A bird thesis became 'A Tale of Two Sittas'Sourced
Two nuthatch species gave an ornithologist a literary pun.
Robert Allen Norris compared two nuthatches for his 1954 doctoral dissertation: Sitta pusilla and Sitta pygmaea. He later referred to the work as 'A Tale of Two Sittas,' a play on the famous novel title built from their shared genus name.
Even a dissertation can earn a second, playful title.
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Robert Allen Norris · Wikimedia contributors
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Reviewed: 2026-10-01