Category Archives: Wildlife

selasphorus (from selas, light, and phoros, bearing) sasin (origin not known) English name for Charles A. Allen, 19th-century California bird collector Thursday, February 19, 2015 Crystal Cove State Park — Orange County, California I had a mid-afternoon flight home. I … Continue reading →

artemisiospiza (from artemisio, ?, and spiza, finch) belli (named for John G. Bell, a naturalist who was a friend of Audubon) Wednesday, February 18, 2015 North Etiwanda Preserve in Rancho Cucamonga, California This place had the essentials — it was … Continue reading →

picoides (from picus, woodpecker, and eidos, likeness) nuttallii (named for Thomas Nuttall, English botanist and zoologist) Sunday, February 15, 2015 Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve in Murrieta, California This one was supposed to be easy. Nuttall’s Woodpeckers are common on … Continue reading →

carduelis (goldfinch) lawrencei (named for George Lawrence, American businessman and amateur ornithologist) Sunday, February 15, 2015 Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve in Murrieta, California Lawrence’s Goldfinch is listed as rare on the Reserve bird checklist, so it wasn’t on my … Continue reading →

sceloporus occidentalis Sunday, February 15, 2015 Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve in Murrieta, California I spotted the first Western Fence Lizard sunning on a large rock in a field. A while later, I saw another one on a log in … Continue reading →