Re: [cobirds] Bird Names (long)

[Jeff Percell]

Thanks for sharing Rachel. I too wanted to share some insight into the
process that I came across which I thought might be helpful to some. I'd
encourage those interested in the subject to listen to the latest episode
of the Life List birding podcast (link below), in which Alvaro Jaramillo,
who served on the ad-hoc committee that made the recommendation to the AOS
regarding the bird name change, walks through a lot of detail and thought
that went into the process.

On topics like these I find it important to do more listening than
pontificating, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the hour+ long podcast
while driving between birding stops yesterday-- stops during which I
observed 61 bird species in Boulder County across 5 stops. With the time
spent yesterday, I'm not sure I deeply settled my own views on the root of
bird names, but I did gain a deeper appreciation for the world around me
and have several birding highlights that seemed worth sharing:

   - My first stop of the morning was a visit to Lagerman Reservoir which
   was really nothing to write home about for a trip to Lagerman, though I did
   note 2 snow geese amongst the hundreds of Cackling Geese -- 1 of which was
   an adult blue morph -- I'm hoping to visit Loess Bluffs National Wildlife
   Refuge in the next week or so, where tens and hundreds of thousands of snow
   geese can be seen.
   - My second stop was at Pella Crossing where there were a good number of
   Ring-necked Ducks, as well as quite a few White-crowned Sparrows (photo of
   a brown-crowned immature bird in the trip report).
   - For my 3rd stop, I joined the Lafayette Birding Club/meetup group
   along Old Saint Vrain Road outside of Lyons. It was a good walk with great
   company during which I had 3 first of year birds for myself -- a *Nucifraga
   columbiana *flying over, a raspberry crested finch, and a Canyon Wren
   (also a life bird for me!).
   - Stop number 4 was to Waneka Lake (random fact, this is where my senior
   photos where taken, as I attended high school in Lafayette along with 2
   members of the Waneka family). There I found a lingering Greater
   Yellowlegs, but certainly the highlight was striking up conversation with a
   couple who were visiting town from California. I was taking photos of a
   male Belted Kingfisher at Greenlee Preserve when dialogue around cameras
   led to deeper discussions about a variety of bird species, The Big Year and
   how to learn more about birds. The couple now has Merlin installed, will
   possibly be diving into eBird, and indicated they will be investigating
   what sort of bird walks are offered closer to home. By the way - if you've
   never joined a 1st-Sunday-of-the-month Bird Walk at Waneka Lake with
   Lafayette Birds!, you're missing out!
   - Stop number 5 was back in my patch at Erie Reservoir (or is it lake?)
   where a good number of Aythya have gathered in the last week or so.

Life List Podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/changing-bird-names-deep-diving-the-aos-decision/id1578168978?i=1000634169131

Trip Report:
https://ebird.org/tripreport/170828

Make every day a big day.

Good birding,
Jeff Percell
Erie, CO

On Tue, Nov 7, 2023 at 7:08 PM Rachel Kolokoff Hopper 
wrote:

> The underbelly of the decision…worth a read if you want to more fully
> understand.
>
> From Van Remsen, now former member of the NACC (North American
> Classification Committee.) If you don’t know who Van is, Google him. Posted
> here with permission from Van.
> ===
> These are my formal comments to AOS leadership from back in early July
> from my position as Acting Chair South American Classification Committee.
> They made me swear to keep these secret until the final decision was made.
> ===
> Comments to AOS Council from J. V. Remsen (Chair and founder, South
> American Classification Committee, and member since 1984 of North American
> Classification Committee)
>
> • Diversity and inclusion. The English Bird Names Committee report is
> antithetical to the AOS mission with respect to diversity and inclusion.
> AOS includes many people who either like eponyms for their own sake or
> would rather not meddle with them for the sake of stability.  These members
> have had little opportunity to express their views.  Currently, only 4.2 %
> of SACC English names are eponyms.  Many supporters of this tiny “market
> share” are afraid to speak out for fear of being called racists (as has
> already happened to Kevin Winker when he published his paper analyzing
> eponym comments in a Washington Post article.)  To anyone who saw that
> recent AOS-sponsored “symposium” (actually a hybrid pep rally X
> fundamentalist big-tent revival meeting) on bird names , it was clear that
> contrary views were not welcomed.
>
> • Broader impacts. I am acutely conscious of my White Privilege status
> that has helped my get where I am.  However, censoring all eponyms smacks
> of an attempt to erase the cultural heritage and scientific ac

Re: [cobirds] Re: Benefits of Keeping the Original Bird Names. Moderator note

['Martin Margulies' via Colorado Birds]

First I wanna commend the thorough post that Rachel made on the 7th, if you 
haven't read it give it a go.

