Bird Names and Naming Birds: A young birder’s perspective
By Maxima Gomez-Palmer
McCown’s longspur, Audubon’s warbler, Bachman’s sparrow… what do these birds have in common? They are all named after people, specifically white men. There are over 130 different bird species worldwide whose common names are eponyms, a person after whom a discovery, invention, place, etc., is named. Not only are these eponyms unnecessarily possessive, but they also often carry on the legacies of people who were cruel to wildlife and the people around them. This is exactly what Gabriel Foley and Jordan Rutter, two ornithologists, are trying to change. They have been creating petitions, submitting proposals to the NACC (American Classification and Nomenclature Committee), and spreading the word that birds don’t need eponymous or honorific names. This has proved to be difficult, however, since the NACC has only accepted one of Foley and Rutter’s proposals to change a bird’s common name. This is very disappointing, considering that all of the bird names Foley and Rutter are attempting to change contain derogatory terms or honor racist individuals.
Many renowned individuals in the fields of ornithology, although they made significant scientific contributions, do not accurately represent the values that the birding community holds today. For example, almost every birder has heard of John James Audubon, a celebrated ornithologist, naturalist, and painter from the early 1800s. Audubon is best known for his book, Birds of America, which includes hundreds of detailed paintings and descriptions of bird species throughout the United States. Despite these notable accomplishments, Audubon was also an avid hunter, who shot more than 400 bird species and made large sums of money from selling animal skins.
Foley and Rutter are working to make the public more aware of these horrible acts made by prominent figures in the field, which include racism, hunting, slave owning, and violence towards others. Eponyms are extremely problematic, and birds with these names represent mainly white men who have horrible pasts. In their initiative titled “Bird Names for Birds,” Foley and Rutter aim to change these honorific titles to names that actually reflect the characteristics of birds. For example, why have Audubon’s Warbler when you could change it to Grey-and-Yellow Warbler? These new and improved names not only eliminate the representation of racist and unkind individuals, but also help birders learn and identify different species with ease due to descriptive adjectives! To learn more about “Bird Names for Birds” and their mission, check out their website: https://birdnamesforbirds.wordpress.com/