We asked:

What is the connection between Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow, and Napoleon?

We’d expected the Californians to jump on this one.

Both the Modesto Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia mailliardi and the Bicolored Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus mailliardorum are West Coast subspecies named for California’s Mailliard brothers (in the case of the sparrow, for Joseph Mailliard alone). Joseph and John were well-known collectors in the early twentieth century.

Their grandfather, Louis Mailliard, and their father, Adolphe Mailliard, both served as secretary to Joseph Bonaparte, oldest brother of Napoleon and erstwhile King of Spain.

Watch for our new trivia question–this time something mathematical–in the forthcoming October e-newsletter! The winner will earn a WINGS cap and the unbounded admiration of the worldwide birding community.