Cisticola simplicissima Neumann

LeCroy, M., 2008, Type Specimens Of Birds In The American Museum Of Natural History. Part 7. Passeriformes: Sylviidae, Muscicapidae, Platysteiridae, Maluridae, Acanthizidae, Monarchidae, Rhipiduridae, And Petroicidae, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 313 (1), pp. 1-287 : 40-41

Cisticola simplicissima Neumann

Cisticola simplicissima Neumann, 1908e: 47 (Kukema River, Bihe´, Angola).

Now Cisticola fulvicapilla dispar Sousa, 1887 . See Lynes, 1930: 515–517, 663, Urban et al., 1997: 196, Dean, 2000: 230.

HOLOTYPE: AMNH 594251 , male, collect- ed on the Cuquema (5 Kukema) River, Bie´, Angola, on 8 December 1904, by W.J. Ansorge (no. 870). From the Rothschild Collection.

COMMENTS: Neumann apparently had a single specimen when he named C. simplicissima . R. Dowsett (personal commun.) has suggested that Ansorge’s collecting locality was probably near Pedreira, 12.29S, 16.49E ( Dean, 2000: 376), as 4 days earlier he was at Caiala, 12.19S, 17.07E ( Dean, 2000: 371).

Hartert (1920: 467) synonymized simplicissima with C. angusticauda ; Lynes (1930: 663) considered the type of simplicissima to be an immature specimen and a synonym of C. fulvicapilla dispar . Labels written by Lynes and attached to this type and to an adult male, AMNH 594261, collected by Ansorge at Cassoc show that Lynes had compared AMNH 594251 with the Berlin type of C. angusticauda and did not agree with Hartert that they were the same. He had sent the Cassoc specimen to Lisbon. Comparison was made there with the type of Cisticola dispar Sousa , and the reply was that it was identical in color and measurements and had the same first primary width. Lynes found that angusticauda had longer, narrower tail feathers and a first primary that was shorter and more sharply pointed than in C. f. dispar . Comparison of more recently collected immatures of C. f. dispar with Neumann’s type confirms Lynes’ analysis.

Lynes frequently attached to specimens characteristic large light green labels on which he wrote helpful notes. The above type bears a green label, which reads: ‘‘For Dr. Hartert. This does not compare with TYPE of Cisticola angusticauda Rchw. wh. I have before me now ex Berlin Mus. I am sure about that. angusticauda is not with Cisticola it has v. long narrow tail feathers and other diffs. Of form. Especially it has a minute needle pointed first primary. I have told Dr. Stresemann of my view. Whether angusticauda should be with Apalis, Dryodromas, Euprinoides or what??? simplicissima Neum. seems to me very near true C. ruficapilla A. Smith. Cisticola- H. Lynes.’’

A second white label by Lynes also appears on this specimen: ‘‘H. Lynes 18/1/ 26. The bird ex BM which you & Kinnear compared with TYPE angusticauda ex Berlin Mus. on 13/1/26 was I find a topotype of Bohm’s from Gonda 150 m East of Lake Tanganyika rec. in exch. From Berlin. typ. loc. of angusticauda is KAKOMA (150 MILES e. of Lake Tanganyika. typ. loc. of simplicissima is KUKEMA River Angola!!’’