I seem to recall species like song sparrow being studied here, so at least some “LBJs” have gotten attention.

?

“The study, by a team of researchers from the University of Toledo and Ohio University, examined 55 years’ worth of scientific papers on North American birds and found they show a dramatic bias toward more noticeable species — those who are more aesthetically pleasing or “flashy,” have wider breeding ranges, and whose ranges overlap with nearby universities. And yes, that includes red-winged blackbirds. Of the more than 27,000 published papers analyzed for this study, red-winged blackbirds were the second-most researched species, with an astonishing 499 publications. That’s second only to the bright blue-and-white tree swallow, the subject of 597 papers (perhaps because their adaptability to backyard nest boxes makes them so easy to study).

That leaves many species — the “drab” ones, as the study puts it, and the ones with smaller ranges — understudied, if studied at all. A rather plain but sweet-looking species called the Philadelphia vireo wasn’t studied a single time during this 55-year period, according to the analysis. This bias can create a negative feedback loop, the paper warns, where the most-studied species keep getting studied and the “drab” species fade into the background, forgotten by both science and the public. The “lack of research on visually unremarkable and unfamiliar birds may ultimately result in their ‘societal extinction,’” researchers warn.”