Bird Names will be changing!

[David Powell]

Overdue changes to some bird names.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/11/01/bird-names-racism-audubon/ 

Dave Powell

[Corey Bice]

How do you guys feel about this? 

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[Joe Corcoran]

I feel great about it. From birding around the world and trying to learn about so many different species, it will be nice to have plumage or other characteristics of a bird in it’s name, like Blue Jay, or Golden-crowned Kinglet, or Large-billed Tern to help remember and ID the birds.

The bird names like LeConte’s Sparrow or Buckley’s Forest-Falcon doesn’t help me with identification.

There are also social justice reasons for changing the names, which is fine with me, but the practical reason of helping in identification makes this the best way to go to bring notice to one of a bird’s distinguishing features, in my opinion.

Joe Corcoran 

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[Cass]

Fantastic news! 

Bird names for birds.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/CAJC71vjCMUrwpK9g0VMJhCf_aWEHRxNEBFB9UPCkZ8MRm7VjQQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Alex Rose]

I looked at the press release and some news articles which say that initially 70-80 names will be changed including Anna's Hummingbird, Lewis' Woodpecker and Townsend's Warbler.

Does anyone know if there is a published list of what names are changing, and what the new names will be?

Kindly,

Alex

Washington DC

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[Cass]

From the press release:

https://americanornithology.org/american-ornithological-society-will-change-the-english-names-of-bird-species-named-after-people/

AOS commits to changing all English-language names of birds within its geographic jurisdiction that are named directly after people (eponyms), along with other names deemed offensive and exclusionary, focusing first on those species that occur primarily within the U.S. or Canada.

The AOS commits to establishing a new committee to oversee the assignment of all English common names for species within the AOS’s jurisdiction; this committee will broaden participation by including a diverse representation of individuals with expertise in the social sciences, communications, ornithology, and taxonomy.

The AOS commits to actively involving the public in the process of selecting new English bird names.

[Sarah Lister]

Deciding that there was no good way to choose which eponymous names to change and which to let be, AOS chose to change all of them. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/CA%2BTz97GTwaQsy3Bj%2BEBf5YaRU7n1YFaqSVLP5JtREZcLVM%2BCUw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Marcia Watson]

AOS has a useful FAQ on the bird names project: https://americanornithology.org/about/english-bird-names-project/english-bird-names-project-faq/

Also, the AOS website has the full set of recommendations from its internal committee at https://americanornithology.org/about/english-bird-names-project/english-bird-names-committee-recommendations/#ES-recommendations.  This lengthy document has all the details for those who are interested, but I didn’t see an actual list of the species names to be addressed. 

However, the Bird Names for Birds organization has published a list of birds named after people:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Q_IJTLYWe0WWmMZueSftKUTJ4wTyuTYTeLk7ELiGiUY/edit#gid=2072416291

This list includes birds that occur outside the US and Canada, so it does not align exactly with the current AOS project, which will concentrate only on birds of the US and Canada. 

Marcia 

------------

Marcia Watson

Phoenix, MD

On Nov 1, 2023, at 4:03 PM, Cass <enby...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Jack Saba]

On 11/1/23 16:12, Sarah Lister wrote:

> Deciding that there was no good way to choose which eponymous names to
> change and which to let be, AOS chose to change all of them.

Which is good. Much prefer names that include a clue that helps with the ID.

On a (very slightly) related topic, a while back someone (maybe Bob
Ringler?) posted a list (or possibly a link to a list) of alternative
common names -- like Yellowhammer for Yellow-shafted Woodpecker and
Timberdoodle for American Woodcock. If anyone have that list or link,
would you please forward it to me (or post it)?

Jack Saba

--
Jack Saba
Berwyn Heights
<jlsa...@gmail.com>

[Marcia Watson]

Jack,

I believe that that list of local bird names might have come from Harry Armistead. I don’t have it but I’m sure Harry will read this.

My favorite is Devil Diver for Bufflehead - a reference to how long and deep they can dive.

Marcia
------------
Marcia Watson
Phoenix, MD

> On Nov 1, 2023, at 4:26 PM, Jack Saba <jlsa...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Rick Borchelt]

George Armistead had a nice historical blog post of common bird names 

On Nov 1, 2023, at 5:09 PM, Marcia Watson <marsh...@comcast.net> wrote:

Jack,

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/E9240BCC-8889-403F-AAF8-CB1DD7092A01%40comcast.net.

