#Audubon was a such a tool. Why did we let him just name bird species after his friends/customers?

#GideonBSmith might have been an interesting guy – he seems to be *the* person who first figured out and published predictions on #emergence of 13- and 17-year #cicadas – but there's no evidence to suggest he ever encountered the #longspur named in his honor.

Naming that bird #Smith's longspur tells us nothing about the bird. It's just senseless croneyism.

#ornithology #history #nomenclature