I come from a wildlife biology which led me into multiple ornithological 
studies, birding, and my life list and I had a few thoughts-
-People refer to the history associated with the names of the species, I 
can tell you that during my studies there was no "historical" section on 
the figures that these birds are named after.  
-In addition, names have no relevance to birds and the lives of the men 
that are honored in the naming of these birds are questionable. Many of 
these people are offensive.  Yes Yes I'm glad I'm not judge by the lens of 
time.
-It's important to understand history and in this case why the names will 
be changed.
-The descriptors are more helpful in a multitude of ways.
-It's interesting to note that ornithology we rarely refer to birds by 
their scientific names (only in publication) unlike botany.
-The naming of many species are after the discoverers of that species they 
actually did something, that being said many if not all of the species were 
discovered by the indigenous populations that discovered this place long 
before the settlers.  
-We can look at similarities in geographic field, looking at the changing 
of names from honorees to indigenous references/names for example Denali 
over Mt McKinley.  -The movement to get offensive language from the naming 
of geographic places the equivalent Old Squaw to Long-tailed Duck.  To 
think that I just accepted these without any though shows my naiveté 
(stupidity or ignorance) and white male privilege.

Some people think this is big change it isn't, I believe it's the correct 
change.  You can probably tell my minor wasn't English.

Thanks to all for keeping the discussion civil.
Martin


On Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 7:27:06 AM UTC-7 Mark Hauswald wrote:

> As an old birder who is familiar with all these names I'd prefer to keep 
> them.
> If I was a brand new birder who was trying to sort out hundreds of species 
> I'd much prefer names that would help me do that.
> I'm going to New Zealand in January so will be in the latter camp then. 
> Those names are often in Maori ! 
>
> On Monday, November 6, 2023 at 1:13:43 PM UTC-7 Carla Richardson wrote:
>
>> I am certainly not on the list for political discussions. But I will say 
>> one thing and one thing only. Please do not call the United States "evil." 
>> (From a previous post)
>>
>> Back to appropriate topic, personally I wish bird names would stay the 
>> same as named by the people who discovered them. It is not fair to judge 
>> others from other times, in a general sense. I'm pretty neutral about it, 
>> though, I can understand the point, either way. 
>>
>> As a VERY NEW birder, it's hard enough to remember names without the 
>> names changing continually. 
>>
>> Carla
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 6, 2023, 12:44 PM David Suddjian  wrote:
>>
>>> Hi CoBirders,
>>>
>>> *List moderator note*. 
>>> This has been an interesting (and polite) discussion, and certainly 
>>> appropriate to CoBirds on the whole. As it proceeds I remind list members 
>>> that CoBirds is about reporting on *birding in Colorado*, *Colorado 
>>> birds* and things pertinent to these topics. For this issue, where 
>>> there are strong opinions and deep feelings, I encourage the discussion to 
>>> steer away from the lives of historic figures in contexts outside of 
>>> Colorado birding. We can look those things up. Discussion of bird names and 
>>> the plan and process to change them is fine.  You know what I'm trying to 
>>> say. 
>>>
>>> Thank you,
>>>
>>> David Suddjian
>>> CoBirds moderator
>>> Littleton, CO
>>>
>>> On Mon, Nov 6, 2023 at 10:13 AM Susan Rosine  wrote:
>>>
 I'm not quite sure why we're still bringing up McCown, since "his" bird 
 already has a new moniker. 

 Interesting that you note "the Confederacy and the evils that it stood 
 for".

