To promote diversity, the American Ornithological Society decided to rename birds whose names were chosen in reference to figures associated with slavery or colonization.
More inclusive birds. The American Ornithological Society (AOS) announced Wednesday, Nov. 1, that it will rename several dozen birds found in the United States and Canada whose names are “considered offensive and exclusionary.” As a legacy of the country’s colonial past, certain birds have previously borne the names of slave traders or racist figures. “An injustice from the past,” specifies the organization, which wants to remedy it at all costs.
“A name has power and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be discriminatory and harmful today,” said AOS President Colleen Handel.
In August 2020, Jordan Rutter and Gabriel Foley, two American ornithologists, estimated in an article published in the American newspaper Washington Post that “colonialism is corrupting the native names of several birds.” [qui] as such must be changed”.
Create a more “inclusive” environment
By changing the names of certain birds on American territory, the AOS aims to enforce “a diverse representation of people with expertise in social sciences, communications and ornithology.”
“If you have a bird named after a person who was a white supremacist who preached the inferiority of black people… when people research the history, they will find it offensive,” explained Kenn Kaufman, writer and American media naturalist USA Today.
Among the names that could be changed, The Huffpost points to that of Audubon’s Shearwater. This seabird takes its name from John James Audubon, a French-American ornithologist and naturalist known for speaking out against the abolition of slavery in the United States in 1860.
According to Huffpost, this new measure should also be more inclusive of women. So far, the naming of birds has almost only affected white people, with the exception of the species Lucy’s Warbler, the French media specifies.
The organization responsible for determining bird names varies in different regions of the world, but the AOS has been considered the definitive authority on recording bird species in North America for centuries.
The organization maintains a list of official names that is regularly updated based on scientific evidence about bird ecology and evolution.
260 birds could be renamed
The AOS pilot will begin in 2024. The organization is committed to changing all English bird names deemed offensive in its geographic jurisdiction, which includes the United States and Canada. This is a list of about 70-80 bird names.
According to the American newspaper USA Today, this measure could affect almost 260 birds over time.
“The AOS is committed to actively involving the public in the process of selecting new English bird names,” the organization said.
One of the goals is to involve as many local people as possible. “It will be a slow, deliberate process,” Kenny Kaufman told USA Today, with “plenty of opportunities for the public to provide feedback.”
However, the AOS reminds that the names of birds will not be changed to honor scientists.
According to American media, birds are not the only species targeted by such initiatives in the United States. Back in 2001, the American Fisheries Society took the initiative to rename an Atlantic fish called “Jewfish” to “Goliath Grouper”.