One of my favorite things about biology, as an outsider looking in, is taxonomic debates. I don't know why, but I find them so fascinating sometimes. Chances are, I owe a part of that to the fact that even though I read about and somewhat grasp the theories behind taxonomy, I don't always understand why some standards are prioritized over others or why, instead of DNA making animals easier to classify, it sometimes throws a monkey wrench into things. What's also fascinating, is that sometimes taxonomy gets downright political where deciding what to call what and why can affect funding, laws, and conversation status. Is that a regular sparrow or a super rare sub-species of that sparrow? Careful, your answer may affect whether or not some land gets developed. Politics aren't your thing? That's alright, cause it gets philosophical too. None of this stuff is black and white at all.
So, I wasn't surprised when I recently learned that the whole Bubo Genus is being debated, and once again, it's fascinating. None of these debates, despite their similarities, are ever the same, and often, they both seem simultaneously so ridiculous yet ultimately, very serious.
Science.
This reminded me of this funny back and forth in my beloved holy land. The Daboia palaestinae (aka Palestinian viper) was [declared the national snake of Israel] (https://www.timesofisrael.com/deadly-palestine-viper-declared-israels-national-snake/). Many people on a Facebook group for Israeli snake lovers were mad about the name the snake had. As the Hebrew used name is not the Latin name. It's either "common viper" or "viper of-land-Israel". Notice that both options do not contain the word Palestine in them. As a response to the deceleration, [the Palestinian authorities] (https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/11/israel-claims-palestine-viper-as-its-own.html) went to the UN, asking of Israel to take back that declaration as the snake is palestinian (hence the name). I find these interactions funny. On another note, the national Israeli bird is [the Upupa epops] ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoopoe). In the poll for the choice, he bested the [white spacracled bulbul] (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-spectacled_bulbul), a lovely bird that carries the name we teach little boys to call their weiner, bulbul. Writing this on mobile was a pain. Need to edit when home.