The American Ornithological Society said Wednesday it will change all English bird names currently named after people. AOS said it's being done to change naming conventions clouded by racism and misogyny.
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.
It’s part of a broader movement to rename birds to be more descriptive. “McCow’s longspur” is both unmemorable and nondescriptive, “thick-billed longspur” puts one of its distinguishing features in the name.
The fact there’s a lot of racists who had birds named after them hundreds of years ago is just one more thing to add to the pile. The names would benefit from being changed even if they were all saints.
I don’t know how I feel about this though…
It’s part of a broader movement to rename birds to be more descriptive. “McCow’s longspur” is both unmemorable and nondescriptive, “thick-billed longspur” puts one of its distinguishing features in the name.
The fact there’s a lot of racists who had birds named after them hundreds of years ago is just one more thing to add to the pile. The names would benefit from being changed even if they were all saints.
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Damn… k bye lol