Black Lives Matter and the resurgence of the Civil Rights movement after George Floyd’s senseless murder at the hands of Minneapolis police have resonated nationwide. Nearly every organization has been affected.
The bird-watching/ornithology community has not been immune. Christian Cooper, a New York Audubon board member was subjected to racist, abusive treatment by a white woman in Central Park. He asked her politely to put her dog on a leash, per park rules. In response, he received a tirade of insults and threats captured on his cell phone. This incident made national news.
More recently, a bird species was renamed to sever ties with its Confederate past. According to an August 11, 2020 Science Magazine article, this was the most recent Confederate Monument to fall: “The monument, in this case, was taxonomic: McCown’s Longspur—a grassland bird native to the central United States—will henceforth be known as the Thick-billed Longspur, the North American Classification Committee (NACC).
The decision comes nearly two years after a graduate student in ornithology first proposed renaming the bird, which was dubbed for John McCown, a Confederate general in the Civil War.” Prior to the Civil War, McCown fought Indians along the Canadian border and in Florida, a second strike against having him as a namesake of an indigenous species. The fact that he left the Union army to fight for the Confederates was strike three.
The bird itself, now called the Thick-billed Longspur, breeds in short grass prairies in the northern Rockies in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana northward into Alberta and Saskatchewan. It winters primarily in Texas and North central Mexico. Although I am glad that they removed the Confederate moniker, I wish that the NACC had chosen a descriptive geographic name instead. Apparently, the three runner-up names were: Shortgrass Longspur, Prairie Longspur and Plains Longspur. I would have preferred any of those, but the crucial name change was made.
My wife and I had the pleasure of first seeing this species on the Montana Prairies – A Great Plains Safari – Naturalist Journey. I assisted lead guide John Carlson with this tour in 2013. It remains one of our favorite tours in the U.S. This part of Montana boasts beautiful wide-open prairie landscapes, small mountain ranges, majestic river valleys and eroded landscapes. Outstanding natural areas exist here such as Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge, the Missouri Breaks, Nature Conservancy sustainable ranches, Pompey’s Pillar National Monument and Little Big Horn.
Along with the Thick-billed Longspur, we also
found additional life birds on this trip including Chestnut-collared Longspur, Mountain Plover, Sprague’s Pipit and Baird’s Sparrow. We not only saw them, but witnessed their behavior.
Sprague’s Pipit for example flies straight up and high into the air above its territory and then sings its intricate song as it glides back down to earth.
A Long-billed Curlew chased a Golden Eagle away from its territory. As they flew overhead, the Curlew in hot pursuit, the Eagle performed a barrel roll in a mid-air attempt to capture it. Although the attempt failed, it was an awesome display of aerial agility that surely alarmed the Curlew.
We also had some of the best, most close-up looks at species we had seen before, like: Sharp-tailed Grouse, Wilson’s Phalarope, Black-necked Stilt and Yellow-headed Blackbird.
John Carlson, lead guide for this tour, works for the Bureau of Land Management and knows exactly where to find all of these species. He grew up in Eastern Montana, studied Wildlife Biology at U. of Montana, lives in Billings and knows his state like the back of his hand. He is a superb photographer and has a deep love of the land and its natural heritage.
Northeastern Montana does not receive enough credit for its amazing birds, wildlife and scenery. It is an area often overlooked with spectacular national parks like Yellowstone and Glacier located in the same 
state. But for birders, wildlife watchers, geology and prairie buffs, it is a very special place.
Many of us are reluctant or unable to travel internationally these days. This would be a great trip within the U.S. that some could reach by car. Others could fly into Billings.
Go see the former Confederate bird and so many others next June in eastern Montana. As one of our trip participants said: “I knew it would be Big Sky Country, but this is immense!” Indeed.
