If you read the ABC news item, you will find the names given are ‘King Island thornbill’ and ‘King Island brown thornbill’. Under the photo is ‘A number of brown thornbill …’ Moreover: ‘the thornbill
has the unfortunate distinction of being the Australian bird most likely to become extinct …’
The ’bird’ is a subspecies
Acanthiza pusilla magnirostris. There is a current issue whether the English name of the subspecies should be ‘King Island Brown Thornbill’, to indicate that it is a subspecies of the Brown Thornbill, or ‘King Island Thornbill’, as a shorter, catchier
name for conservation purposes, perhaps more likely to gain support of the local community. Does it matter if the impression is given that the ‘bird’ is a full species? Tickers will certainly appreciate the difference, in deciding whether to visit King Island.
Some say that those who are really interested will know the scientific name. Then again, some people think that extinction of a subspecies is as serious as the extinction of a full species. Not everyone
will have that view.
[A wet Saturday]
From: Bill Hall <>
Sent: Saturday, 30 March 2019 9:15 AM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Extinction??
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-30/good-news-for-king-island-thornbill-and-scrubtit/10947576
