Taxonomy and Naming
The Brown Thrasher was originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work Systema Naturae as Turdus rufus. The species name is the Latin adjective rufus "red".
Although not in the thrush family, this bird is sometimes erroneously called the Brown Thrush. The name misconception could be because the word thrasher is believed to derive from the word thrush. The naturalist Mark Catesby called it the Fox-coloured Thrush.
Genetic studies have found that the Brown Thrasher is most closely related to the Long-billed and Cozumel Thrashers, within the genus Toxostoma.
Read more about this topic: Brown Thrasher
Famous quotes containing the word naming:
“The night is itself sleep
And what goes on in it, the naming of the wind,
Our notes to each other, always repeated, always the same.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)