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Post by Karene on Aug 4, 2020 16:12:21 GMT
I am really into taking wildlife photography, which is mainly birds since that is what I can find the most.  I receive a newsletter from Birdwatching magazine, and they have an article about birds being named after all these men that ran around "discovering" birds in North America during the 1800s and named bird's after themselves. I actually never even thought about whose name it was but this article tells about their behaviour and it wasn't good. Even Audubon, whose name is well known. The article is wondering about re-naming birds. It is interesting and very disturbing. So much of history that is swept under the rug. Many of these men were not actually orthonoligists or even real scientists. They were out to study everything and mostly to prove the superiority of the white man. Some of them were grave robbers! Here is a link to the site if you are interested. It has a link to another site where you can read about the different people. Link |
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Post by sawwhet on Aug 4, 2020 17:16:48 GMT
Thanks for posting. I'm also a birder (thus my name) interested in wildlife photography and live in Ontario.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:54:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2020 17:21:58 GMT
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basketdiva
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,699 
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Post by basketdiva on Aug 4, 2020 17:48:32 GMT
Where does this all stop?
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Post by busy on Aug 4, 2020 17:48:50 GMT
My son is a serious birder and he thinks species should be renamed; he doesn't think any species should be named after people. "Their names have nothing to do with the birds; bird names should be descriptive of appearance, behavior or location, not some guy who thinks he 'discovered' a bird."
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Post by busy on Aug 4, 2020 17:49:34 GMT
Where does this all stop? Species are renamed all the time for various reasons. Why is it objectionable in this case? |
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basketdiva
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,699
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Post by basketdiva on Aug 4, 2020 17:50:48 GMT
Where does this all stop? Species are renamed all the time for various reasons. Why is it objectionable in this case? It's the entire premise of renaming or eliminating so much of the past and today it annoys me.
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Post by sawwhet on Aug 4, 2020 18:05:48 GMT
My son is a serious birder and he thinks species should be renamed; he doesn't think any species should be named after people. "Their names have nothing to do with the birds; bird names should be descriptive of appearance, behavior or location, not some guy who thinks he 'discovered' a bird." Is he a biologist? In biological nomenclature, it's quite common to have scientific or even common names honour a person or place. There is a species of dragonfly and a wasp named after David Attenborough. There are some critters named after many celebrities/muscians. I don't necessarily agree but that's the way it is. I believe there is an Obama related critter as well. |
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Post by busy on Aug 4, 2020 18:10:41 GMT
Species are renamed all the time for various reasons. Why is it objectionable in this case? It's the entire premise of renaming or eliminating so much of the past and today it annoys me.
I don't think a bunch of European dudes wandering around the Americas and naming birds after themselves that had been around for a very long time but *they* had not seen before is "eliminating" any kind of history that matters. |
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tracylynn
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,905
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Post by tracylynn on Aug 4, 2020 18:20:40 GMT
Where does this all stop? Maybe it'll stop when we've stopped naming things after assholes. |
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Aug 4, 2020 18:30:34 GMT
My son is a serious birder and he thinks species should be renamed; he doesn't think any species should be named after people. "Their names have nothing to do with the birds; bird names should be descriptive of appearance, behavior or location, not some guy who thinks he 'discovered' a bird."I've never heard of this movement, but I agree with this statement. 'Bird Names for Birds' is a very succinct way to put it. Eastern Meadowlark tells you something about the bird; Thompson's Warbler (totally made up name, unless there actually is one- then, it was a good guess, lol)... does NOT tell you a thing about the bird. ETA: it's not just birds, and it still happens- things get named after people all the time-- stars, insects, microorganisms, diseases, etc. so it's something the scientific community probably wouldn't' want to address, because it's LOTS bigger than just bird names. |
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Peal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,524
Jun 25, 2014 22:45:40 GMT
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Post by Peal on Aug 4, 2020 19:39:26 GMT
I vote we do this with the Canada Goose so people will stop calling them Canadian Geese. Poor John Canada.
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Post by Zee on Aug 4, 2020 20:00:21 GMT
I vote we do this with the Canada Goose so people will stop calling them Canadian Geese. Poor John Canada. I had no idea. When I was a kid they were rare because of the use of DDT in the 60s, but now they're everywhere. They're lovely creatures but the amount of poop they make is really disgusting. Last time I walked along the Mississippi there were so many geese that I only saw two Mallard ducks. Poop the size of a terrier's all over and feathers everywhere. There used to be tons of ducks and I much prefer them. Smaller, friendlier, non-threatening. |
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Post by busy on Aug 5, 2020 0:49:54 GMT
My son is a serious birder and he thinks species should be renamed; he doesn't think any species should be named after people. "Their names have nothing to do with the birds; bird names should be descriptive of appearance, behavior or location, not some guy who thinks he 'discovered' a bird." Is he a biologist? In biological nomenclature, it's quite common to have scientific or even common names honour a person or place. There is a species of dragonfly and a wasp named after David Attenborough. There are some critters named after many celebrities/muscians. I don't necessarily agree but that's the way it is. I believe there is an Obama related critter as well. Well, he’s 12. And we’re talking about the common names, not the Latin names. However, he’s active in the birding community with longtime birders, some of whom are professionals in related fields, and the general consensus among them is the same. |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 5, 2020 1:21:28 GMT
I knew about Audubon years ago. Mixed feelings. Having a bird in hand way back then was the only way they could do accurate descriptions of the whole bird. Was it considered awful then, no. Is it considered awful now, you bet! Lots to think about!
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Post by Really Red on Aug 5, 2020 1:53:14 GMT
Where does this all stop? Maybe it'll stop when we've stopped naming things after assholes. Hah. You are too kind. I vote we do this with the Canada Goose so people will stop calling them Canadian Geese. Poor John Canada. What the what? Holy moly. You learn something new every day! |
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Post by Karene on Aug 5, 2020 2:24:12 GMT
I just thought it was interesting because I didn't know the history behind the naming of birds. Or the personal history of these people. It is good to know what people actually were like. And it says that Townsend knew what he was doing was sacrilege but he did it anyway. The "scientists" of the 19th century have a lot to answer for in the devastation of the nature and even ancient history. Mostly because they wanted to add to their collections.
I agree that streets, schools and buildings do not be named after particular people. It's okay to have a Mary Street or John Street because it is not a name that belongs to just one person. There are a lot of words that can be used to name places without using people.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 5, 2020 2:45:21 GMT
It is good to know what people actually were like. And it says that Townsend knew what he was doing was sacrilege but he did it anyway. The "scientists" of the 19th century have a lot to answer for in the devastation of the nature and even ancient history. Mostly because they wanted to add to their collections. Unfortunately we will also be facing what butchers doctors were when they started as barbers and such... They molested women in the name of treatments, ........... |
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