by Jennifer Francois
Some people remember names and some people don’t. I’m one of the people who doesn’t. It is embarrassing to confess to someone who hasn’t forgotten your name that in fact you cannot remember theirs.
Unfortunately for me, this applies to birds too. I must be introduced to a bird many times before its name sinks in. I have no trouble with certain ones like Bluebirds (actually “Eastern Bluebirds” where I live) and White-crowned Sparrows, which are gracing my winter garden as I am writing. Their names relate to physical features that are memorable and relatable.
But what about the Blackburnian Warbler? Yes, it has some black on its head, but that is not its defining characteristic (males sport a bright orange throat and both sexes are adorned with a triangle shape around their eyes). In fact, the Blackburnian Warbler is named after Anna Blackburne (British, 1726-1793). Ms. Blackburne was an avid collector of bird specimens, many skins of which had been sent to her by her brother in New York. A Mr. Thomas Pennant visited her collection in England and attributed his description of the (Blackburnian) warbler for the American Ornithological Society (AOS) to the specimen he observed in Anna’s collection. As he was the first to describe the warbler, he chose to name it “Blackburnian Warbler”. But was he really the first to describe it?
No! Long before colonists arrived on the shores of North America, birds such as the Blackburnian Warbler were known to and named by Indigenous Peoples. It isn’t hard to find fault, therefore, with subsequently naming birds after people who are obscure in history today, and worse, conducted themselves in ways that are not accepted today and/or that perpetuate the negative impacts of colonialism.
The names given to birds are somewhat unlike names given to other organisms in that their common name is used as much, if not more, than their scientific name. Thus, a consensus is required for common names of birds, and the common name is the bird’s official name (unlike the wild pansy, Johnny-jump-up, heartsease, and love-in-idleness which all refer to the same plant). The AOS ultimately decides on bird names and has the exclusive authority to change those names.
In June 2020 an organization called “Bird Names for Birds” officially petitioned the AOS to change the English names of birds that are named for people. After a bumpy ride (which started long before 2020), the AOS announced on November 1, 2023, that it would change the names of 70-80 North American birds whose common names refer to people, in 2024.
This is a huge step in the right direction in terms of acknowledging the many wrongs done by white European settlers during and since the age of colonialism.
Anna Blackburne’s story is of a much milder sort compared to other Europeans with organisms (not just birds) named after them. While it is difficult to get used to a new common name for a bird, especially if you struggle with names as I do, it will serve to make some bird names more memorable. More importantly though, it will reinforce that bird names…are for the birds!!
A note to people who have mastered some of the bird names that do make sense: Beware! The Red-tailed hawk does not always have a red tail! That story, and many others like it, are for a future newsletter.
- Words by Jennifer Francois, Aspiring Birder, Master Naturalist, BTG VP and Program Chair and loads of other things ;)
Photo by Jeanne Wiebenga of Red-breasted Mergansers on Chautauqua Lake on November 18. And in case you were wondering whether that name stuck, All About Birds says this about their name: The word “merganser” comes from the Latin and roughly translates to “plunging goose”—a good name for this very large and often submerged duck.
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