Ploceus Bohndorffi Reichenow

Ploceus Bohndorffi Reichenow, 1887: 214 (Stanley- Fälle).

Now Ploceus cucullatus bohndorffi Reichenow, 1887 . See Hartert, 1919: 139; Chapin, 1954b: 351–355; Moreau and Greenway, 1962: 46; Dickinson, 2003: 721; Fry and Keith, 2004: 164–170; and Craig, 2010: 165–166.

SYNTYPE (perhaps holotype): AMNH 724091, unsexed [adult male], collected at Stanley Falls, 00.18N, 25.30E (Times Atlas), Congo (Kinshasa), in March, by F. Bohndorff. From the Rothschild Collection.

COMMENTS: In the original description, Reichenow did not give the sex of the bird he described or say how many specimens he examined, but he gave only one set of measurements and perhaps had only a single specimen. Hartert (1919: 139) also did not know how many specimens were involved in the original description as he referred to the above specimen as ‘‘ Type (or cotype)’’; the only locality referred to was Stanley Falls. A second specimen collected by Bohndorff at Kasango in June is not considered part of the type series.

Most authors recognize the subspecies bohndorffi; however, Craig (2010: 165) synonymized it with nominate cucullatus .