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As you may already know... ornithological authorities (such as the AOS and ABA) in North America have decided, for a variety of reasons, to rename all of the birds that have been named after people.

Some examples: Lewis's Woodpecker, Smith's Longspur, MacGillivray's Warbler...

I thought it would be fun for us to come up with some ideas for new common names here on Tumblr.

Here are some criteria for re-naming that might appeal to ornithologists and birdwatchers:

Habitat and geographical range

Physical characteristics

Call/song characteristics

Behavior

PLEASE MAKE YOUR NAMING SUGGESTIONS IN THE COMMENTS, REBLOG, OR TAGS.

We'll take the best ideas, and put them in a poll by the end of the week! (I and an esteemed panel of ornithological tumblererrsssres will make the decisions).

WEEK 12 - Brandt's Cormorant

Brandt’s Cormorant (Urile penicillatus), courtship displays, family Phalacrocoracidae, order Suliformes

Ranges along the Pacific Coast of North America, from SE Alaska to both sides of the Gulf of California in Mexico.

The more northern populations migrate to the coastal US in Winter.

Strictly marine (ocean) cormorant. (Almost never found inland, except occasionally during migration).

Adults have a bright blue gular pouch during the breeding season.

The nest along the coast, often on cliffs, islands, and rocky outcroppings in groups.

Both parent care for the chicks.

These cormorants dive for their prey, which is mostly fish (but they occasionally feed on squid and crustaceans, as well).

They are known for feeding on herring and rockfish, but feed on up to 93 species of fish.

They may hunt alone or in large groups out at sea.

This is my favorite cormorant.

Courtship and mated pair welcome displays include bowing, wing spreading, head lifting (to show off the gorgeous blue throat patch), and cocking up the tail.

This species does not do the spread wing posture to dry wings for prolonged periods, the way many other species of cormorant do.

Some notes about similarities to other cormorants: there are other species that also nest along coasts, dive for fish, and are found in oceans.

Listen to the sounds here: Brandt's Cormorant Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

photographs by Kevin Kreucher

La Jolla, CA, USA - photograph by Hoang-Lien Pham

photograph by Christopher Gutierrez

photograph by Phillip Colla