Home mccowns longspur

What’s in a name? More than you might think…

AOS leaders, including the NACC and Diversity and Inclusion Committees are working together to develop Society-level policies in our nomenclature, and to be intentional in all our activities to ensure all individuals feel welcome in our Society. We will discuss these issues at our 2020 meetings of Council and make a statement at the end of the NAOC VII meeting.

Statement on the McCown’s Longspur Naming Issue

North American Classification Committee, American Ornithological Society (AOS) Prompted in part by a 2019 proposal to change the English name of McCown’s Longspur, the North American Classification Committee developed and published new guidelines for English bird names that specifically address the issue of potentially offensive eponyms or other names. While continuing to emphasize the fundamental …