Post updated on 14 May 2024, to add Harris’s Sparrow to the list of extant species with eponymous English names whose regular breeding and nonbreeding ranges occur entirely within the U.S. and Canada or nearly so. Post updated 23 September 2024 to correct image caption. In an effort to address past wrongs and engage more …
“There is power in a name, and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be exclusionary and harmful today,” says president. “The time has come for us to transform this process and redirect the focus to the birds, where it belongs,” says CEO. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: media@americanornithology.org CHICAGO (November …
It has been a while since the American Ornithological Society (AOS) last informed the ornithology and birding communities about its progress in addressing harmful or exclusionary English bird names and in developing a process to change such names in a thoughtful, proactive way. This initiative is central to the AOS’s goal of building a more …
Hello, AOS members, partners, and friends! As many of you know, the American Ornithological Society (AOS) has been working to determine the best process for proactively changing harmful and exclusionary English bird names for species within our geographic realm of responsibility. Our most recent public event was a Community Congress, in which we heard different …
After hearing from the many perspectives shared during the Community Congress on English Bird Names hosted by the AOS Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) subcommittee in mid-April, the AOS Council is in the process of forming an ad hoc committee charged with developing recommendations for guidelines and procedures used to identify and change harmful English bird …
Why are you holding a Community Congress on eponymous English Bird Names? This event brings together members of the birding and ornithological community, especially birders, scientists, and data managers, to discuss the issue of eponyms. Eponyms are names for birds that honor specific people, often for their contributions to generating knowledge about the particular species …
Thank you for your interest in the Community Congress on English Bird Names webinar! This discussion is open to the entire birding community, irrespective of your background, affiliation, or Society membership status. The AOS Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Committee recognizes that the timing of the Community Congress presents a challenge for some, due to a conflict …
Welcome to the American Ornithological Society (AOS) English Bird Names Blog. Eponymous English bird names have been front and center in our minds these past months, and our member volunteers have been working to coordinate a community-informed response. We do not have firm answers yet to all of the questions that have arisen, but the …
