Birders argue over plan to change dozens of bird names
npr.org
Say goodbye to Bachman’s Sparrow, Scott’s Oriole and Townsend’s Warbler. Those three birds are among a half-dozen that will get renamed first under a plan by the American Ornithological Society to do away with common bird names that honor people.
But whether or not the society will keep going after that, and get rid of all eponymous bird names, remains to be seen.
Last year, the society announced a plan to do just that. The goal was to rename over a hundred North and South American birds, to purge bird names of links to racism and colonialism without having to engage in contentious and time-consuming debates about the morality of every historical figure that had ever been honored in a bird’s common name.
The sweeping move, however, surprised and upset many birders and ornithologists.
This week, opponents and proponents will get to have their say at the society’s annual meeting in Colorado, which features a forum on Thursday to discuss the bird renaming plan.
“I cannot predict what is going to happen there,” says Kenn Kaufman, an author of field guides and a fellow of the society.
He’s seen his fair share of birding controversies, like when birders debated whether they had to actually see a bird or just hear its call in order to add it to their birding life list.
This controversy, though, is in its own league, says Kaufman.
“Something at this scale, I don’t think has ever happened before,” he says. “The decision was put out there, there was a very strong reaction in some quarters, and so the initial decision might wind up being altered.”
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