Subject: Yellow-headed Blackbird (male) at Green Lake
Date: May 14 11:41:05 1999
From: Russell Rogers - rrogers at halcyon.com
Hello Jim, Martin, and the rest of tweeterdom,
The 1998 AOU checklist still uses the old standard, _Xanthocephalus
xanthocephalus_ (Bonaparte). Bonaparte originally described it as
_Agelaius icterocephalus_. Martin, if you could, where did the name
_Agelaius xanthomus_ come from?
Russell Rogers
Olympia WA
On Mon, 10 May 1999, Jim Rosso wrote:
> So when did they change the scientific name of the Yellow headed Blackbird?
> I have always known it as Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. It wears a body
> down to keep up on all of this. Especially when they change one of the few
> scientific names that I know. Knew. I used to explain to my students that
> the Yellow-headed blackbird, which is wonderful to listen to, would say its
> scientific name. I always brought this up when we were down at Salton Sea
> in a marsh with these wonderful creatures all making crazy noise.
>
> Jim Rosso
>
> At 10:03 AM 5/10/99 -0700, Martin J. Muller wrote:
> >Greetings, again,
> >
> >While walking around Green Lake around 9:30 (Monday May 10), I heard the
> >unmistakable "song" of a Yellow-headed Blackbird (Agelaius xanthomus) coming
> >from a birch tree. Sure enough, there was a male in full Alternate plumage,
> >sitting 3 m. (10') up in the tree, preening and occasionally announcing his
> >presence.
> >
>
> Jim Rosso
> Issaquah, Washington
> 425-392-8440
> jrosso at mediaseek.com
>