[Michelle]

I love the charming old colloquial names, like Water Ouzel for American Dipper... but to bring it back to the original topic, yes, I'd be absolutely overjoyed to ditch useless eponyms for distinctive plumage features that anchor the name to the actual description of the bird.  It's a far more logical situation, so the right thing to do twice over. 

Michelle Browning 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/3BBBFA72-1BFC-4F3A-ACB5-E9EF467DFDDC%40gmail.com.

[Janet Millenson]

Going WAAAY back, here are a few bird names that have certainly changed over time:

From Willughby & Ray (1600s):

* Virginian Nightingale = Northern Cardinal
* Sea Eagle = Osprey

Count de Buffon (1700s):

* Great Sea Swallow = Common Tern
* Porphyrion or Sultana Hen = Purple Gallinule
* American Fig-Eaters = various warblers
* Minister = Indigo Bunting

Audubon (1800s):

* Ferruginous Mockingbird = Brown Thrasher

---

Janet Millenson
Potomac, MD (Montgomery County)
ja...@twocrows.com

--

[Gail Mackiernan]

Well, it is a good start, but must not become just a bandaid over the more serious issue of underrepresented groups birding, or, in fact, enjoying natural environments in general. Not 100% convinced eponymous names have presented any particular barrier as, for most of us, the unsavory aspects of these individuals’ biographies has been a total - and unhappy - revelation. The diversity in birding problem is deeper and will require extensive outreach.

Also, I hope more thought goes into the new names than was given to the former    McCown’s Longspur. (Large-billed? Why wasn’t it “Rufous-shouldered”- one of the bird’s most striking field marks - or “Bridled”, referring to its unique harness-like facial stripes? ) Let’s not end up with more of those oft-ridiculed names which seem to be based on the bird’s most obscure feature. (Looking at you, Ring-necked Duck.)

Gail Mackiernan

Colesville

Sent from my iPad

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[Rick Borchelt]



If I had my way, we’d go back to the Latin names. Although since they are not governed by AOS but by international convention, the eponyms will remain in the Latin names if that’s how they were originally described. 

On Nov 1, 2023, at 5:38 PM, Michelle <fireweave...@gmail.com> wrote:



I love the charming old colloquial names, like Water Ouzel for American Dipper... but to bring it back to the original topic, yes, I'd be absolutely overjoyed to ditch useless eponyms for distinctive plumage features that anchor the name to the actual description of the bird.  It's a far more logical situation, so the right thing to do twice over. 

Michelle Browning 

On Wed, Nov 1, 2023 at 5:28 PM Rick Borchelt <rbor...@gmail.com> wrote:

George Armistead had a nice historical blog post of common bird names 

On Nov 1, 2023, at 5:09 PM, Marcia Watson <marsh...@comcast.net> wrote:

Jack,

I believe that that list of local bird names might have come from Harry Armistead. I don’t have it but I’m sure Harry will read this.

My favorite is Devil Diver for Bufflehead - a reference to how long and deep they can dive.

Marcia
------------
Marcia Watson
Phoenix, MD

On Nov 1, 2023, at 4:26 PM, Jack Saba <jlsa...@gmail.com> wrote:

On 11/1/23 16:12, Sarah Lister wrote:

Deciding that there was no good way to choose which eponymous names to change and which to let be, AOS chose to change all of them.

Which is good. Much prefer names that include a clue that helps with the ID.

On a (very slightly) related topic, a while back someone (maybe Bob Ringler?) posted a list (or possibly a link to a list) of alternative common names -- like Yellowhammer for Yellow-shafted Woodpecker and Timberdoodle for American Woodcock. If anyone have that list or link, would you please forward it to me (or post it)?

Jack Saba

--

Jack Saba

Berwyn Heights

<jlsa...@gmail.com>

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[Sarah Lister]

I second Gail's comment! I typecast birders as generally good and decent people; let's live up to it.

Morphologically relevant names are great, though I hope behavior-based names are also considered. (A la the marvelous American dipper, or the Mockingbird.)

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[Paul Pisano]

Evocative bird names spark the imagination and add to the joy of birding. I hope the new committee tasked with the renaming process comes to the job with a fresh pair of eyes (or how ever many pairs of eyes there are on the committee) and comes up with some good ones.

