Very interesting! I think possibly people don't realise how fluid bird names have been over the years. Who today can tell you what a Chatterer is? Or the Rice Bird? Or the American Sparrowhawk? Audubon gave many of the birds he painted different names from the ones we use now, including these three (waxwing, bobolink and American Kestrel, in case anyone is interested). The original penguins were the unrelated and now extinct Great Auks. So there is nothing new in changing the name of a bird, although it probably happened more organically in the past.
If I ruled the world, I would also get rid of 'American' from the names of birds that are not closely related to their European counterparts, for example, American Avocet is fine, American Redstart is not. In French the redstart is "paruline flamboyante" - Flamboyant Parula. Doesn't that fit the bird perfectly?
Thanks for all your columns. I look forward to them.
What about all of the army camps named for confederate officers:fore example Camp Forest named after Nathan Bedford Forest who after the Civil War, started and organized th KuKlux Klan.
Fantastic news! Thank you for putting into words exactly why this move is the right thing to do. Keep writing and I’ll keep reading.
You are making a positive difference in this world. Thanks for always speaking for the birds.
Wonderful piece, Laura. Thank you for your enlightened perspective!
Very interesting! I think possibly people don't realise how fluid bird names have been over the years. Who today can tell you what a Chatterer is? Or the Rice Bird? Or the American Sparrowhawk? Audubon gave many of the birds he painted different names from the ones we use now, including these three (waxwing, bobolink and American Kestrel, in case anyone is interested). The original penguins were the unrelated and now extinct Great Auks. So there is nothing new in changing the name of a bird, although it probably happened more organically in the past.
If I ruled the world, I would also get rid of 'American' from the names of birds that are not closely related to their European counterparts, for example, American Avocet is fine, American Redstart is not. In French the redstart is "paruline flamboyante" - Flamboyant Parula. Doesn't that fit the bird perfectly?
Thanks for all your columns. I look forward to them.
Good deal! I wondered if birders like you were glad or sad about renaming birds! I'm glad you're glad!
What about all of the army camps named for confederate officers:fore example Camp Forest named after Nathan Bedford Forest who after the Civil War, started and organized th KuKlux Klan.