You probably already know that this country has a serious problem with honoring racist folks with street names, school names and statues. All you have to do is look at Strom Thurmond High School in Johnston, SC and Big Negro Creek in Warren, IL. And we can’t leave out Peter Stuyvesant, a New York slaveowner who has a street, a park, a high school and a whole Brooklyn neighborhood named after him. But who knew birds could be racist too? That’s right, somewhere out there, there is a bird named after a card-carrying racist flying around with no idea that its name is hella offensive.
But that’s all about to change. The American Ornithological Society (AOS) just announced that these racist birds are getting new names. The English Bird Names Project is an initiative that will remove birds’ English common names that are used more often than their scientific names. The changes, which begin next year, will start with between 70 and 80 birds found in the United States and Canada.
“As scientists, we work to eliminate bias in science. But there has been historic bias in how birds are named, and who might have a bird named in their honor. Exclusionary naming conventions developed in the 1800s, clouded by racism and misogyny, don’t work for us today, and the time has come for us to transform this process and redirect the focus to the birds, where it belongs, said Judith Scarl, Executive Director and CEO of the American Ornithological Society in a statement. “I am proud to be part of this new vision and am excited to work in partnership with a broad array of experts and bird lovers in creating an inclusive naming structure.”
The AOS assembled an ad hoc committee in 2022 to take a look at some of the problematic monikers and make more appropriate (AKA non-racist) recommendations. The public can keep up with the project online www.americanornithology.org and @AmOrnith on Instagram. The AOS hopes the change will make bird watching and conservation more inclusive. Now, all they have to do is keep Central Park Karens from making fake calls to the police while Black people are watching.