If Only They'd Renamed the Birds Sooner

... George Floyd Would Still Be Alive!

Birds in the US and Canada will no longer be named after people because the previous selection process was “clouded by racism and misogyny”, the American Ornithological Society has announced.

Good.

And for their next act, the American Ornithological Society should rename itself The American Turkey Society!

The organisation will rename 80 species next year due to their associations with controversial historical figures, including slave owners and white supremacists.

I know what you’re thinking. Which bird objected to its name?

Society president Colleen Handel said …

“There is power in a name and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be exclusionary and harmful today.”

Bird names are exclusionary? What does that even mean? Do the other birds refuse to fly with the Audubon’s shearwater because they don’t like its name?

And how are bird names harmful? Does a black man start crying if a Townsend warbler lands on his porch?

Handel continued …