However, if recent splits on the international front are any indication, I have my concerns. To whit, the horribly named Intermediate Egret was just split 3 ways. The new names? Plumed, Medium and Yellow-billed. Medium Egret? That’s just as bad Intermediate, if not worse. And while the other two names aren’t bad, they certainly aren’t unique to the species. Lots (all?) of the egrets have plumes, and many have yellow bills.

To be fair, the AOS was not involved in the Intermediate Egret split, so it’s not really fair to lump these two efforts (unless someone has done the DNA analysis to show that they really should be lumped :-). I’m just glad I’m not on that committee, because you know they’re not going to be able to please everyone.

And I absolutely agree with Gail’s point about the deeper problem of underrepresented groups in birding and the need to address that.

My 2 cents.

Paul Pisano

Arlington, VA

[Gail Mackiernan]

One eponymous name which I am ambivalent about changing is that of Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco, a pink-tufted, green Turaco found in Ethiopia. Prince Eugenio Ruspoli was a 19th century Italian explorer and naturalist who undertook some of the first expeditions into that part of the Horn of Africa. He collected a number of new species of both plants and animals, and made a number of important ecological, mineralogical and geographical observations.

However at the same time, he and some of his companions massacred native people and looted their villages. He also slaughtered hundreds of animals, far more than was needed for his scientific collections, just for fun. In other words, he was a really terrible person.

However, every time I hear the name of that bird, I think about how karma is, really, a bitch. Seems Ruspoli was out collecting specimens in Somalia when he encountered a large bull elephant . Naturally, being who he was, he shot it. The annoyed elephant grabbed Ruspoli with his trunk, swung him around a few times, bashed him to the ground and proceeded to trample him flat. His expedition companions, in examining his effects, found a specimen of an unknown turaco in his collection bag. There were no notes as to where the bird had been shot, other than somewhere in the region. However the species was eventually described named in his honor, Turaco ruspolii (now Menellikornis ruspolii) although it was not for some years that the bird’s origin and habitat was discovered.

It could be renamed Pink-Crested Turaco but that would really spoil the story of an SOB getting just what he deserved!

Gail Mackiernan!

[Marcia Watson]

Great story, Gail!

Marcia
------------
Marcia Watson
Phoenix, MD

> On Nov 1, 2023, at 10:10 PM, Gail Mackiernan <katah...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> One eponymous name which I am ambivalent about changing is that of Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco, a pink-tufted, green Turaco found in Ethiopia. Prince Eugenio Ruspoli was a 19th century Italian explorer and naturalist who undertook some of the first expeditions into that part of the Horn of Africa. He collected a number of new species of both plants and animals, and made a number of important ecological, mineralogical and geographical observations.

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[Mike Bowen]

Gail's fascinating tale of Prince Ruspoli and the Turaco to which he gave his name takes me back in memory to a lengthy search I was involved with in November, 2010, mounted by the British bird tour company Birdquest, to look for the Turaco that bears his name in the wilds of Southern Ethiopia.   My 2010 bird even seems to sport a crown, which logically argues for retention of the princely name!: 

Mike Bowen

Bethesda

D. H. Michael Bowen
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda, Maryland 20817

Phone: (202) 236-0510

Ambassador for American Bird Conservancy, helping ABC help the birds

eBird volunteer Hotspot Reviewer/Editor for Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, and the Republic of Ghana

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[sus...@verizon.net]

Decided to pull my old copy of ”Obsolete English Names of North American Birds and Their Modern Equivalents” off the shelf.  It was published in 1988 by Fish and Wildlife Service.  

I was particularly intrigued by the old names for the bird the AOU depicted in its media push this week, Sayirnis saya - Say’s Phoebe - named for Thomas Say.  This bird was called San Jose Phoebe, San Pedro Martir Phoebe, and Yukon Phoebe before it was named for Say.

Say was a significant naturalist of the early 19th century.  He came from a Quaker family and I don’t think he has any claims of egregious behavior and/or violations of modern standards against him.  He contributed much more to entomology than ornithology, though an expedition for which he served as zoologist in 1821 produced the first descriptions of several western birds. I will be sad to see his name removed from Say’s Phoebe.

Also of note, our own Eastern Phoebe is named for Say as well.  According to Diana Wells in 100 Birds and How They Got Their Names,  “in 1854 Audubon’s eastern and Say’s Phoebe were renamed Sayornis (in honor of Say),” and so the Latin name of Eastern is Sayornis phoebe.

