[obol] Renaming the Scrub-Jays
- From: Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
- To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2017 06:55:12 -0800
Jeff Gilligan wrote:
BTW: (Since it occurs well into Washington State, I conclude that the
"California" Jay is improperly named.
Dave Irons wrote:
Coastal Scrub-Jay and Great Basin Scrub-Jay would be better names for
this species pair.
All,
I note that many Californians range well into Washington state. To
verify this, just drive I-5 north and note license plates, especially
those of cars that are going about 10 mph faster than the rest.
But regarding the choice of names for these jays, it seems high time to
drop the adjective "Scrub" which seems to derive from the habitat type
known as Florida scrub..
Then we can call these two species simply "Oak Jay" and "Juniper Jay,"
to align them with titmice.
To tidy up names for the rest of the genus:
A. insularis could become "Michumash Jay" (less unwieldy than "Santa
Cruz Island Jay").
A. coerulescens could go back to being plain "Scrub Jays," but that
could cause confusion with the pre-split name. A simple solution is to
just shift the hyphen to yield "Florida-scrub Jay," in honor of their
habitat.
The four-letter banding codes would be OAJA, JUJA, MIJA, and FSJA.
Next suggested topic: renaming Winter Wrens.
Good birding,
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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