Alberta birds to be renamed as ornithological society makes extraordinary decision

The American Ornithological Society announced in early November 2023 that all birds in its geographic jurisdiction named after a person will undergo a name change in 2024, in a decision that affects as many as 80 species.

Some birds are named after people who have associations with the past that are exclusionary and harmful, according to the society.

Nicola Koper, co-author of Best Places to Bird in the Prairies, said the number of species that will be renamed is “extraordinary.” but it is not the first time a bird has been renamed.

“I think what’s really interesting about southern Alberta is that it’s the home of the very first species that was renamed because it was named after a person,”  Koper said on the Calgary Eyeopener.

That grassland bird is now known as the thick-billed longspur.  Its original name honoured John P. McCowan, an amateur naturalist wo later became a general in the Confederate Army during the U.S. Civil War—the bird’s former name was perceived as a painful link to slavery and racism.

Each bird will be renamed to something that is visually descriptive.

Koper added she thinks the name changes will make it easier for people to learn more about the birds around them, and will make natural sciences more inclusive.

“If I’m driving through Calgary and I tell you I saw a yellow headed blackbird, you don’t even need to look at a picture to know what I saw.  But if I tell you that I saw a Cooper’s hawk, that doesn’t tell you anything about how spectacular it is,” she said.

There are about 37 bird species in Alberta that will undergo a name change, said Jocelyn Hudon, curator of ornithology at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton.

In addition to changing the existing name, the society said it will be updating the process by which English names are selected for bird species.