 Ten of the first twelve presidents owned slaves, and twelve presidents 
 altogether had slaves at some point. Yet, we have Washington, Jefferson, 
 Jackson and Grant on our money, stamps, etc.

 We also still honor men who pushed the Native American Indians from 
 their land. 

 Evil Confederacy? How about evil United States of America? 

 If at one point, it was simply decided that birds named after humans 
 was stupid in general, and therefore would all be renamed, that would be 
 fine. Annoying, because it's a lot of name changes all at once, but fine. 
 However, this all started because it was discovered a few of these men 
 were 
 not perfect, wonderful human beings. Then there had to be intense study 
 into "just how evil" they really were. People started taking sides. These 
 men were sort of on trial posthumously. Good or bad, cool dude or evil 
 dude?

 AOS finally decided, well let's just changed them all, so we don't have 
 to dig into e

Re: [cobirds] Bird Names (long)

['Martin Margulies' via Colorado Birds]

Phenomenal

On Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 7:48:50 PM UTC-7 Susan Rosine wrote:

> Wow, this was well worth reading! What a great look into the process. Van 
> definitely thought this out. 
> Thank you for posting this here!
>
> Susan Rosine
> Brighton 
>
>
> On Tue, Nov 7, 2023, 7:08 PM Rachel Kolokoff Hopper  
> wrote:
>
>> The underbelly of the decision…worth a read if you want to more fully 
>> understand.
>>
>> From Van Remsen, now former member of the NACC (North American 
>> Classification Committee.) If you don’t know who Van is, Google him. Posted 
>> here with permission from Van.
>> ===
>> These are my formal comments to AOS leadership from back in early July 
>> from my position as Acting Chair South American Classification Committee. 
>> They made me swear to keep these secret until the final decision was made.
>> ===
>> Comments to AOS Council from J. V. Remsen (Chair and founder, South 
>> American Classification Committee, and member since 1984 of North American 
>> Classification Committee)
>>
>> • Diversity and inclusion. The English Bird Names Committee report is 
>> antithetical to the AOS mission with respect to diversity and inclusion.  
>> AOS includes many people who either like eponyms for their own sake or 
>> would rather not meddle with them for the sake of stability.  These members 
>> have had little opportunity to express their views.  Currently, only 4.2 % 
>> of SACC English names are eponyms.  Many supporters of this tiny “market 
>> share” are afraid to speak out for fear of being called racists (as has 
>> already happened to Kevin Winker when he published his paper analyzing 
>> eponym comments in a Washington Post article.)  To anyone who saw that 
>> recent AOS-sponsored “symposium” (actually a hybrid pep rally X 
>> fundamentalist big-tent revival meeting) on bird names , it was clear that 
>> contrary views were not welcomed.  
>>
>> • Broader impacts. I am acutely conscious of my White Privilege status 
>> that has helped my get where I am.  However, censoring all eponyms smacks 
>> of an attempt to erase the cultural heritage and scientific accomplishment 
>> of “Western” culture in the Western Hemisphere.  Extremists on the 
>> political right will be grateful to the AOS for providing beautiful 
>> propaganda for their agenda.
>>
>> • Financial impacts: Because AOS names are used by federal agencies, the 
>> cost to taxpayers of those name changes needs assessment.  USFWS, USDA, 
>> NPS, etc. all use standardized AOS names, and this has a trickle-down 
>> impact on state and local agencies.  They already have to deal with some 
>> instability due to changes in species limits, but 150 immediate changes 
>> represents a new level of change.  Just in the bird world, think about 
>> 4-letter banding codes: 150 would have to be changed and 150 would become 
>> obsolete.
>>
>> • Trivialization of AOS.  A typical reaction to the controversy from the 
>> general public and scientists in other fields is (to paraphrase colleagues 
>> and friends outside the bird community) “of all the problems in need of 
>> solutions, the AOS is focusing on THIS!”  It’s a bad look for AOS.
>>
>> • Negative impact. The EBNC report ignores the potential impact that 
>> their recommendations will have on countries outside the Global North.  If 
>> AOS adopts the proposal, it will be seen as a heavy-handed edict from the 
>> Global North without consideration of negative impacts.  I have provided to 
>> President Handel a list of eponyms derived from past or present widely 
>> respected members of the ornithological culture of many South American 
>> countries, most of them citizens of those countries.
>>
>> • Global South. If everyone on SACC thought that canceling all eponyms 
>> would be an effective way to promote interest in or conservation of birds 
>> or remove obstacles to inclusion of under-represented groups, then we would 
>> be in favor of it.  There is no direct evidence for any tangible, positive 
>> effect, other than to appease the BN4B people.  In fact, I predict that the 
>> fallout will have the opposite effect on many in South America; see 
>> Pethiyagoda (2023) and Jost et al. (2023).  I like to think we as a 
>> scientific society (AOS) base our policy changes on evidence, not rhetoric.
>>
>> • Justice. All but one SACC members are in favor of a case-by-case 
>> analysis to remove eponymous English for which continued use of that eponym 
>> is harmful to people or bird conservation.  The argument that the simplest 
>> thing to do is delete all of them ignores the counterpoint that the 
>> simplest solution of all is to not remove any of them.  Yes, the process 
>> will be messy for many reasons, but we have a sample size of 1 (i.e. 
>> McCown) that suggests that it can work, that NACC is open to that process, 
>> and that name changes are possible through NACC (and SACC) protocols.  If 
>> all accusations of “criminal” activity were easy Y/N decisions, then 
>

