AOS Will Change the English Names of Bird Species Named After People

[Laura Bies]

CHICAGO (November 1, 2023)—Today the American Ornithological Society (AOS) announced that in an effort to address past wrongs and engage far more people in the enjoyment, protection, and study of birds, it will change all English bird names currently named after people within its geographic jurisdiction. The AOS will also change the process by which English names are selected for bird species. The effort will begin in 2024 and will focus initially on 70–80 bird species that occur primarily within the U.S. and Canada.

“There is power in a name, and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be exclusionary and harmful today. We need a much more inclusive and engaging scientific process that focuses attention on the unique features and beauty of the birds themselves,” said AOS President Colleen Handel, Ph.D., a research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska. “Everyone who loves and cares about birds should be able to enjoy and study them freely—and birds need our help now more than ever.”

Ornithologists have long grappled with historical and contemporary practices that contribute to the exclusion of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, including how birds are named. For example, in 2020, the AOS renamed a small prairie songbird found on the Great Plains to “Thick-billed Longspur.” The bird’s original name—honoring John P. McCown, an amateur naturalist who later became a general in the Confederate Army during the U.S. Civil War—was perceived as a painful link to slavery and racism.

Today, the AOS is taking decisive action to reframe the issue of birds named after people altogether. Specifically, the scientific society is announcing three changes to the way it and its predecessor organizations have operated since the 1880s:

The AOS commits to changing all English-language names of birds within its geographic jurisdiction that are named directly after people (eponyms), along with other names deemed offensive and exclusionary, focusing first on those species that occur primarily within the U.S. or Canada.

The AOS commits to establishing a new committee to oversee the assignment of all English common names for species within the AOS’s jurisdiction; this committee will broaden participation by including a diverse representation of individuals with expertise in the social sciences, communications, ornithology, and taxonomy.

The AOS commits to actively involving the public in the process of selecting new English bird names.

“As scientists, we work to eliminate bias in science. But there has been historic bias in how birds are named, and who might have a bird named in their honor. Exclusionary naming conventions developed in the 1800s, clouded by racism and misogyny, don't work for us today, and the time has come for us to transform this process and redirect the focus to the birds, where it belongs,” said Judith Scarl, Ph.D., AOS Executive Director and CEO. “I am proud to be part of this new vision and am excited to work in partnership with a broad array of experts and bird lovers in creating an inclusive naming structure.”

North America has lost nearly 3 billion birds since 1970. Says Scarl, “To reverse these alarming bird population declines, we need as many people as possible to get excited about birds and unite to protect them.”

Since 1886, the AOS and its predecessor, the American Ornithologists’ Union, have maintained a list of official English-language names for birds in North America (and more recently, South America). These names are widely used by schools and universities, government agencies, conservation organizations, the news media, artists and writers, birders and photographers, and many other members of the English-speaking public worldwide. These English names are often updated as scientists discover new information about the ecology and evolution of these birds.

In addition to their official English names, birds, like all living things, have a two-part scientific name that scientists use to communicate among themselves across languages and nationalities. For example, Haliaeetus leucocephalus is the scientific name for the Bald Eagle. Scientific names will not be changed as a part of the AOS English bird names initiative, but they are regularly reviewed and updated by the AOS’s North American and South American classification committees in response to new scientific research and following the naming rules of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.

The AOS will conduct an open, inclusive, and scientifically rigorous pilot program in 2024 to develop its new approach to English bird names in the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, the AOS has come to see its authority over the English names of Latin American birds in a new light and has committed to engaging in a broader set of conversations with ornithologists and organizations in Latin America before proceeding with Latin American name changes. Interested parties are invited to follow this initiative’s progress at www.americanornithology.org and @AmOrnith on major social media platforms over the coming months and years.

 

[Laura Bies]

Read the Wilson Ornithological Society's response in support here: https://wilsonsociety.org/2023/11/03/wos-response-to-bird-names-decision/

[Guest Rachel Kolokoff Hopper]

It may be of interest that the American Ornithologists Society Council’s (AOS) statement to unilaterally change all English bird names that honor people—which garnered an initial burst of mainstream publicity—has subsequently met with considerable opposition, both within the US and internationally. Yet this fact has received essentially no subsequent coverage in the mainstream media. 

I am hoping to redress this imbalance by directing those that care about birds, free speech, diverse opinions—and about democracy—to our petition asking the AOS to resume their previous method of evaluating eponymous names on a case-by-base basis. 

Despite being denied access (too controversial!) to almost every Facebook birding group and state birding listserv, we have achieved over 2500 signatures in less than a month, representing every state in the the US plus 48 other counties. Clearly this is of world-wide interest.

The petition is here: https://chng.it/VHyjZp5snr

Following the main text of the petition are links to comments from prominent ornithologists. 

[Laura Bies]

The petition referenced above, with 5,788 signatures, has been submitted to the American Ornithological Society by Stability for English Bird Names, asking the AOS to reverse their decision to remove all eponymous bird names. Read more here.