David Gersten

Laurel, MD

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

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[Francesca Grifo]

I get it, I support it. But it’s a band aid and we lose the opportunity to honor and remember some of the good guys. Back in the 90s there was a terrible plane crash in Ecuador and a Conservation International Rapid Assessment team were all killed. I knew Al Gentry who was the botanist on board. And knew only by reputation the ornithologist- Ted Parker. He could walk through neotropical forests rapidly identifying hundreds of birds by ear in a way some of us can do in our forests. Parkers Antbird was named after him. Now I know - this move is only  North American birds - but I imagine there are some good people who will lose their birds. I also appreciate the mess that trying to decide who is good and who is not creates. So I get it. I support it but I am sad too.

Francesca T. Grifo

Sent from my iPhone - please forgive my brevity!

“...ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.

" Charles Darwin, 1871 

On Nov 3, 2023, at 11:32 AM, 'sus...@verizon.net' via Maryland & DC Birding <mdbi...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

 Decided to pull my old copy of ”Obsolete English Names of North American Birds and Their Modern Equivalents” off the shelf.  It was published in 1988 by Fish and Wildlife Service.  

I was particularly intrigued by the old names for the bird the AOU depicted in its media push this week, Sayirnis saya - Say’s Phoebe - named for Thomas Say.  This bird was called San Jose Phoebe, San Pedro Martir Phoebe, and Yukon Phoebe before it was named for Say.

Say was a significant naturalist of the early 19th century.  He came from a Quaker family and I don’t think he has any claims of egregious behavior and/or violations of modern standards against him.  He contributed much more to entomology than ornithology, though an expedition for which he served as zoologist in 1821 produced the first descriptions of several western birds. I will be sad to see his name removed from Say’s Phoebe.

Also of note, our own Eastern Phoebe is named for Say as well.  According to Diana Wells in 100 Birds and How They Got Their Names,  “in 1854 Audubon’s eastern and Say’s Phoebe were renamed Sayornis (in honor of Say),” and so the Latin name of Eastern is Sayornis phoebe.

David Gersten

Laurel, MD

<IMG_6808.jpeg>

<IMG_6807.jpeg>

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

On Wednesday, November 1, 2023, 10:40 PM, 'Mike Bowen' via Maryland & DC Birding <mdbi...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Gail's fascinating tale of Prince Ruspoli and the Turaco to which he gave his name takes me back in memory to a lengthy search I was involved with in November, 2010, mounted by the British bird tour company Birdquest, to look for the Turaco that bears his name in the wilds of Southern Ethiopia.   My 2010 bird even seems to sport a crown, which logically argues for retention of the princely name!: 

<1698892076538blob.jpg>

Mike Bowen

Bethesda

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/1728652639.1679372.1699025502047%40mail.yahoo.com.

<IMG_6808.jpeg>

<IMG_6807.jpeg>

<1698892076538blob.jpg>

[Rick Borchelt]

For those who don't have a hard copy on your shelf to pull down, there is a pdf version available https://www.georgiabackroads.com/Articles/Obsolete%20Names%20of%20Birds.pdf

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/1728652639.1679372.1699025502047%40mail.yahoo.com.

--

Rick Borchelt
College Park, MD
preferred personal email:  rborchelt |AT| gmail |DOT| com

http://leplog.wordpress.com

[Maryanne Dolan]

To shift the discussion a bit to another angle.....I am just back from a trip to South Africa, where the local guides were miffed that 'others' (read Americans) dared to rename their endemics.  Ebird was the culprit, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were more fingers in that pie.

best

Maryanne Dolan 

Cecil County

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[Steve Long]

Frankly, this whole thing smacks of bureaucracy rather than science or
fairness.

Since the Roman's were not exactly "politically correct" people, perhaps
we should not be naming everything in their dead language, either. Why
memorialize colonizing slave holders who used torture, etc., etc.,
etc.?  Let's not disrupt just every amateur birder, let's go get those
terrible professional ornithologists who make their living by
memorializing terrible ancient people. (/sarcasm)

Seriously, I can see renaming some birds, but the justification for this
whole-sale process seems silly.

As for local vs "North American English" bird names, are those of us in
the United States supposed to learn all the languages of the world,
including their characters in Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, etc.,
etc. so that there is only one "common" name for each species that is
standard across the entire planet?  Or, could we do like we do with
everything else and have different names for the same thing, for
instance a "boat", in different parts of the world with translation from
language to language?

