In the Olde Worlde, things
were much simpler. There was only one of everything, so they could just
refer to The Kingfisher, The Robin, The Wren, etc. There were a bunch of
LBJs (Little Brown Jobs) that were called buntings: Reed Bunting, Pallas's
Bunting, Little Bunting, etc. Occasionally, these showed a little bit of
character- the Yellowhammer for instance (not to be confused with the State
Bird of Alabama). These birds can show up in Alaska and even more rarely
on the West Coast of the Lower 48. These are in the genus Emberiza,
and are the "type genus" (whatever that is) of the family
Emberizidae. There was another bunch of LBJs in the Olde Worlde that were
called Sparrows: House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Italian Sparrow, etc. These
didn't show up at all in the New World. These are in the genus Passer and
are the type genus of the family Passeridae
and the order Passeriformes.
 |
| Yellowhammer. Not the European kind though. |
