Systematic notes on Asian birds. 40. The authorship of the new bird names proposed in the ‘Memoir of the Life of Raffles’ by his widow, Lady Sophia Raffles (1830)

When Lady Sophia Raffles published her biography of her late husband, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, in 1830, she included a catalogue of zoological specimens based on the collections brought back by Raffles from Java and Sumatra. However, the catalogue was included without indication of its authorship. In the case of the birds, it has been attributed to either Vigors alone or Vigors & Horsfield. For about a century names were credited to Vigors alone but this was changed to Vigors & Horsfield. Here reasons are given to revert to Vigors alone. Nine new names were introduced in the catalogue; four are in current use.