And, what about the probability that something like "black bird" in
different languages is actually referring to different birds in
different places?

This whole process seems like it is going to backfire so far as
"inclusivity" is concerned.  It is going to turn off the average person
who is somewhat interested in birding more than it is going to attract
them into the "fold" of serious birders, to be told "We don't call them
that, anymore (humph)!"

But, it is sure to increase the sale of bird books - for a short while.

Steve Long - realistic curmudgeon

[Mike Bowen]

Seems to me that using the names in a dead language (Latin is surely dead as a currently spoken language, although Romansh, still spoken by a very few in Switzerland, comes close) can logically be suggested as a common basis all over the world.

Funnily enough, that's the language we see in parentheses behind the local (language) in field guides in different languages all over the world.  That's the language we need to adopt as a standard.  Everything else is politics.

Maybe it's not this simple, but please tell me why not.

Mike Bowen

Bethesda

D. H. Michael Bowen
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda, Maryland 20817

Phone: (202) 236-0510

Ambassador for American Bird Conservancy, helping ABC help the birds

eBird volunteer Hotspot Reviewer/Editor for Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, and the Republic of Ghana

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[Steve Long]

Well, we are going far astray here, so I am not going to pursue this much farther. 

But, I just can't resist pointing out that using Latin is still not consistent with the VAST majority of people on our shared planet.  There are FAR more Indians, and almost as many Chinese, than there ever were Romans, and both had civilizations that predate the Romans by substantial margins.  Clearly, in ethnic fairness, we should all learn one or the other to pursue birding.  But, perhaps we should hold off on the transition until after the next war between these nuclear-armed historical rivals - we would not want to have to learn Sanskrit AND Chinese traditional characters because we picked the loser, right?  RIGHT?

Seriously, I am just pointing out that this idea that birders need to change to be "fair" and/or "inclusive" is being pushed from a point of view that is highly biased, anyway.  The folks who are thinking that they are "being better" really are not so much better as they are claiming to be.

Steve Long

[Lacey N. Dunham]

Birding and conservation are overwhelming White: majority White spaces, centering White historical narratives and White perspectives. Bias is absolutely present: White bias. 

The renaming process is an opportunity to take one step away from exclusion and towards embracing a plethora of current and future birders. While no identity group is monolithic in beliefs, of course, I think we are obligated to step back and respectfully listen to the concerns of our fellow birders, especially birders who identify as Black and Brown and whose experiences—in birding, in life—likely differ from our own. 

Here are a few reading suggestions. No doubt there are others. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/04/audubon-enslaver-name-change/

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/spring-2021/what-do-we-do-about-john-james-audubon

https://www.birdability.org/blog/why-bird-names-matter-to-birdability

--

Lacey N. Dunham (she/her)

WDC

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/726b9314-0412-3533-c991-3bb1052aa328%40atlanticbb.net.

[Steve Long]

That post is morphing this thread into a racist debate, rather than a "Bird names for birds" discussion with race issues being only one part.  I think that is inappropriate for this particular list, so I am going to make a point and stop posting:

The current efforts by some to "cancel" things that can be linked in any way to something with negative racial (or other societal) issues is not a "positive" process.  It has even been used to suggest that the Constitution of the United States should be set aside, because several of the founders of the United States were slave holders.  It ignores the good things that some people accomplished and even seeks to undo them.  I think that is inappropriate in most cases.  We need to recognize that people are not "completely bad unless they are completely good" by whatever judgement measures are used in succeeding generations, as society evolves.  It is actually more socially healthy to acknowledge the positive as well as the negative in realistic terms.  In that sense, I think it is healthy to acknowledge Audubon as the guiding force in the development of birding in the United States, along with noting his other less admirable behaviors and his own possibly "mixed" race.

If we really want to make "birding" inclusive, i believe that it is more important that we do so on a personal level.  "Birders" are stereotyped as arrogant and insensitive in Hollywood portrayals, and, unfortunately, with some justification.  I have experienced some of that myself, despite being a "White male", and can see how a "Black" person could easily think that type of behavior directed at them is racially motivated, even when it is really "equal opportunity" insensitive behavior.  And, I am sure there are also some actual racists left among us, too.

So, if we really want to make progress toward inclusivity, we need to speak out when we see bad behaviors NOW.  We can't do anything to change the past behaviors, and we need to stop using them to drive divisions among people with common interests, TODAY.

