Late last month, the American Ornithological Society announced that the Bahama Nuthatch -- "discovered by James Bond" -- is now considered a distinct species.

As Mary Wickham Bond (Bond's wife) recounted in To James Bond with Love, Bond collected two specimens of a heretofore undescribed nuthatch in the scrub-pine forests of Grand Bahama:

"The bird is a close relative of the Brown-headed Nuthatch of the southeastern United States, and many ornithologists consider it a distinct species."

Now the American Ornithological Society agrees. You can read the Birds Caribbean account here.

The nuthatch was one of the three Bond birds that I discussed in my talk for the Linnaean Society last February. It's an extraordinary story.

I hope to post more about the AOS decision, the bird and Bond soon.

(Photo above by William K. Hayes.)