Like many of those mentioned in the article, I also thought this seemed a bit overkill at first but came around pretty fully by the end. Compelling arguments for an issue I'd honestly never...
"I knew the young people who had started this Bird Names for Birds movement, and I tried to talk some sense into them," he recalls. "But the longer we discussed this, the more I came around to seeing their viewpoint."
Trying to do this bird by bird would mean engaging in divisive debates about individual people and the merits of whether or not they should have the honor of having a bird named after them, he realized.
"That just seemed like it would lead to endless arguments," he says, adding that he didn't think the birding community should become the morality police for people who lived two centuries ago.
Renaming the birds, in contrast, offered an opportunity to highlight unique features of the birds themselves. Unlike "Wilson's warbler," for example, the names "Yellow Warbler" or "Golden Winged Warbler" offer up a useful description, he says.
Like many of those mentioned in the article, I also thought this seemed a bit overkill at first but came around pretty fully by the end. Compelling arguments for an issue I'd honestly never thought about in the slightest. And yeah, if you don't take a broad swath policy like this, where do you draw the line? A confederate general is one thing, sure, but nobody lives a 100% squeaky clean unobjectionable life. Not to mention the opportunity to give better names that highlight birds' unique characteristics, even if the person they're currently named for is otherwise fine.
I actually think this is a creative solution for a tough problem. People get attached to names they have used for long periods of time, but this policy is neutral about the people the names refer...
I actually think this is a creative solution for a tough problem. People get attached to names they have used for long periods of time, but this policy is neutral about the people the names refer to. The policy doesn't judge and as you say avoids arguments.
California has renamed places with ethnic slurs in their names such as Squaw Valley and the University of California has been renaming buildings and institutions where the named donor is considered problematic. UC Hastings is now UC Law San Francisco.
Well at least one bonus objective in the Wingspan game will suffer if the game is reprinted with the new bird names but several others will get boosts.
Well at least one bonus objective in the Wingspan game will suffer if the game is reprinted with the new bird names but several others will get boosts.
I love this! Nature deserves the best names that reflect and represent itself. I hope this continues to names of plants - in Texas, most of our scientific names are one guy who put his name into...
I love this! Nature deserves the best names that reflect and represent itself. I hope this continues to names of plants - in Texas, most of our scientific names are one guy who put his name into everything (see on of my favorite plant guys: https://youtu.be/8uDkba7OVpI?si=Zzq2nvtFPg_jAzN3)
Like many of those mentioned in the article, I also thought this seemed a bit overkill at first but came around pretty fully by the end. Compelling arguments for an issue I'd honestly never thought about in the slightest. And yeah, if you don't take a broad swath policy like this, where do you draw the line? A confederate general is one thing, sure, but nobody lives a 100% squeaky clean unobjectionable life. Not to mention the opportunity to give better names that highlight birds' unique characteristics, even if the person they're currently named for is otherwise fine.
I actually think this is a creative solution for a tough problem. People get attached to names they have used for long periods of time, but this policy is neutral about the people the names refer to. The policy doesn't judge and as you say avoids arguments.
California has renamed places with ethnic slurs in their names such as Squaw Valley and the University of California has been renaming buildings and institutions where the named donor is considered problematic. UC Hastings is now UC Law San Francisco.
Well at least one bonus objective in the Wingspan game will suffer if the game is reprinted with the new bird names but several others will get boosts.
I love this! Nature deserves the best names that reflect and represent itself. I hope this continues to names of plants - in Texas, most of our scientific names are one guy who put his name into everything (see on of my favorite plant guys: https://youtu.be/8uDkba7OVpI?si=Zzq2nvtFPg_jAzN3)