Steve Long

[JAMES SPEICHER]

Although it appears that in Parker's case the naming was an honorarium rather than to acknowledge "discovery," it's a decision made in a vacuum of sorts.

In the case of "good guys" who's birds will be renamed, they weren't by any measure the "discoverers" of the birds, known to the native peoples for eons.

I'm for the renaming.

However, the powers that be should give this a lot of thought. Please, not another Washington Commanders debacle!

I would suggest that they consult CHILDREN for input. Kids have a remarkable ability to hone in on what's important in objects that adults have largely lost as they've gotten older.

Jim Speicher 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/F70F1E4E-5167-4978-B293-AD5897CE13BF%40gmail.com.

[JAMES SPEICHER]

Granted kids don't know a Dunlin from a doorknob, but they don't need to know that. The idea is to incorporate features for the new names replacing people. Kids are great at colors and shapes.

Years and years ago we let a day care class at what is now Walter Reed Med Center have a go at designing our Earth Day T-shirts. It was a total success.

Jim Speicher 

On Sun, Nov 5, 2023, 5:40 PM <mkbenj...@gmail.com> wrote:

Let the children name them?

How would this work? Because children generally don’t know much about birds. At least the children I know. Frankly this idea sounds both highly impractical and ridiculously naive to me. 

Like all other human pursuits, birding and bird naming has a complex and sometimes fraught history. If you think that complex history can be cleansed with some creative renaming (by children of all things!) and NPR-inspired cliches about “white spaces,” you’re bound to be disappointed. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/CAAaQ%3DiZ%3DUbbyBMtSUSOQ%3DpDd%2BBwExh3w3J%3DAxHFSraDB5afYTg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Sarah Lister]

As I've said, I'm for the renaming, and I've mentioned that I would like behavior to be considered along with morphology. To that, let me add habitat.

Consider sparrows. Can you imagine trying to distinguish that lot using morpho names only? Now they're a mix of eponyms (e.g., Lincoln's), morpho (the "X-crowned" cabal), behavior (Song, Chipping), and habitat (Saltmarsh). 

When it fits, habitat names may work where place names won't. It seems that in replacing place names that are too narrow, we've gotten more than a few "Northern (what'sits)." I don't think this is a great trend, unless you've got just two species to distinguish (e.g., Northern and Southern flying squirrels). But within small genera, even size could work. Our accipiters could be Tall, Grande, and Venti. (OK, JK!)

I love involving kids! I don't think Jim suggests that they adopt power suits and PowerPoints. But it could be a fun activity for younger kids to look at birds (field, video, still) and make up names for them. Kids grasp the concept of adaptation quite young; this could be a variation on that theme. (A current STEM activity involves making a new bird with craft supplies, explaining its adaptations and natural history, and naming it appropriately.) High school students could surely consider this renaming initiative as a hybrid biology/anatomy/taxonomy and social studies exercise. (Yoohoo, Science Fair!!)

Let the meetings begin! Happy Birding! Sarah

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/CAAaQ%3DiYB1vaFc4efoY3fJb3aPhXCsyyvmYeWVK5raoDsyveqRw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Lyn Miller]

Once any names are changed, if birding is to be more inclusive, how about doing away with the use of the code names (my term) - see recent topic headings such as LEOW or GHOW. Hey, kids, did you hear that alphabet soup bird? Not very descriptive or useful in general conversations.

Lyn Miller

Formerly of Cheverly

[Cass]

I'm pretty sure there's a guideline for this email list asking people posting here to avoid the codes. It's also frustrating to see them in eBird reports. At least using the full name once with the code in parentheses would be helpful.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/288fe14c-5e34-457f-8e56-c1fe971e781cn%40googlegroups.com.

[JAMES SPEICHER]

Guidelines should be linked here...

http://www.mdbirding.com/guidelines.html

See #2, but note that it suggests rather than requires full species name usage.

I used to be annoyed with the use of codes, but have changed my mind over time. All endeavors have their own "language," which evolved as the community developed and were found useful. They are not a weapon of exclusion and are almost always easily understood.

Jim Speicher

Jefferson MD 

ps I generally don't use a sigblock when my post contains a checklist link

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/CA%2BTz97GJnFw1Yet%3DgnsueXtp-L8meVJo_On%2Bc7zcJ9KxS%2Bw62Q%40mail.gmail.com.

[mkbenj...@gmail.com]

Let the children name them?

