Bird Species With Culturally Insensitive Titles to be Renamed
Several bird species in the United States and Canada will receive new names reflecting their characteristics and habitats instead of ethnic groups and people with racist pasts, USA Today reports.
On Wednesday (Nov. 1), the American Ornithological Society said the renaming initiative will replace current bird names within its jurisdiction “to create a more inclusive environment for people of diverse backgrounds interested in bird-watching and ornithology.”
According to the society, nearly 260 birds in the U.S. and Canada will be renamed when the project is complete.
Birds species with names such as the Eskimo curlew, Inca dove, and Bachman’s Sparrow – which is named after John Bachman, a slave owner and clergyman from South Carolina – will receive new monikers.
"I'm really excited about this change," said Corina Newsome, an ornithologist who helped co-found Black Birders Week in May 2020.
"It’s a major change in how we think about bird names," added Sushma Reddy, the Breckenridge Chair of Ornithology at the University of Minnesota and secretary of the society. "We came to the decision that we really want bird names to be about birds."
Reddy also noted that the society wants brand new bird watchers to "feel this is a welcoming environment for people from different backgrounds and just enjoy nature for what it is" when they hear the names of the birds for the first time.
"Birds are for everybody,” Reddy explained. “Science is for everybody."
Kenn Kaufman, an author and noted naturalist, believes that being “imaginative” with the process will help bird enthusiasts identify each species by their physical features, not after someone with a racist past.
"We’re hoping to be imaginative about this," Kaufman. "It’s a great chance to come up with beautiful and evocative ways of describing the visual appearance, song, or habitat they live in."
As a college student, Newsome began to notice the peculiar names of birds as she became more interested in ornithology. When she learned of the racist ideologies harbored by some of the people for whom the birds were named, it became "even more upsetting."
"I noticed names that described how the species looked or how it acted in some way were easier to remember than species with an honorific name," Newsome said.
The American Ornithological Society follows several organizations that have replaced the names of those with racist backgrounds: In 2001, the American Fisheries Society changed the name of the jewfish to Goliath grouper. The Entomological Society of America revised its guidelines outlawing insect names that referenced racial or ethnic groups.
