Building bridges in the conversation on eponymous common names of North American birds

Abstract

Like many other fields, ornithology and birding are addressing their legacy of colonialism, including re-examining their naming practices. Discussions about eponyms, when species are named to honour people, sit at the intersection of nomenclatural stability and social justice concerns. In response to a charged debate about the future of eponymous common names, members of the American Ornithological Society (AOS)'s Diversity and Inclusion Committee held one-on-one listening sessions in 2020 with stakeholder groups across the birding and ornithology community and, in 2021, organized a Community Congress where stakeholders shared thoughts with a public audience. These two events aimed to create spaces for thoughtful dialogue around an inflamed topic and to identify areas of consensus for moving forward. Here we summarize the main findings from these two activities. We found broad agreement among stakeholders that (1) social justice is a valid reason to change names, (2) many issues – especially the technical, decision-making and public-engagement aspects of name changes – need to be considered, and (3) educational opportunities are not only abundant but critical in any name-change process to achieve the stated goals of increasing diversity and belonging in birding and ornithology. Our work highlights the importance of including many voices in conversations when proposed changes to public use systems, such as common names, appear to conflict with current decision-making methods. By creating a space away from knee-jerk reactions, our listening sessions and the Community Congress found that the scientists, birders, educators, data/wildlife managers and field guide authors we spoke with are willing to engage in crucial conversations of how to deal with eponymous common names, as part of engaging with ornithology's colonialist history.