saw a SUPER RARE bird today! their typical range is in eurasia, but their nearest native range is in alaska. seeing one in the contiguous united states is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (and in fact the last record of one found in my state was before i was born). someone just noticed this guy at his feeder and sounded the alarm.
(and sibley's "what it's like to be a bird", which is not really a field guide, but still counts)
#BirdNamesForBirds wins!
The American Ornithological Society, which is the organization responsible for standardizing English bird names across the Americas, announced on Wednesday that it would rename all species honoring people. Bird names derived from people, the society said in a statement, can be harmful, exclusive and detract from “the focus, appreciation or consideration of the birds themselves.”That means the Audubon’s shearwater, a bird found off the coast of the southeastern United States, will no longer have a name acknowledging James John Audubon, a famous bird illustrator and a slave owner who adamantly opposed abolition. The Scott’s oriole, a black-and-yellow bird inhabiting the Southwest and Mexico, will also receive a new moniker, which will sever ties to the U.S. Civil War general Winfield Scott, who oversaw the forced relocation of Indigenous peoples in 1838 that eventually became the Trail of Tears.
The organization’s decision is a response to pressure from birders to redress the recognition of historical figures with racist or colonial pasts. The renaming process will aim for more descriptive names about the birds’ habitats or physical features and is part of a broader push in science for more welcoming, inclusive environments.
flock of pinyon jays invade bird cam
clark's nutcracker - size does matter
bushtits flash mob the birdbath
a noisy family of white-tailed whistling ducks
bar-headed goose honk
Pinned Tags