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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
In North America, Birds Will No Longer Be Named after People
Birds in North America will no longer be named after people. The American Ornithological1 Society announced the move Wednesday.
Next year, the organization will begin to rename around 80 birds found in the United States and Canada.
Colleen Handel is the organization's president. She said: "There is power in a name, and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be exclusionary2 and harmful today."
"Everyone who loves and cares about birds should be able to enjoy and study them freely," Handel added.
Rather than review each bird named after a person individually, all birds named after people will be renamed, the organization announced.
Birds that will be renamed include those currently called Wilson's warbler and Wilson's snipe. Those are both named after the 19th century naturalist3 Alexander Wilson. Audubon's shearwater, a seabird named for John James Audubon, also will get a new name.
In 2020, the organization renamed a bird that used to be named after Confederate Army General, John P. McCown. It is now called the thick-billed longspur.
"I'm really happy and excited about the announcement," said Emily Williams. She is an ornithologist4 at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. who was not involved in the decision.
She said debates over bird names have been happening among birdwatchers for the past several years.
"Naming birds based on habitat or appearance is one of the least problematic approaches," Williams said.
Earlier this year, the National Audubon Society announced that it would keep its name. Some critics argued that the group should lose its connection to John James Audubon, whose family owned slaves.
"The name has come to represent so much more than the work of one person," Susan Bell told Audubon magazine in March. She is chair of the National Audubon Society's Board of Directors. Bell added, "We must reckon with the racist5 legacy6 of John James Audubon."
A 2020 incident in New York's Central Park has been reported as an example of discrimination that Black people sometimes face when trying to enjoy the outdoors.
Christian7 Cooper, a Black birdwatcher, was looking for birds when he asked a white woman, Amy Cooper, to follow local rules and leash8 her dog. Cooper called the police and was later charged with filing a false police report. Police later dropped the charge.
Soon after, a group of birdwatchers organized the first Black Birders Week for Black nature lovers and scientists.
And a group called Bird Names for Birds sent a petition to the ornithological society urging it to create "a plan to change harmful common names" of birds.
Words in This Story
exclusionary — n. related to not including something
ornithologist –n. a scientist who studies birds
habitat — n. the place where a plant or animal naturally lives
reckon with — v. to consider or think about
legacy — n. what a person or a generation leaves to future generations
leash — v. to put a rope around the neck of a dog so it can be walked
petition — n. a document to be presented to officials that people sign to show they agree with what the document asks the officials to do
1 ornithological | |
adj.鸟类学的 | |
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2 exclusionary | |
adj.排斥(性)的,排除在外的 | |
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3 naturalist | |
n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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4 ornithologist | |
n.鸟类学家 | |
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5 racist | |
n.种族主义者,种族主义分子 | |
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6 legacy | |
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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7 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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8 leash | |
n.牵狗的皮带,束缚;v.用皮带系住 | |
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