Nomenclatural corrections, neotype designation and new subspecies description in the genus Suiriri (Aves: Passeriformes: Tyrannidae).

Zimmer et al. (2001) documented two morphological and vocal forms within what was then known as Suiriri suiriri affinis, and described the short-billed form as Suiriri islerorum. However, studies of the Burmeister type material held at the Natural History Collections of the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, revealed the types of Suiriri s. affinis (Burmeister, 1856) to be the same taxon as Suiriri islerorum, which name therefore becomes a junior synonym. No published name is available for the long-billed form. A new name is therefore introduced by an original description in accordance with the International code on zoological nomenclature. The original type material of S. s. bahiae (Berlepsch, 1893) is confirmed to be lost; a neotype is designated.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the core babblers (Aves: Timaliidae).

The avian family Timaliidae is a species rich and morphologically diverse component of African and Asian tropical forests. The morphological diversity within the family has attracted interest from ecologists and evolutionary biologists, but systematists have long suspected that this diversity might also mislead taxonomy, and recent molecular phylogenetic work has supported this hypothesis. We produced and analyzed a data set of 6 genes and almost 300 individuals to assess the evolutionary history of the family. Although phylogenetic analysis required extensive adjustment of program settings, we ultimately produced a well-resolved phylogeny for the family. The resulting phylogeny provided strong support for major subclades within the family but extensive paraphyly of genera. Only 3 genera represented by more than 3 species were monophyletic. Biogeographic reconstruction indicated a mainland Asian origin for the family and most major clades. Colonization of Africa, Sundaland, and the Philippines occurred relatively late in the family's history and was mostly unidirectional. Several putative babbler genera, such as Robsonius, Malia, Leonardina, and Micromacronus are only distantly related to the Timaliidae.

Settling the name Diomedea exulans Linnaeus, 1758 for the Wandering Albatross by neotypification.

On-going conflict in use of the name Diomedea exulans Linnaeus, 1758 for different taxa of the great albatrosses (Wandering Albatross complex) is resolved by neotypification, fixing the name to the large subantarctic form formerly often known as D. chionoptera Salvin, 1896. Application of all scientific names in the complex is reviewed, an annotated synonymy for the large subantarctic form is provided, available names for smaller, temperate-zone forms are listed, and unavailable and otherwise invalid names referable to the complex are identified. Syntypes of D. chionoptera and D. spadicea J.F. Gmelin, 1789 are lectotypified as well, fixing their names as synonyms of D. exulans to prevent possible disturbance to in-use names for the smaller, temperate-zone forms.

Addendum to Kirwan et al. (2016, Zootaxa 4121(1): 89-94).

Following the publication of Kirwan et al. (2016), it has been brought to our attention that the treatment of any possible alternative genus-group name for Parus pipra Linnaeus, 1758, when treated as monotypic, was not as self-evident to others as it was to the authors. As there is no "case law" in Zoological Nomenclature, and whatever conclusions we reached were naturally subject to our interpretation of the Code (ICZN 1999), and may not necessarily accord with the views of others, we have revisited "Pythis Viell.: Pipra leucocilla Gm." in Boie (1826: 971) which has been viewed as an available alternative name by one correspondent (Murray Bruce in litt. June 2016).

The mistaken manakin: a new genus-group name for Parus pipra Linnaeus, 1758 (Aves: Passeriformes: Pipridae).

The White-crowned Manakin Pipra pipra was long considered congeneric with other members of the genus Pipra, until Prum (1990, 1992, 1994) demonstrated that its display repertoire and syringeal morphology differ considerably from all other members of that genus. Subsequently, three different molecular phylogenies have all indicated that this manakin is more closely related to the genus Machaeropterus than to Pipra. Prum (1992) considered that the name Dixiphia Reichenbach, 1850, was available, and thus the combination Dixiphia pipra has since been in widespread use for this species. However, as first recognized more than 150 years ago, Dixiphia is a junior synonym of Arundinicola d'Orbigny, 1840. We show that no genus-group name is available for the manakin originally described as Parus pipra Linnaeus, 1758, and for which we therefore provide a new genus name.