Remember the Rufous-sided Towhee?
A listener recently wrote us:
“Years ago, some of the birds at my feeder were the Rufous-sided Towhee, Oregon
Junco, and Red-shafted Flicker. But I can’t find them in my current field
guides. They're gone, and so are the marsh hawk and sparrow hawk.”
Well, the listener’s right. Some
of these long-familiar bird names have passed into history.
The study of birds, like any science, remains a work in progress. New findings about birds’ DNA or other attributes bring changes in classification of species, which often result in new names. Take the Rufous-sided Towhee, found across North America. Differences between its western and eastern forms – plumage, songs, genetics – brought an official split into two distinct species: the Spotted Towhee in the West, the Eastern Towhee in the East.
The study of birds, like any science, remains a work in progress. New findings about birds’ DNA or other attributes bring changes in classification of species, which often result in new names. Take the Rufous-sided Towhee, found across North America. Differences between its western and eastern forms – plumage, songs, genetics – brought an official split into two distinct species: the Spotted Towhee in the West, the Eastern Towhee in the East.
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