Few figures in 20th century ornithology stand out like Erwin Friedrich Theodor Stresemann (1889–1972), the famed German ornithologist who authored […]
Eponymous bird names feed ornithologists’ vanity, without enlightening the science
“There is also another unmeaning custom, which it is still more essential for us to get rid of. I mean […]
Alexander Wilson was not the “Father of American Ornithology”
In a new paper in the Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. (download here), I expose a big misunderstanding about the […]
Sedgley Meadow under threat: Philly officials move forward with secret development plan
Philadelphia City officials have broken ground on a new development project in East Fairmount Park, to transform the meadow at […]
Delayed plumage maturation in male Black-throated Blue Warblers?
Black-throated Blue Warbler Setophaga caerulescens (hereafter BTBW) is a sexually dimorphic species in the songbird family Parulidae that has been […]
Conodoguinet Cave: American Ornithology’s Forgotten Sanctuary
The longest and most profitable expedition (in new species, if not subscribers) of Alexander Wilson (1766–1813), the Scottish-born poet and […]
The origin of the eponym Cassin’s Finch, aka Pileated House Finch
“It would be preferable to give names descriptive of the subjects – But the most ridiculous and absurd, is that […]
Happy Baculites Day!
I celebrate a personal holiday on November 9 — Baculites Day— the anniversary of my serendipitous (re)discovery of a very […]
Harlan of Harlan’s Hawk: hustling skulls since 1826
Today’s episode in the history of American science takes a closer look at Richard Harlan (1796–1843), namesake of Harlan’s Hawk […]
Hummingbird tongues
A few years ago, I read an article by Rico-Guevara and Rubega (2011) that described the tongue of the hummingbird […]
Matthew R. Halley 