Birds and the People They Were Named For

Authors

Date of this Version

3-2024

Document Type

Article

Citation

Nebraska Bird Review, volume 92, number 1, March 2024, pp. 18–20

Comments

Published by the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union, Inc.

Abstract

This year the theme for our color photo section was birds named for people. For the purposes of our selections, we looked only at the common names of birds, although some species also reflect the names of people in their scientific names. Many species are named for people, but photos of the ones listed here are on the first six pages of this year’s color section.

Baird’s Sandpiper, Baird’s Sparrow Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887) was the first curator and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and was instrumental in expanding the Institution’s natural history collections. John James Audubon named the sandpiper for him, and Elliott Coues named the sparrow for him. [also Baird’s Flycatcher and Baird’s Trogon].

Baltimore Oriole
Brewer’s Sparrow
Bullock’s Oriole
Cassin’s Finch
Cassin’s Kingbird
Clark’s Grebe
Clark’s Nutcracker
Cooper’s Hawk
Forster’s Tern
Franklin’s Gull
Harris’s Sparrow
Henslow’s Sparrow
LeConte’s Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Nelson’s Sparrow
Ross’s Goose
Sabine’s Gull
Sprague’s Pipit
Steller’s Jay
Swainson’s Hawk
Swainson’s Thrush
Townsend’s Solitaire
Wilson’s Phalarope
Wilson’s Snipe
Wilson’s Warbler