Jared Del Rosso published a good addition to this discussion on The
Conversation:  —
https://theconversation.com/why-dozens-of-north-american-bird-species-are-getting-new-names-every-name-tells-a-story-217886

An interesting point he made:  "all eponymous names imply human ownership
over birds....Science has greatly expanded human understanding of birds in
recent decades. We now recognize that birds are intelligent
<https://theconversation.com/are-crows-really-that-clever-212914>, with rich
 emotional lives
<https://theconversation.com/laughs-cries-and-deception-birds-emotional-lives-are-just-as-complicated-as-ours-69471>.
Radar, lightweight transmitters and satellite telemetry have helped
scientists map the transcontinental migrations
<https://theconversation.com/birds-migrate-along-ancient-routes-here-are-the-latest-high-tech-tools-scientists-are-using-to-study-their-amazing-journeys-187967>
 that many bird species make each year.

Trading eponymous names, which treat birds as passive objects, for richer
descriptive names reflects this sea change in our understanding of avian
lives."


Diana Beatty

El Paso County

On Mon, Dec 4, 2023 at 8:02 AM Greg Osland <[email protected]> wrote:

> Thanks to Don Jones for sharing a link from Kenn Kaufman that summarizes
> some of Kenn's recent research on eponymous names and the history of
> ornithology. The report provides objective historical facts that most
> birders, like me, never realized. Each of us can draw our own conclusions
> from his findings about the historical value of eponymous names and whether
> they should be retained for historical reasons.  Here is one of his
> findings:
>
> From the 1820s to the early 1840s in North America, John James Audubon was
> handing out eponyms like candy. At first he was trying to court favor with
> British naturalists (like Bewick, Henslow, or Swainson) or with wealthy
> individuals who might support his work. Later he used names to honor
> various friends and colleagues (like Harris, Sprague, or Bell).
>
>
> http://www.kaufmanfieldguides.com/kenn-on-the-issues/eponymous-bird-names-and-the-history-of-ornithology?fbclid=IwAR32lesbSDgzt0MiBEG4bGBoBBnWEPPcisGmEW9z-aWljHFrMbOi08lwxaU
>
> Greg Osland
> Larimer County
>
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