Put it this way:
Any net short-term capital gains distributed to you from mutual funds are reported as ordinary dividends on Form 1099-DIV; these gains are from securities the mutual fund has held for one year or less.
Any long-term capital gains distributed to you from mutual funds are reported as capital gains distributions on Form 1099-DIV; these are gains from securities the mutual has held for more than one year and are essentially long-term to you regardless of how long you have held shares in the mutual fund.
