More than 260 bird species in North and South America will be getting new common names. On the docket for revision are all English eponymous bird names, that is, any bird named after a person.
The American Ornithological Society says these types of names often honor people with problematic legacies, and they come from a brutal history of colonization, slavery, and conquest. Another objection is that the names say nothing about the birds themselves—their appearances, behaviors, habitats, or songs—which makes it difficult for newcomers to learn to identify birds.
The AOS plans to start the renaming with seventy or eighty birds in the U.S. and Canada…. including at least a dozen in Northern Arizona, such as the Cooper’s hawk, Stellar’s jay, and Clark’s nutcracker.
Also on the list for revision is the Inca Dove. Its name is just confusing. It lives in the Southwest U.S. and Mexico, nowhere close to the homeland of the Inca people.
The names to be changed are less than six percent of all English bird names overseen by the AOS. But the process will still take years. The AOS plans to establish a committee for the task that will include not just biologists and birders, but also social scientists and others with diverse backgrounds.
And it’s hoped the renaming will spark some excitement. Some social media threads and groups have already started brainstorming both serious and silly names for favorite birds. Shakespeare’s Juliet might have asked “What’s in a name?” but for many birdwatchers, the answer is: quite a lot!
This Earth Note was produced by KNAU and the Sustainable Communities Program at Northern Arizona University.
