Hi What a fascinating discussion we are all having on Cobirds about the implication of changing the names of birds.
Birds named after historical individuals offer important links to the rich history, good and bad, about how our country was formed but also how the history of birds evolved from hunting to the trill of bird watching, to the impressive transformation from birding into an important scientific organization, American Ornithological Union AOU. Here are some brief examples of some: Lewis’s Woodpecker, named after Meriwether Lewis, the co-leader of the stupendously successful Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 1800s which explored all the new land west to the Pacific Ocean. John Cassin (Cassin’s Finch, Cassin’s Kingbird and many more) from the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science was one of the foremost ornithologist of the ninetieth century describing numerous new bird species. He fought form the Union Army during the Civil War, captured by the Confederate Army, and spent the rest of the war in the sadistic Libby Prison, not many survived, he was lucky, but died shortly afterwards John McCowen, (McCown’s Longspur), now the Thick-billed Longspur. was a Major General in the Confederate Army, He was a brilliant tactician with just a few hundred men and one piece of artillery, he defeated an entire division of Union cavalry. McCown became disillusioned with the purpose of Confederacy and argued against it’s goals and is is quoted as saying about the Confederacy, “…a damned stinking cotton oligarchy. Was McCown a villain or a brave hero who took the deadly risk to speaking against the Confederacy? Steller’s Jay named after Georg Steller a brilliant German scientist who was asked by Peter the Great to explore Russia, which he did during the winter by dog sled. Hooked up with Captain Bering and set sail to the east and where they discovered Alaska, then spent years ship wrecked on Bering Island in the middle of the Aleutian Islands. He survived most others didn’t. This is just a taste of the intriguing history that underlies each of the bird species named after historic naturalist and ornithologist. More involved biographies of each can be found in the Colorado Field Ornithologist Journals or just tap into Google & Wikipedia Do you think this level of information enhance bird watching or not. Bob Righter Denver CO -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/95F0EA23-7B19-459B-90E4-5FEA31567DA7%40earthlink.net.