[cobirds] Updated Colorado Christmas Bird Count dates

[Brandon]

Hi all,

I have received quite a few updates on dates for Colorado Christmas Bird
Counts this winter.  Here is that update.

A few updates on Christmas Bird Count Dates for this winter.
Aspen - Sunday, 17 December 2023
Barr Lake - Sunday, 31 December 2023
Boulder – Sunday, 17 December 2023
Colorado Springs – Saturday, 16 December 2023
Cortez - Saturday, 30 December 2023
Delta - Sunday, 17 December 2023
Denver - Saturday, 16 December 2023
Denver (Urban) - Monday, 1 January 2024
Durango - Sunday, 17 December 2023
Evergreen-Idaho Springs – Sunday, 17 December 2023
Fountain Creek – Thursday, 14 December 2023
Granby - Saturday, 16 December 2023
Grand Junction – Sunday, 17 December 2023
Grand Mesa – Monday, 1 January 2024
Gunnison - Sunday, 17 December 2023
Hotchkiss - Monday, 1 January 2024
Longmont - Saturday, 16 December 2023
Monte Vista N.W.R. - Saturday, 16 December 2023
North JeffCo – Sunday, 17 December 2023
Nunn - Sunday, 17 December 2023
Penrose - Sunday, 17 December 2023
Pueblo Reservoir – Saturday, 16 December 2023
Rifle Creek - Saturday, 23 December 2023
Roaring Fork River Valley - Saturday, 16 December 2023
Rocky Ford - Friday. 15 December 2023
Salida – Friday, 15 December 2023

Brandon Percival
Colorado CBC Regional Editor
Pueblo West, CO

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[cobirds] June-July 2023 Photos for Colorado Birds Magazine

[George Mayfield]

Hello CO Birders!

Once again we’re looking for photos for the next issue of Colorado Birds, 
the quarterly journal of the Colorado Field Ornithologists.  We are seeking 
photos taken from June - July 2023 for the publication's “News From The 
Field” article. Please send us your best, high quality photos of rare, 
vagrant or just unusual species.

Please submit your photos to me (georgemayfi...@gmail.com) no later than Nov 
17, 2023.

We are specifically looking for photos of the following species reported in 
Colorado during this time period:


