Renaming Birds: Combating Racism and Promoting Diversity in Science

The American Ornithological Society has announced that it will remove names given to North American birds in honor of people and replace them with names that better describe their characteristics, prioritizing birds whose names trace to enslavers, white supremacists, and robbers of Indigenous graves. The decision comes after two years of discussion and debate and was prompted by activists within the organization who argued that some bird names were offensive to people of color. The move aims to create a more inclusive and engaging scientific process and break down barriers to participation in the field of ornithology and birding.