Cordilleran

Cordilleran Flycatcher, Empidonax occidentalis

I recently spent a week in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Here is one of the things I learned:

cordilleran, adj., an extensive range of mountains, especially the chief mountain range of a continent.

I was familiar with the Cordilleran Flycatcher, but I had never looked up the definition of cordilleran before. The Cordilleran Flycatcher was previously known as Western Flycatcher. A few years ago it was split into two species, the Pacific Slope Flycatcher and the Cordilleran Flycatcher. Knowing the definition of cordilleran makes those two names seem a lot more sensible. One of the birds is found in the main mountain range of North America; the other bird is just found on the western portions of that mountain range. You learn something every week!