What bird is that? New names to learn #birdwatching and #civilization

Many birds have names based on people, names chosen for a variety of reasons, some profound and some petty. Do we, you and I, really want to honor those people today? They were folk of their times, and those times were often fraught.

The American Ornithological Society has vowed to change the English names of species currently named after people, along with any other bird names deemed offensive or exclusionary… Get ready to say goodbye to a lot of familiar bird names, like Anna’s Hummingbird, Gambel’s Quail, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Bewick’s Wren, Bullock’s Oriole, and more.

Thick-billed Longspur has already been re-named. Looks like some sort of sparrow to me, but I’m an amateur.

Deep breath. I have a lot of names to re-learn, and I’ll need a new field guide to the birds of America. You might think, well, those historical figures have mostly disappeared from the memory of everyone other than specialized scholars, so who cares? But I do believe that names have power. Why should the name of a bird cause anyone pain or even mere annoyance? Birding should be satisfying and fun for us all.

This latest effort is large in scope, but not unprecedented. The common names of birds have changed in the past.

The American Ornithological Society and its predecessor organization have maintained a list of the official English-language names for birds in North America since 1886. Occasionally, bird names have been changed.

Before you cry “political correctness,” consider this: Civilization progresses, in jagged fits and starts, by people expanding their feelings of sympathy for others from kin to tribe and beyond. As we look at the wars and terrorism in today’s headlines, there’s still hope that an arc toward less violence exists broadly across history. I re-read my notes (posted here – yes, that’s a post from me) from Steven Pinker’s book, Better Angels of Our Natures, and I want to be on the side of the angels. Re-learning some bird names isn’t such a chore.