Exploring Nature: Bird Names

Oh my, lots of folks are unhappy with the names of birds.

That’s because more than 100 North American birds carry the names of people. And some of these people may not have been of the highest character, at least by present-day standards. The suggestion has been made that these birds be re-named with monikers that reflect each bird’s unique qualities.

Let’s take a few examples: John James Audubon was a very famous avian artist and among the birds named for him are the Audubon’s shearwater and Audubon’s oriole. Also, his name is on numerous bird clubs around the nation, including the Travis Audubon Society in Austin.

John Kirk Townsend’s legacy lives on with the Townsend’s warbler and Townsend’s solitaire.

General Winfield Scott is responsible for Scott’s oriole.

John P. McCowan is responsible for McCowan’s longspur.

However, all four of these gents have come into some disfavor in recent times. Audubon was a slave owner and collected skulls from Texas battlefields during his travels. Townsend plundered Native American graves. Scott willingly accepted a leading role in the genocide of Native Americans on the infamous Trail of Tears. Mc-Cowan fought to defend slavery as a Confederate general and waged war on Native tribes.

So some folks think it is time to re-name a number of birds. However, the American Ornithological Society (AOS), which officially determines common bird names, has been reluctant to consider political correctness alone in changing long-standing English names of birds.

“It is widely known that judging historical figures by current moral standards is problematic, unfair to some degree and rarely black and white,” said the AOS. Nevertheless, in 2020 it did announce McCown’s longspur would be changed to thick-billed longspur.

And no one will be much surprised if honorific bird names continue to decline.