Let's Rename the Birds!!! (pt. 16)
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
Call/song characteristics
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 16 - Smith's Longspur
Smith’s Longspur (Calcarius pictus), male, family Calcariidae, order Passeriformes
Smith’s Longspur (Calcarius pictus), male, family Calcariidae, order Passeriformes,
Breeds/nests in north-central areas of far northern Canada, and parts of eastern Alaska.
Breeds in Arctic lowland areas where tundra meets forest, usually in wet meadows, and in grassy mountain valleys.
Overwinters in small flocks on grasslands in the southern plains of the US.
(TX, OK, KS, NB, LA, AR, IA, IL, TN, KY, MS)
Usually found on the ground.
Feed mainly on seeds, but also eat insects in summer.
Unlike many ground foraging birds of similar size, like sparrows, they do not use their feet to uncover food, but use mainly their beaks to glean food the ground and low on vegetation.
Formerly in the Old World Bunting family, family Emberizidae, they are now in their own family (which includes Snow Buntings).
Formerly though of as new world sparrows, they are not, and as aforementioned, are in their own family.
The males are more colorful and elaborately marked than the drab well camouflaged females.
They grow to a max. length of about 17 cm (6.7 in).
They nest in small colonies on the ground, usually near tufts of grass or small shrubs.
Females and males, sometimes multiple males feed the chicks (the birds are often polyandrous). Nests usually have one mother and multiple fathers.
The chicks are fed mainly insects and other small invertebrates.
Hear the songs/calls here: Smith's Longspur Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
photograph by Andrew Spencer
male - photograph by Jared Hughey
female - photograph by Jeff Seitz
female - photograph by Historical Middleton Island Data
turnnoffyourmind
vaporwave
origamiaround
tangentwithtanner
germansingergirl
pixelskylines
