Birds of India - The New Synopsis

A complete checklist of bird species and subspecies found in India

Passeriformes (Perching Birds)

Regulidae (Goldcrests)

• Regulus Cuvier, 1800 Leçons d'anatomie comparée 1 tab.2 Le roitelet Cuvier ; Type by monotypy = Motacilla regulus Linnaeus, 1758
  • 1045. Goldcrest Regulus regulus (Linnaeus, 1758)
    Original Description: Motacilla Regulus Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata 1 p.188
    IUCN: Least Concern. SoIB: Low. WLPA: Schedule-II. CMS: Appendix II.
    • 1045a. Regulus regulus himalayensis Bonaparte, 1856 [HB#1629]
      Original Description: Reg[ulus]. himalayensis Bonaparte, 1856 Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences Tome 42, 1er semestre, N°17 p.767 (Kotgarh, Himachal)
      Taxonomy: Includes salimalii Deignan 1954 from Kotgarh, Himachal.
      Distribution: W Himalaya from Gilgit, Ladakh, Kashmir, Jammu, Himachal, and Uttarakhand.
      Specimens: BNHS, NHMUK, UMMZ, AMNH, FMNH, ROM, USNM
      Notes: Records of tristis subspecies from Ladakh are fraudulent (RA2012).
    • 1045b. Regulus regulus sikkimensis Meinertzhagen & Meinertzhagen, 1926 [HB#1630]
      Original Description: Regulus regulus sikkimensis Meinertzhagen & Meinertzhagen, 1926 Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 46 p.97 (Sikkim)
      Distribution: N Bengal, Sikkim, and Arunachal till about Mishmi hills.
      Type Specimen: NHMUK#1886.11.1.685 (Holotype).
      Specimens: NHMUK, AMNH
    • [Regulus regulus yunnanensis Rippon, 1906 [HB#1631]]
      Original Description: Regulus yunnanensis Rippon, 1906 Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 19 p.19
      Distribution: Winter: Walong region (NE Arunachal).
      Notes: Walong population almost certainly this greener-backed subspecies while the birds found in Mayodia and Upper Dibang valley could also belong here, but considered tentatively as sikkimensis. A thorough investigation required.