This past fall the American Ornithological Society announced it will change the English names of all bird species named for people, beginning with 70 to 80 species in the US and Canada. The naming of birds in general and gamebirds and waterfowl in particular have long been contentious. Ernest A. Choate, in his revised edition of American Bird Names, offers 20 vernacular and regional names for the bird we now call the long-tailed duck, of which the “cockawee,” “calloo” and “scoldenore” are perhaps the most humorous, while “oldsquaw” is certainly the most offensive. Old-timers are said to have related the incessant babbling of rafts of long-tailed ducks to the sounds made by squabbling indigenous women. Little wonder then that there has been a call for change.
That said, some birds are named for talented naturalists and artists whose contributions to ornithology are justly celebrated. Alexander Wilson (Wilson’s snipe), Thomas Bewick (Bewick’s swan) and John James Audubon (Audubon’s shearwater) all made outstanding contributions to our understanding and appreciation of bird life. Other gamebirds that likely will have their names changed include the Ross’s goose (pictured here), Stellar’s eider, Barrow’s goldeneye, Gambel’s quail and Montezuma (Mearns) quail.
The American Ornithological Society intends to rename birds for their identifying characteristics in an effort to “engage far more people in the enjoyment, protection, and study of birds,” but amnesia about the extraordinary individuals whose illustrated ornithological folios brought so many of us to birding in the first place is clearly an example of throwing out the champagne with the cork.
For more information, visit americanornithology.org.
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