How would this work? Because children generally don’t know much about birds. At least the children I know. Frankly this idea sounds both highly impractical and ridiculously naive to me. 

Like all other human pursuits, birding and bird naming has a complex and sometimes fraught history. If you think that complex history can be cleansed with some creative renaming (by children of all things!) and NPR-inspired cliches about “white spaces,” you’re bound to be disappointed. 

On Sat, Nov 4, 2023 at 1:35 PM JAMES SPEICHER <jugor...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Steve Long]

Considering that this list has a tendency to focus on rarities, I think you are over-confident about how many people who read it can know for sure what somebody is posting about without looking up the list of abbreviations.

Seems pretty inconsistent to think that we should all learn new bird names to make birding "inclusive" and then require newbies to learn the abbreviations to understand posts.

For those of you like me who sometimes need a cheat sheet, see https://stockerphotos.com/BirdCodes/index.html .

Steve Long

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/CAAaQ%3DiZX97LLL_1SsEnY0FWirRS%3Dcqc%2By3k2jFq9LvUKr7GB4w%40mail.gmail.com.

[James Tyler Bell]

Most people are pretty good about using the full bird name before they switch to the banding code. If you know the codes, it can save a huge amount of time. Typing out names like Northern Rough-winged Swallow or Black-throated Gray Warbler can be difficult, especially on a cell phone when you have to switch to another keyboard to get a hyphen. Most people just skip the hyphen but still, you could just type NRWS or BTYW and be done. And when someone slips up, it really isn't the end of the world. I often wonder why people don't just try and puzzle their way through the code. LEOW and GHOW are pretty straightforward.

As for eBird, I find entering a checklist and using the banding code simultaneously helps a ton. If you use the Control-J function to jump from the species to the species details speeds things up. I usually hand write checklists on paper in order of when I observe them. This makes it a complete jumble and jumping back and forth while using the banding codes makes it a snap. I know a lot of people do realtime checklists with the eBird app but that's just too distracting. I found that I was spending too much time looking at the phone and not enough time looking at the birds.

Tyler Bell
jtyle...@yahoo.com
California, Maryland

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/CA%2BTz97GJnFw1Yet%3DgnsueXtp-L8meVJo_On%2Bc7zcJ9KxS%2Bw62Q%40mail.gmail.com.

[David Gibson]

What are LEOW and GHOW?

Dave Gibson

https://birdpartner.com/

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/1237776753.116560.1699310428084%40mail.yahoo.com.

[JAMES SPEICHER]

Long-Eared Owl

Great-Horned Owl

Jim Speicher 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/CAAYKd5BVnPJepjbRPgss01i9h-HQ9vkJXPAaKMFT5ETuzQ4qHg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Marcia Watson]

A couple of easy ways to look up the 4-letter banding codes:

On a computer or mobile device, go to the eBird Home page and choose Explore from the top menu. On the Explore page (https://ebird.org/explore), in the big box at the top left titled Explore Species, enter the 4-letter code in the search box. The appropriate full name will appear. This also works in the Explore Species Map box on the same page.

Or, you can use the Merlin app on your phone ir tablet.  Go to the Explore feature (aka the field guide section) and enter the 4-letter code in the search bar at the top.

And it works in the eBird Mobile app when entering a checklist.

Note that the Sibley app shows the 4-letter code at the bottom of each species description, so this is a good way to look up the code for any particular bird.

If you want to learn the rules for converting a name to a code, they are pretty simple:

- For a one word bird name, take the first four letters: e.g., Bufflehead = BUFF

- For a two-word bird name, take the first two letters of the first word and the firet two letters of the second word: e.g., Northern Cardinal = NOCA

- For a three-word bird name, take the first letter of the first word, the first letter of the second word, and the first two letters of the third word:  e.g., Great Horned Owl = GHOW and Long-eared Owl = LEOW

- For a four-word bird name, take the first letter of each word: Northern Rough-winged Swallow = NRWS

Those are the basic rules. There are some exceptions that occur because some pairs of names will result in the same 4 letters in the code:  e.g., Barred Owl (BADO) and Barn Owl (BANO), but the basic rules cover over 95% of the species in the US.

Marcia 

------------

Marcia Watson

Phoenix, MD

On Nov 6, 2023, at 5:37 PM, Steve Long <steve...@atlanticbb.net> wrote:



To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/7a0d0799-a599-4d3c-ba5d-65905c8189db%40atlanticbb.net.

