Earlier this month, the American Ornithological Society (AOS) introduced a plan to vary the eponymic fowl names, these named after folks, within the US and Canada. The announcement comes after years of labor by the AOS, holding listening session, assembly with stakeholders, and finally deciding that for birding and ornithology to be extra inclusive and culturally delicate, eradicating eponyms could be obligatory. The organization has made three commitments:
- Change the names of birds named straight after folks, and different offensive names.
Bird names change on a regular basis, with most AOS choices coming from taxonomic revisions (do you know Northern Goshawk is now referred to as American Goshawk due to a species break up this 12 months?) but in addition for cultural causes (e.g., the previous frequent identify of Long-tailed Duck was ageist, racist, and sexist multi functional). The AOS determined to vary all eponyms, relatively than assessment them on a case-by-case foundation, to keep away from the conundrum of constructing worth judgements and the inevitable debates that will ensue. Changing all eponyms (solely ~5% of birds within the US and Canada; 14 often occurring in Maine) to names that really describe the fowl, or some facets of its life or pure historical past, will likely be a constructive shift.
- Establish a committee to supervise project of frequent names.
It is vital to acknowledge, particularly for folks asking “is this worth doing?” that that is precisely what the North American Classification Committee (NACC) of the AOS does: their mission is to “evaluate and codify the latest scientific developments in the systematics, nomenclature, and distribution of North and Middle American birds.” While previous committees had been primarily represented by taxonomists, a brand new objective will likely be to select names which are extra partaking and informative for the folks that really use them: us!
- Involve the general public within the course of of choosing new names.
At Maine Audubon, we’re excited by the chance that this presents. We are all the time on the lookout for methods to attach folks with nature, and the AOS giving the general public as voice on this course of will give us all a vested curiosity in these birds and hopefully generate extra curiosity in birding and conservation.
This is only a fast abstract; for extra background, I like to recommend visiting the AOS’s web page on the English Bird Names Project and particularly studying the full report.
Advocacy and Outreach Manager Nick Lund and I will likely be internet hosting a free webinar on December 14 at 6 pm to speak concerning the AOS commitments, our takes on what makes identify, and our strategies for brand spanking new names. Register right here >
Pictured above: Swainson’s Thrush
