American ornithologists will no longer name new bird species after humans, and will begin changing the names of about 80 species.
It is an organization of American ornithologists, the American Ornithological Society, that recommends changing the names given to lesser and lesser bivalves in the United States.
The organization wants to move away from names it deems offensive and exclusionary, writes CBS.
An example of an inappropriate name is the bird known in English as “Townsend’s Warbler”, named after John Kirk Townsend, who stole skulls from Aboriginal graves in the 19th century. Guardian.
A plover given another name is now called “thick-billed longspur” in English. The breed was formerly known by Southern General John B. McCown was named. According to the organization, it may have been considered a sinister link to the era of slavery and racism.
The species was already given a new name in 2020.
– There’s power in a name and some English bird names are so connected to the past that they’re still exclusionary and harmful today, says Colin Handel, president of the American Ornithological Society.
A campaign to change the names will begin next year, and the organization will set up a naming committee where they will ask the public for help in coming up with new names for the 80 species.
In Norway, ornithologists (formerly the Norwegian Ornithological Society) assign names to species through the Norwegian Nomenclature for Birds (NNKF)
On this page (external link). You can read about the latest in new Norwegian bird names.
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