Ɛpsilon

To G. R. Gray   [February 1841]

[12 Upper Gower Street]

Sunday

My dear Sir

In the two last proofs, you have called one ground-woodpecker Chrysoptilus campestris & the second you left “Colaptes Chilensis Vigors”.— I have altered this to “Chrysoptilus Chilensis G. R. Gray”—1 Is this right.?— You need not look at any other part of this Revise.— Will you ⁠⟨⁠plea⁠⟩⁠se leave these sheets, as you ⁠⟨⁠retu⁠⟩⁠rn home.—

Yours most truly | C. Darwin

1
‘Colaptes Chilensis Vigors’ was retained (Birds, p. 114). CD’s note reads: ‘It is closely related in habits and structure to the foregoing species [Chrysoptilus campestris], and appears to be its representative on the western side of the Cordillera; hence I cannot but think the institution of the above two genera unfortunate.’ Colaptes chilensis is a synonym of Colaptes pitius, the Chilean flicker; Chrysoptilus campestris is a synonym of Colaptes campestris, the Campo flicker.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-587,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-587