the Earl of Derby. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1 11: 333–338, see ICZN Art. 24(b); nevertheless, picata Latham is not taken up as senior here because, under ICZN Art. 80, it has been referred by the Standing Committee on Ornithological Nomenclature (SCON) of the International Ornithological Committee to the International Commission on Zoological for suppression under ICZN Art. 79].
Type data:
Holotype whereabouts unknown (lost, evidently figured on Thomas Watling drawing no. 225 in BMNH), Port Jackson, NSW (as Nova Hollandia).Type locality references:
Latham, J. 1801. Supplement II. to the General Synopsis of Birds. London : Leigh, Sotheby & Son 376 pp. 120-140 pls. [publication dated as 1801 - see Schodde et al. (2010)] [269]. - Columba picata Latham, J. 1801. Supplementum Indicis Ornithologici, sive Systematis Ornithologiae. London : G. Leigh, J. & S. Sotheby 74 pp. [59] [based on the Pied Pigeon in Latham, J. 1802. Supplement II. to the General Synopsis of Birds. London : Leigh, Sotheby & Son 376 pp. pls CXX–CXL [publication dated as 1801] (268); senior to Columba melanoleuca Latham, 1802 (q.v.) under ICZN Art. 24(b) and employed for this species in most 19th century literature—but picata Latham set aside here under ICZN Art. 80 for reasons given under C. melanoleuca Latham (q.v.); also as incorrect subsequent spellings, picator by Stephens, J.F. 1819. In, General Zoology or Systematic Natural History, commenced by the late George Shaw, M.D.F.R.S. & C. Aves. London : J. Walker Vol. XI Pt I xiv 264 pp. pls 1–17 (19); and picta by Garrod, A.H. 1874. On some points in the anatomy of the Columbae. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1874: 249–259 (253); for identification of possible holotype or syntype in NHMW, see von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Ibis 3 3: 14–54].
Type data:
Holotype whereabouts unknown (possibly Leverian Museum cat. no. 186 in NHMW), Port Jackson, NSW (as Nova Hollandia, by reference).Type locality references:
Latham, J. 1801. Supplement II. to the General Synopsis of Birds. London : Leigh, Sotheby & Son 376 pp. 120-140 pls. [publication dated as 1801 - see Schodde et al. (2010)] [269].Secondary source:
Latham, J. 1801. Supplement II. to the General Synopsis of Birds. London : Leigh, Sotheby & Son 376 pp. 120-140 pls. [publication dated as 1801 - see Schodde et al. (2010)]; Stephens, J.F. 1819. In, General Zoology or Systematic Natural History, commenced by the late George Shaw, M.D.F.R.S. & C. Aves. London : J. Walker Vol. XI Pt I xiv 264 pp. pls 1-17.; von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Ibis 3 3: 14-54; Garrod, A.H. 1874. On some points in the anatomy of the Columbae. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1874: 249-259. - Columba armillaris Temminck, C.J. 1808. Histoire Naturelle générale des Pigeons. Peintes par Mademoiselle Pauline de Courcelles. Paris : Garnery ix 41 128 30 xvi iii pp. 59 pls. [publication dated as 1808–1811] [(livr. 2) 13] [based on two specimens from London and a further one in C.J. Temminck's Cabinet, which is figured on pl. 6 in original publication; for account of involved publication and establishment of authorship, see entry under Streptopelia chinensis tigrina (Temminck, 1809)].
Type data:
Syntype(s) RMNH, NSW (as l'Asie australe); BMNH (whereabouts uncertain), NSW (as l'Asie australe).Type locality references:
Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912]. - Columba goadgang Temminck, C.J. 1813. Histoire Naturelle générale des Pigeons et des Gallinacées. Amsterdam : J.C. Sepp & Fils Vol. 1 xvi 499 pp. 1 pl. [369] [interpreted as French vernacular name by Mathews, G.M. 1927. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. London : British Ornithologists' Union Pt 1 iv 426 pp. (Appendix)].
