I get that this is small potatoes given global events, but it's big news in the bird world & a bold, good decision: The Amer. Ornithological Soc. is committing to renaming all English birds that bear the names of people. (I wrote about why this matters in May: www.theatlantic.com/science/arch... )
“There is power in a name, and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be exclusionary and harmful today,” says president. “The time has come for us to transform...
Will bob-o-link now become Olink? (I do support this change.
Any good news is a balm for the soul. This is very welcome.
Just catching this, and support! So, is the Bob White Quail no more? How about the Whippoorwill?
please let them use native names it's the least they can do
I like this. Now those people who go round claiming birds aren't real and complain about 'woke' will be massively triggered. I look forward to them acknowledging birds are real after all. 😂
Big news in the bird world but hopefully even bigger news still - many entities are grappling with honorific names & I’m proud that AOS is taking a lead that hopefully will have ripple effects for other scientific societies & organizations beyond!
It's been in the cards for a while, but glad the decision has been made official. The objections don't really hold water. Ultimately, what's better than a descriptive name that helps in recognition and identification?
I remember reading an old bird guide where the author complained about the terrible and unfair name of the Blackburnian Warbler, and how it ought to be called the "orange throated warbler" instead. Shout out to him, I suppose.
The AOS Committee's full report is worth reading if you're interested in this topic. It is thoughtful, well-written, and addresses all the usual yeahbuts. americanornithology.org/about/englis... I'm really looking forward to seeing the new names the community comes up with.
For some reason I keep misreading this, thinking you are saying the bird in the photo is "small potatoes". I would like to suggest this for its new name. Because it is a small potato.