We know a rose by any other name would smell as sweet because Shakespeare told us so.
Now the question arises: would a bird by any other name tweet as sweet?
The answer is a definite “yes,” according to the American Ornithological Society, which has announced plans to rename all birds currently named after people.
The idea hatched from observations that some birds are named for folks now considered cultural albatrosses (so to speak) because of racist associations.
This applies even to iconic avian illustrator John James Audubon, a slaveholder.
So starting in 2024, Audubon’s shearwater, a small seabird, and at least 80 other birds in the United States and Canada will drop their human-derived names.
Judith Scarl, executive director of the Society, told the New York Times that changes are coming “to address some historic wrongs.” Not wishing to engage in endless debate over which individuals should be considered bad actors, the Society decided to drop all personal honorifics.
The changes will include a new designation for Scott’s oriole, named for Civil War Gen. Winfield Scott, who in 1838 directed the forced relocation of Native Americans in what became known as the Trail of Tears.
The attachment of his name to a bird – apparently instigated by an underling wishing to impress him – is a curiosity, since the militaristic Scott had little interest in nature. But it’s amusingly coincidental that because of his strict insistence on soldierly bearing, he was known among his men as “Old Fuss and Feathers.”
The coming revisions, expected to take considerable time to work out with public participation, will lean toward names more descriptive of bird appearances and habits, the Society noted.
The website eBird favors this, asking us to take example from the descriptive radiance of existing non-human names including the shining sunbeam, rainbow starfrontlet, and spectacled spiderhunter.
You might also bear in mind that Jan. 5 is “National Bird Day” – yes, that’s a thing – a time to appreciate these creatures, by any name, that add brilliance to our lives.
That’s what bird-watcher Christian Cooper, a Black writer and editor, was doing a few years ago in New York’s Central Park when a white woman falsely reported he threatened her.
It was an ugly, racist incident, and from it sprang a petition to the ornithological society, signed by 2,500 people, asserting that “honorific names cast long, dark shadows over our beloved birds and represent colonialism, racism and inequality.”
From all this we can draw a couple of conclusions:
For sure, new names will in many cases stop us from further insulting innocent birds.
More importantly, the issue is a worthwhile reminder that survival of our own species is best served by human unity, no matter the color of our plumage.
The lesson, and let’s embrace it, is that for success over the long haul we must truly be birds of a feather.
Gerry Goldstein (gerryg76@verizon.net), a frequent contributor, is a retired Providence Journal editor and columnist.
