Tuesday, May 29, 2001

Reclassified: A bird by any other name ...

During a recent Audubon birding discussion group on the Internet, a visitor posted a question that I think some of you may share. The writer said that while doing research in old field guides, he came across some birds of which he had never heard.
   Since I still use some of those older field guides, I realized that this was a question of birds having been either reclassified or renamed. Birders are often heard to complain about this frequent nomenclature happening in the scientific bird world.
   Nomenclature means a system of names and is derived from two Latin words, nomen, to name, and calare, to call. Nomenclature means literally to call by name. Common names are part of a bird's name but the scientific name is its universal identification. Common names have a way of being slippery, referring to one animal in one country and a different one in another.
   Taxonomy is the science of classification of birds and other animals and plants. This is done by examining both superficial similarities and likenesses of habit, habitat, parasite and diet. A great change is already occurring in this science with the use of DNA.
   Beware the lumpers
   Back to the birds the birder had never heard of. They were Audubon and Myrtle warblers, solitary vireo, bronzed grackle, Gambel's sparrow and water pipit. "Could someone please tell me," the writer continued, "are these birds now extinct, or have they been broken into groups?"
   Ten minutes later, someone did, in fact several someones. They added a humorous phrase to the lesson too: "Beware the lumpers! They steal your hard-earned tickmarks! However, the splitters are tops!"
   The answers to the unknown species were: Audubon and Myrtle warblers are now yellow-rumped warblers. A solitary vireo has been reclassified as three separate species: Cassin's, plumbeous and blue-headed. Bronzed grackle was a color variation of common grackle. Gambel's white-crowned sparrow is a subspecies of white-crowned sparrow. Water pipit is now American water-pipit.
   As for lumpers, tickmarks and splitters, the lumpers refers to scientists who deprive a birder of a tickmark by combining two birds on his list and making it one species. Tickmarks are how British birders refer to life birds on their life lists of birds seen. Splitters, of course, means scientists who divide a species, making two or three new species and thus adding possible birds to the birder's list. Sometimes the split species must be pursued to the east or west section of the country to be found.
  
  

---

Phyllis Yochem, a Corpus Christi resident, has studied birds in Texas since 1960.

| Discuss about birdwatching | | Home |

---

---

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND

---

2000 Caller-Times Publishing Company, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.