• fossilesque@mander.xyzOPM
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      I got to help preserve some of his birds in a zoology museum I worked at. It was pretty cool. At least they are used for education now. I had to wrap and freeze them because carpet beetles are little bitches. That museum was wild.

  • Toadvark@mander.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    I think it’s always good to see such things enacted, and it’s rarely done on such a broad scale. Common names are a big bucket of chaos for joe schmoe anyway*, so I’m all in favor of adopting anything more descriptive or in relation to field marks. I feel that the changes being broadcast so publicly will lead curious people to learn more about the history of birding, too- and hopefully lead to understanding why this sort of thing matters.

    * Often broad species names, even. I’ve found that the general public has no idea of the difference between a mouse, mole, vole or shrew, and has even less of an idea that there are multiple species of all of them.

    • Toadvark@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      8 months ago

      Biologists and science communicators are being conscientious and thoughtful about the history of their professions. “The dumbest shit” indeed.