sometimes a poll blog

Feel free to use it! 🌈🌈🌈🌈

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 17 - Gambel's Quail

Gambel’s Quail (Callipepla gambelii), male, family Odontophoridae, order Galliformes

Found in parts of the Southwestern US and NW Mexico in arid habitats, usually with dense thickets of low growing bushes and other vegetation.

This bird has similar plumage to the California Quail, and the two birds can be easily confused with each other.

Californias have a "scaly" appearance, and lack the black patch on the lower breast that the male Gambel's has.

Ground birds, not often seen in flight.

Like other quail, when startled or fleeing, they have an explosive and sudden burst of flight.

During the breeding season, mated pairs are territorial and aggressive toward other birds.

Out of the breeding season (late summer through winter), birds will often gather in coveys (groups of related birds early on, and then different coveys will fuse together later in the fall or winter).

They nest in the ground under shrubs and cacti.

Chicks are mainly insectivorous, and adults feed mainly on seeds and other plant material (though both are omnivorous).

Chicks are precocial, leaving the nest with their parents only hours after hatching.

One of 4 species of quail in the desert SW U.S.

photographs by Samantha Laarman & Alan D. Wilson

photograph by John Davis

Male & female - photograph by Rex Short

photograph by Chris Rurick

See My Yellow

Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea). Family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes.

A young male with his father. He has a stick in his mouth!

Decembird Day 16: Front View

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

Roux (dilutes/removes black pigment, leaving red and yellow) vs fee (dilutes/removes red pigment, leaving black and yellow) vs Sex-linked Brown (increases red pigment slightly).