{"id":117711,"date":"2023-11-01T11:17:51","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T17:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=117711"},"modified":"2024-06-22T15:53:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-22T20:53:18","slug":"dozens-of-american-birds-to-be-renamed-to-remove-english-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/01\/dozens-of-american-birds-to-be-renamed-to-remove-english-names\/","title":{"rendered":"Dozens of American Birds To Be Renamed To Remove English Names"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is Time to Right The Wrongs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It was announced by the American Ornithological Society<\/span><\/a> (AOS) today that the organization is committed to changing all English-language names of birds within its geographic jurisdiction that are named directly after people. In addition, other names deemed offensive and exclusionary will also be changed, with a focus on those species that occur primarily within the U.S. or Canada.<\/p>\n

Although this action may be considered controversial, I applaud<\/strong> it.<\/p>\n

Personally, I am glad that the AOS has made this decision and that they plan to start implementing the name changes in 2024.<\/p>\n

I believe that it will help birding, birdwatching, and bird photography communities to become more inclusive and it is simply the right thing to do because the history of English, honorary names, has been clouded by racism and misogyny since the 1800’s.<\/p>\n

In addition to our history of men like explorers Lewis and Clark naming birds after each other or other men during that time period, the world also has a history of men taking credit for women’s finds and discoveries and of men subsuming their works and knowledge and passing it off as their own thereby shoving women’s contributions into the shadows. That still<\/em> happens today.<\/p>\n

That was and is wrong on so many levels. One only needs to think of Rosalind Franklin<\/span><\/a> to know how wrong that is.<\/p>\n

Who is alive to say that Sacagawea or other female or male Native American guides didn’t find and point out birds to Lewis and Clark or other early explorers, whom they later named after each other or some other man they knew, and also took credit for?<\/p>\n

No one.<\/p>\n

The images below are just some of the birds that will get new names. Click on the first image to start a slide show of larger photos.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Male<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Franklin's<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Adult<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"Clark\u2019s<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Woodhouse's<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Brewer's<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"Lincoln's<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Male<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"Young<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Wilson's<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"Wilson's<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Frosty<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"Hovering,<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Townsend's<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"Male<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Virginia's<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"Male<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Male<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

I have long thought that birds should have suitable, descriptive, meaningful names, not the names of people.<\/p>\n

The name “Cassin’s Finch” only tells me that the bird is most likely in the finch family but says absolutely nothing descriptive about the species. The same can be said for the 70-80 other bird names the AOS plans to change; their common names say little to nothing that describes the appearance of the actual birds.<\/p>\n

It is not too late to right the wrongs. In fact, this is a great time to do so.<\/p>\n

It will mean extra work on my site, but it is work that I fully and completely support.<\/p>\n

I’m glad to be alive during this period of time and hope to see these wrongs righted.<\/p>\n

Who knew I was going to be doing two posts on two consecutive days? This news was so hugely monumental I felt obliged to write a second post today.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Now let’s get the wrongs righted.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my bird photos in their galleries.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was announced by the American Ornithological Society today that the organization is committed to changing all English-language names of birds within its geographic jurisdiction that are named directly after people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,12082],"tags":[5616,5620,14536,14533,14537,14534,14532,14535],"class_list":["post-117711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-milestone","tag-american-ornithological-society","tag-aos","tag-canada","tag-english-names","tag-inclusive","tag-removed","tag-renamed","tag-u-s"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/williamsons-sapsucker-male-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-8285.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-uCz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":142648,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/05\/spring-morning-bird-songs\/","url_meta":{"origin":117711,"position":0},"title":"Spring Morning Bird Songs","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning, in between storms, I sat outside and listened to bird songs. I decided to make a short recording and share photos of the birds I heard.","rel":"","context":"In "American Robins"","block_context":{"text":"American Robins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/thrushes\/american-robins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Squawking adult Blue Jay close up, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/blue-jay-arkansas-colorful-mia-mcpherson-4852.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/blue-jay-arkansas-colorful-mia-mcpherson-4852.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/blue-jay-arkansas-colorful-mia-mcpherson-4852.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/blue-jay-arkansas-colorful-mia-mcpherson-4852.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":138282,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/26\/some-birds-of-arkansas-oklahoma-that-love-american-mistletoe\/","url_meta":{"origin":117711,"position":1},"title":"Some Birds of Arkansas & Oklahoma That Love American Mistletoe","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"While at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge last week, I photographed more American Mistletoe in a one tree than I had ever seen before. The tree was full of it.","rel":"","context":"In "American Robins"","block_context":{"text":"American Robins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/thrushes\/american-robins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cedar Waxwing in a mulberry tree, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/cedar-waxwing-mulberry-tree-mia-mcpherson-3801.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/cedar-waxwing-mulberry-tree-mia-mcpherson-3801.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/cedar-waxwing-mulberry-tree-mia-mcpherson-3801.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/cedar-waxwing-mulberry-tree-mia-mcpherson-3801.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76602,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/12\/31\/2020-photographic-year-in-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":117711,"position":2},"title":"2020 Photographic Year In Review","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 31, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This is my 2020 photographic year in review. I'm selecting some of my favorite photos from 2020 and a few that just make me happy to see them.","rel":"","context":"In "Bald Eagles"","block_context":{"text":"Bald Eagles","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/diurnal-raptors\/bald-eagle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Golden Eagle in flight, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/golden-eagle-flight-mia-mcpherson-9219.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/golden-eagle-flight-mia-mcpherson-9219.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/golden-eagle-flight-mia-mcpherson-9219.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/golden-eagle-flight-mia-mcpherson-9219.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":138723,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/13\/three-zonotrichia-sparrows-in-arkansas-winters\/","url_meta":{"origin":117711,"position":3},"title":"Three Zonotrichia Sparrows in Arkansas Winters","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, I had a trifecta of Zonotrichia sparrows in my viewfinder. These are photos of the three Zonotrichia sparrows that visit Arkansas during the winter.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy adult White-throated Sparrow, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-mia-mcpherson-9912.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-mia-mcpherson-9912.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-mia-mcpherson-9912.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-mia-mcpherson-9912.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74023,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/09\/24\/photographing-my-first-green-heron-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":117711,"position":4},"title":"Photographing My First Green Heron In Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"It was a terrific \"season opener\" for me yesterday thanks to my keen observation skills at Farmington Bay WMA with a Green Heron, one-eared Long-tailed Weasel and a one-eyed American White Pelican.","rel":"","context":"In "American White Pelicans"","block_context":{"text":"American White Pelicans","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/pelicans\/white-pelicans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sub-adult Green Heron catching prey in Utah, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/green-heron-immature-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-3975.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/green-heron-immature-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-3975.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/green-heron-immature-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-3975.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/green-heron-immature-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-3975.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76644,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/12\/27\/which-bird-do-these-feet-belong-to\/","url_meta":{"origin":117711,"position":5},"title":"Which Bird Do These Feet Belong To?","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"What we can see are greenish, lobed feet and a dark, rounded body. With just those two identification features can you guess which bird these feet belong to?","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Coot feet close up, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-feet-mia-mcpherson-2280.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-feet-mia-mcpherson-2280.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-feet-mia-mcpherson-2280.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-feet-mia-mcpherson-2280.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}