Type data:
Holotype whereabouts unknown (institution uncertain, ?RMNH or MNHP,), NSW.Type locality references:
Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912]. - Columba jamieson Quoy, J.R.C. & Gaimard, J.P. in Freycinet, L. 1824. Voyage autour du Monde, Enterpris par Ordre du Roi. Éxecuté sur les corvettes de S.M. l'Uranie et la Physicienne, pendant les années 1817, 1818, 1819 et 1820. Zoologie. Vol. III. Paris : Pillet Aîné 2 Vols 712 pp. Atlas 15 pp. 96 pls. [123] [as (Columba) Jamieson; based on observation of living wild bird].
Type data:
Holotype whereabouts unknown (not collected, lost), Nepean River, near Port Jackson, NSW. - Leucosarcia melanoleuca minor Mathews, G.M. 1916. List of additions of new sub-species to, and changes in, my "List of the Birds of Australia". Austral Avian Records 3(3): 53-68 [Date published 4 Apr 1916] [54] [as Leucosareia melanoleuca minor; holotype not identified in G.M. Mathews' collection in AMNH by Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306; the type locality as quoted in the original description is beyond the range of this species].
Type data:
Holotype AMNH (institution uncertain, G.M. Mathews' coll. no. unspecified), N QLD.
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
Generic Combinations
- Leucosarcia picata (Latham, 1801).
Introduction
The name L. picata given preference over melanoleuca, following Christidis and Boles (2008: 73); but suppressed subsequently by Opinion 2240 (ICZN 2009: 375), decided in favour of C. melanoleuca.
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Extra Distribution Information
Coastal SE Australia, inland to summit ridges of Great Dividing range and its innermost western watersheds, north to ranges of Mackenzie-Dawson Rivers basin, QLD, and south to W Gippsland as far as Strathbogie and Dandenong Ranges, VIC, exceptionally beyond—historical records from Atherton Tableland and Eungella Plateau-Clarke Ra., QLD, unconfirmed, but latter likely (N.W. Longmore, A. Emmott, W. McLean & W. Higham, pers. comm.)—introduction to Kangaroo Is., SA, unsuccessful.
IBRA
NSW, Qld, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders (FLI), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)
Original AFD Distribution Data
Australian Region
- Australia
- New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
- Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, NE coastal
- Victoria
Ecological Descriptors
Arboreal, closed forest, diurnal, frugivorous, granivore, sedentary, tall forest, terrestrial, volant.
Extra Ecological Information
Randomly dispersed, seasonal breeder, feeds on ground on floor of close eucalypt forests and rainforests on seeds, fallen fruit and occasional insects, nests in trees usually more than 2 m above ground, wanders locally to seasonal food sources.
General References
Dunn, R. 1983. Cryptic behaviour in the Wonga Pigeon. Australian Bird Watcher 10: 102-103 (behaviour)
Frith, H.J. 1977. Some display postures of Australian pigeons. Ibis 119: 167-182 (behaviour)
Frith, H.J. 1982. Pigeons and Doves of Australia. Adelaide : Rigby vii 304 pp., 32 pls. (synonymy)
Goodwin, D. 1967. Australian pigeons: their affinities and status. The Emu 66: 319-336 (relationships of species)
ICZN 2009. Opinion 2240 (Case 3418). Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 66(4): 375-378 [385] ('picata Latham, 1802, as published in the binomen Columba picata' 'suppressed for the Purposes Principle of Priority, but not for those of the Principle of Homonymy')
Marchant, S. 1987. Nesting habits of the Wonga Pigeon. Australian Birds 21: 19-21 (voice, nesting, behaviour)
Marchant, S. 1989. Nesting of the Wonga Pigeon Leucosarcia melanoleuca —corrections and additions. Australian Birds 22: 69-75 (behaviour, nidification)
Mathews, G.M. 1927. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. London : British Ornithologists' Union Pt 1 iv 426 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)
North, A.J. 1914. Nests and Eggs of Birds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania. Sydney : Australian Museum Spec. Cat. 1 Vol. 4 viii 472 pp. [published between 1913–1914] [150-154] (status and extralimital records)
Salvadori, T. 1893. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Columbae, or Pigeons. London : British Museum Vol. 21 xvii 676 pp. XV pls. (synonymy and specific limits)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14-May-2013 | MODIFIED |