{"id":10323,"date":"2015-09-27T01:43:19","date_gmt":"2015-09-27T08:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/birdaz.com\/blog\/?p=10323"},"modified":"2015-09-27T07:17:22","modified_gmt":"2015-09-27T14:17:22","slug":"10323","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/birdaz.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/27\/10323\/","title":{"rendered":"Heermann’s Birds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PUerto<\/a><\/p>\n

One hundred fifty years ago today, Adolphus L. Heermann was killed, “having evidently stumbled and fallen<\/a>,” when his collecting gun fired.<\/p>\n

John Cassin, who knew him well, said of Heermann in earlier, healthier days that\u00a0no better man could be had for a collecting expedition. In 1853, Cassin dedicated a “beautiful gull<\/a>” to his friend, an<\/p>\n

acknowledgment due to his accomplishment as a naturalist, and his perseverance and success as a scientific traveller.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In Washington, D.C., Spencer Baird was equally impressed by Heermann and his work in the field.\u00a0On working through a collection of\u00a0sparrows from the west, Baird encountered<\/a> one that\u00a0Heermann had sent from Tejon Pass, California, resembling a song sparrow but<\/p>\n

differing very appreciably from a large number of specimens from Washington and Oregon…. I have come to the conclusion that the species is worthy of specific separation, and have accordingly named it Melospiza heermanni, after its accomplished collector and discoverer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Today we “know” that that California bird is “just” a subspecies of the song sparrow. But there’s no reason not to call it the Heermann’s song sparrow, especially today.<\/p>\n

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