More descriptive monikers are the name of the game. |
Bewick's Wren. Forster's Tern. Gambel's Quail. Henslow's Sparrow. Say's Phoebe. Wilson's Phalarope. More than 100 North American birds are named after people, but a growing movement aims to rename them.
The English Bird Names Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS), which officially determines the common names used by birders and scientists across North and Central America, is in the process of crafting guidelines for defining harmful names.
One argument for renaming is that honorific names don't provide any information about the birds themselves or their natural history, and so they are not helpful for identification. There are also ethical and inclusivity issues: Many birds carry the names of long-dead men, some of whom were not even ornithologists and others who were enslavers, supremacists, or grave robbers.
While the AOS is getting started, we invite you to dream up new names. Using info about each of the birds, pulled in part from our field guide, and our naming guidelines, help us brainstorm new names for these six birds. | | | | |
| Photos clockwise from top left: Bewick's Wren, Sylvia Hunt; Forster's Tern, Jacqueline Deely; Gambel's Quail, Dennis Derby; Wilsons Phalarope, Marlin Greene; Say's Phoebe, Mark Mitchell; Henslow's Sparrow, Joshua Clark. All Audubon Photography Awards | | | | |
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