   - 
   
   Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
   - 
   
   Greater White-fronted Goose
   - 
   
   Cackling Goose
   - 
   
   Surf Scoter
   - 
   
   Red-necked Grebe
   - 
   
   Yellow-billed Cuckoo
   - 
   
   Rivoli’s Hummingbird
   - 
   
   Limpkin
   - 
   
   Snowy Plover
   - 
   
   Laughing Gull
   - 
   
   Lesser Black-backed Gull
   - 
   
   Least Tern
   - 
   
   Common Tern
   - 
   
   Arctic Tern
   - 
   
   Neotropic Cormorant
   - 
   
   Least Bittern
   - 
   
   Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
   - 
   
   Broad-winged Hawk
   - 
   
   Zone-tailed Hawk
   - 
   
   Gray Vireo
   - 
   
   Red-eyed Vireo
   - 
   
   Cassia Crossbill
   - 
   
   White-winged Crossbill
   - 
   
   Red Crossbill
   - 
   
   Baird’s Sparrow
   - 
   
   Chihuahuan Meadowlark
   - 
   
   Black-and-white Warbler
   - 
   
   Hooded Warbler
   - 
   
   Northern Parula
   - 
   
   Chestnut-sided Warbler
   - 
   
   Townsend’s Warbler
   - 
   
   Hepatic Tanager
   - 
   
   Summer Tanager
   - 
   
   Rose-breasted Grosbeak
   - 
   
   Painted Bunting
   

On behalf of Colorado Birds, thank you for sharing your photographs! Your 
hard work and generosity help to make our journal one of the best in the 
country!

George Mayfield

Photo Editor, Colorado Birds

Wheat Ridge, CO

Photo Submission Guidelines:

Photos from June - July 2023

Photos must be your own, and by submitting them, you give Colorado Birds 
permission to reproduce in any issue and on the CFO website. We always 
credit images with the photographer’s name.

Photos must be named as follows: species-date-location-county-photographer. 
For example, a photo of an American Robin taken Oct. 4, 2019 at Chatfield 
State Park by John James Audubon would be named as follows: 

American Robin (or AMRO) -20191004-Chatfield-Adams-JJAudubon.

Minimum quality for interior publication use is 750 x 900 pixels. To be 
considered for the journal cover, photos must be at least 2625 pixels 
(vertically) x 1725 pixels (horizontally). Please send original files in 
the largest resolution possible (300 dpi is preferable) . We will crop and 
resize as needed.  Email your submissions to georgemayfi...@gmail.com

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Re: [cobirds] Re: AOU - name changes

[Charlie Paterson]

I agree!  Hoping it’s an opportunity for us to have some thoughtful fun and
engagement with birdwatching.

On Fri, Nov 10, 2023 at 6:56 PM Vaughn Cottman 
wrote:

> I totally agree with you, Cathy!
>
> On Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 6:49:56 PM UTC-7 Cathy Sheeter wrote:
>
>> I think the visceral reaction of many really has nothing to do with
>> names, but with simple concept of a large change from what they know. Many
>> birds have been named, renamed and changed over the last 100 years, but
>> people only remember and feel attached to the one they learned when they
>> started birding, or the one they know now. Yes, there will be a big
>> adjustment and for some it may seem overwhelming to think about remembering
>> 150 new names…but I actually think some, if not most, of the new names will
>> be big improvements as far as being more about the bird than some
>> historical figure that many don’t know anything about.
>>
>> New birders will learn the new names and have no specific attachment to
>> Harris’s Hawk compared to Bay-winged Hawk. Harris’s tells us nothing of the
>> bird. Bay-winged is informative.
>>
>> I don’t personally think renaming will specifically change who is
>> attracted to birding or if someone stays at it, but I do think descriptive
>> names are actually more beneficial for new birders for learning. Thicket
>> Vireo certainly helps one understand habitat of the species much more than
>> Bell’s Vireo ever has. I look forward to saying the more descriptive names
>> of Yucca Oriole, Sedge Sparrow, Ice Bunting, and Desert Quail (of course
>> these examples are not formally accepted names, but ideas I have seen being
>> tossed around on various groups).
>>
>> I don’t think there is anything specifically beneficial to anyone by
>> having bird’s (or any animal) named after people. I admit I have rarely
>> taken time to researched the names behind the birds they are named after,
>> but am much more interested in their ecology, habitat and behavior, which
>> can be incorporated in these new names. In some cases the new names might
>> help with conservation efforts by showing a species dependence on an
>> endangered or declining habitats.
>>
>> I think and hope that in a handful of years most will look back on the
>> changes favorably after they get used to the new names and have adjusted to
>> them.
>>
>>
>> Cathy Sheeter
>> www.cathysheeter.com
>> Aurora, CO
>>
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