So Long McCown's Longspur, Hello Thick-billed Longspur

[Richard Trinkner]

Forgive me if this has already been covered on Cobirds.  I don't recall seeing it's discussion.

The AOU decided last Friday to rename the bird-fomerly-known-as-McCown's-Longspur to the Thick-billed Longspur.  I personally had not realized how controversial the bird's former namesake was.

https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/science/mccowns-longspur-renamed-thick-billed-longspur/

I would imagine we'll be seeing the change in eBird soon.

Richard Trinkner

Boulder

[Peter Ruprecht]

Cross-posting from Boulder County Nature-Net:

Without getting further into the discussion of whether it's appropriate to name birds (or plants, or mountains, or towns ...) after people, let me add just a few (mostly tongue-in-cheek) observations about what happens if bird names change.

I wondered which ornithologists would get hosed the worst by bird nomenclature changes, ie, whose name disappears from the most species.  William Swainson's name is on nearly 10 species or subspecies, though only a few in N.A.  Alexander Wilson and John Cassin lose out on at least five each.  (As an aside, per Wikipedia, Wilson died of "chronic poverty", and Cassin of arsenic poisoning due to handling too many preserved skins.  Clearly ornithology was a tough gig back in those days.)

I am totally fine with MacGillivray's Warbler changing to something that I can spell correctly consistently.

Along the same lines, if we don't change Steller's Jay to Crested Conifer Jay, please make it Stellar Jay so that the majority of the Internet will be able to spell it right with no further work needed.

If shooting at birds is a major disqualifier for having them named after you, presumably gentle ladies such as Lucy, Grace, Anna, and Virginia are OK to keep "their" warblers and hummingbirds?

And should we really name birds after jobs, like the "prothonotary", which was apparently a Byzantine court recorder?  I personally think the alternate name, "Golden Swamp Warbler", rocks.

The odonates community did a great job when assigning official common names to dragonflies, handing out descriptive and mellifluous monikers such as "sundragons" and "boghaunters".  Fortunately, "long ass butterfly" didn't make the cut.  Perhaps bird nomenclaturists can do similarly well.

 -Peter Ruprecht, Superior (who, based on my inability to call Marsh Hawks anything more contemporary, will probably keep referring to "Audubon's Warbler" for several more decades after it gets renamed ...)

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[tedfl...@gmail.com]

Hey, Richard et al. Two quick responses:

1. Speaking of name changes, the nomenclatorial authority in his matter hasn't been the "AOU" for some time now. It's the "AOS," the American Ornithological Society. It seems nobody knew what "AOU" stood for, especially the "O" part of the moniker. ;-)

2. Don't hold your breath on an imminent eBird change. Taxonomic and nomenclatorial changes are happening essentially continuously around the world, and eBird is of course a global database. So eBird typically holds off in increments of at least one year in making a big batch of checklist changes. In the same way that we had to wait around for, say, Yellow-breasted Chat to move to the "correct" spot on the checklist, we may not be seeing "McCown's Longspur" for quite some time on our eBird checklists. This is not a diss on eBird, by the way; it would be totally impracticable for eBird to keep up with the constant flux of taxonomic and nomenclatorial statuses worldwide.

Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder County

P. s. Recent bird sightings: a loggerhead shrike and 2 sage thrashers yesterday afternoon, Wed., Aug. 12, at the Legion Park overlook, Valmont Reservoir complex, Boulder County. The day before, Tues., Aug. 11, Little Gaynor Lake, Boulder County, had American avocet, killdeer, Baird sandpiper, least sandpiper, western/semipalmated sandpiper, Wilson phalarope, spotted sandpiper, greater yellowlegs, and lesser yellowlegs. 

[The "Nunn Guy"]

Hi all

Funny seeing this post because in our iNaturalist project it keeps coming back with "Thick-billed Longspur (McCown's Longspur)" when I post bird photos and I sat there wondering "why do they have this?" ... now I know. Thanks Richard.

Thanks, Gary Lefko, Nunn

http://www.friendsofthepawneegrassland.org

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/birds-and-more-of-the-pawnee-national-grassland

[Adam Johnson]

I'd vote for Golden Swamp Warbler any day. 

Adam Johnson

Fort Collins

[Hugh Kingery]

    Another thought on these birds named for men (3 women so -honored, all by their first names). I think of the Wilson's Warbler or the Swainson's Thrush as wild creatures. The " 's " implies possession -- and I don't think Wilson owned the warbler or Swainson the thrush. How about eliminating all the " 's " from those names?

Hugh Kingery

[Larry Modesitt]

As they do for mountains, such as Grays Peak and Longs Peak. 

But the effort seems unnecessary, as  it appears the part before the ’s will disappear as well. 

Larry Modesitt

Arvada

On Aug 13, 2020, at 3:03 PM, 'Hugh Kingery' via Colorado Birds <cob...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

    Another thought on these birds named for men (3 women so -honored, all by their first names). I think of the Wilson's Warbler or the Swainson's Thrush as wild creatures. The " 's " implies possession -- and I don't think Wilson owned the warbler or Swainson the thrush. How about eliminating all the " 's " from those names?

Hugh Kingery

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[Richard Pautsch]

And can we change Ring-necked Duck to a name descriptive of something you can see through binoculars?

On Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 4:57:46 PM UTC-6, Richard Trinkner wrote:

[Caleb A]

Maybe call Ring-necked Duck "White-armpitted Duck"

The only way I make 100% positive IDs from long distances for these fellas.

The birds are happy, and so am I

~Caleb Alons, Larimer County

[tedfl...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, August 13, 2020 at 3:03:34 PM UTC-6 wrote:

    Another thought on these birds named for men (3 women so -honored, all by their first names). I think of the Wilson's Warbler or the Swainson's Thrush as wild creatures. The " 's " implies possession -- and I don't think Wilson owned the warbler or Swainson the thrush. How about eliminating all the " 's " from those names?

Hello, Hugh et al.

For more (much more!) on this matter, see p. 38 ff. here ("Discontinue use of the possessive (“apostrophe–s”) in patronymic bird names"):

http://checklist.americanornithology.org/assets/proposals/PDF/2019-A.pdf

Enjoy!

Ted Floyd

Lafayette, Boulder County

 

Hugh Kingery

[mblackford]

Although the paper says they are planning to "discontinue  the possessive (apostrophe -'s,) in patronymic bird names"

They are recommending a name change of Saltmarsh sparrow to Peterson's Sparrow

I'm confused... 

Maureen Blackford

Boulder County

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[Willem van Vliet]

For delightful and informative coverage of the origin of bird names, see "Mrs. Moreau's Warbler" by Stephen Moss. He wraps erudite sources into engaging stories showing that how we name birds tells as much or more about ourselves as about the birds we baptize.

Willem van Vliet--

Boulder

On Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 4:57:46 PM UTC-6, Richard Trinkner wrote:

[Ira Sanders]

Do as I say and not as I do.

Ira Sanders

Golden CO

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Ira Sanders

Golden, CO

"My mind is a raging torrent flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."