[Lyn Miller]

So the onus is on young, new, and very recreational birders to have to go look up what bird is being referred to when someone mentions what they saw or heard. And even if you think the codes are readily obvious, that assumes you already know what birds exist and what they are called.

I find it much more interesting to read about a Ruby-crowned Kinglet than to have to decide it. 

Unfortunately, Merlin didn't seem to work in reverse. I searched Ruby-crowned Kinglet for the code but without success. So if I ever post a sighting again, which is not likely, I'll be bothered to type in the the full name, whatever it may be.

On Nov 6, 2023, at 6:24 PM, Marcia Watson <marsh...@comcast.net> wrote:

A couple of easy ways to look up the 4-letter banding codes:

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[Scott Young]

I've posted this in the past: An excellent website to get names from codes or codes for names: https://stockerphotos.com/BirdCodes/index.html

[Janet Ardam]

Here is another helpful tool. Go to the App Store and search bird codes. You’ll find an app called PEFA. It has all the bird codes and is easy to search. I learned about it several years ago in this very group.  I have found it invaluable!  

[Marcia Watson]

Lyn,

I agree that in normal conversations or email or social media posts, the full name of the bird should be used. 

The 4-letter codes were developed for bird banding and have been adopted for other types of field activities where it is often necessary to make notes as quickly as possible.

Marcia 

------------

Marcia Watson

Phoenix, MD

On Nov 6, 2023, at 7:18 PM, Lyn Miller <lyn...@gmail.com> wrote:



[Lyn Miller]

Thank you, Marcia, for getting my point, which I made several years ago including an article or two stating exactly that. Unless this group is for professionsls only and who are all intimately familiar with all of the codes, I respectfully request that names be used instead of codes. Ask any scientist who has published anything...

On Nov 6, 2023, at 8:25 PM, Marcia Watson <marsh...@comcast.net> wrote:

Lyn,

[Pat]

I use a free cell phone app that makes it very easy to look up bird codes. 

Pat Valdata

Crisfield, MD

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

-------- Original message --------

From: Scott Young <wsy...@gmail.com>

Date: 11/6/23 7:36 PM (GMT-05:00)

To: Maryland & DC Birding <mdbi...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: [MDBirding] Bird Names will be changing!

I've posted this in the past: An excellent website to get names from codes or codes for names: https://stockerphotos.com/BirdCodes/index.html

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/dbbe1f98-baf3-45f1-8eba-4fa6dd38f325n%40googlegroups.com.

[Alex Rose]

Hi All-

The digital copy of the Obsolete English Names of North American Birds that was shared and available from archive.org isn't a great scan. 

A friend was at the Library of Congress last week and he generously made a copy of the original version from their archives. It is a 47MB PDF which you can download here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r9BTEjpmegbRYpMxgdT7cLwfPD6t_0uH/view?usp=sharing

Kindly,

Alex

On Fri, Nov 3, 2023 at 1:48 PM Rick Borchelt <rbor...@gmail.com> wrote:

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/CAN0Du2uZkpnhgnjA2o3qbjoakd%2BRJQXbW%2BkacUgH0gbO2ZKh9A%40mail.gmail.com.

[Marcia Watson]

Alex,

 

It was really nice of you and your friend to make this scanned document available. You’re right – it’s much better quality.

 

Thank you!

 

Marcia

_____________

Marcia Watson

Phoenix, MD

 

 

From: Maryland & DC Birding <mdbi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Alex Rose <alexr...@gmail.com>
Date: Monday, November 13, 2023 at 3:29 PM
To: Rick Borchelt <rbor...@gmail.com>
Cc: "sus...@verizon.net" <sus...@verizon.net>, Maryland & DC Birding <mdbi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [MDBirding] Bird Names will be changing!

 

Hi All-

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/CAH6z5StO6x%2BObT%3DBEpEyVYjSHsvirrWy9XcYvhLisCK6zR6%3DbQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Alouie]

I capitalize the first letter of each word. Perhaps it is the visual of delineating the words that helps me learn them. 

Examples:

House sparrow is HoSp

Red shouldered Hawk is RSHa

Mallard is Mall

(But Canada goose is CanG

Not CaGo which could be mistaken for cackling goose CacG)

Adeline Louie

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 6, 2023, at 10:37 PM, Pat <pval...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/6549b108.250a0220.d3edf.3958%40mx.google.com.