More than 260 fowl species in North and South America can be getting new widespread names. On the docket for revision are all English eponymous fowl names, that’s, any fowl named after a person.
The American Ornithological Society says a majority of these names usually honor folks with problematic legacies, and so they come from a brutal historical past of colonization, slavery, and conquest. Another objection is that the names say nothing in regards to the birds themselves—their appearances, behaviors, habitats, or songs—which makes it tough for newcomers to study to establish birds.
The AOS plans to begin the renaming with seventy or eighty birds within the U.S. and Canada…. together with not less than a dozen in Northern Arizona, such because the Cooper’s hawk, Stellar’s jay, and Clark’s nutcracker.
Also on the checklist for revision is the Inca Dove. Its title is simply complicated. It lives within the Southwest U.S. and Mexico, nowhere near the homeland of the Inca folks.
The names to be modified are lower than six p.c of all English fowl names overseen by the AOS. But the method will nonetheless take years. The AOS plans to ascertain a committee for the duty that can embrace not simply biologists and birders, but additionally social scientists and others with various backgrounds.
And it’s hoped the renaming will spark some pleasure. Some social media threads and teams have already began brainstorming each severe and foolish names for favourite birds. Shakespeare’s Juliet might need requested “What’s in a name?” however for a lot of birdwatchers, the reply is: rather a lot!
This Earth Note was produced by KNAU and the Sustainable Communities Program at Northern Arizona University. I’m Melissa Sevigny.