Each year at this time, the North American Classification Committee (NACC) of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) reviews proposals for changes in bird taxonomy, that is, the classification of bird species.
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Thick-billed Longspur is new name for McCown’s Longspur
In August 2020, the North American Classification Committee (NACC) of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) voted to rename McCown’s Longspur. The longspur was originally named after Captain John P. McCown, a military man and naturalist who collected the species in 1851. He was the only person for whom a bird was named who also fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. It was this part of history which prompted the desire to change the bird’s name.



