May 13, 2024

Dear Ms. Hopper,

On behalf of the entire leadership of the American Ornithological Society (AOS), we thank you again for the petition that you submitted to us on behalf of so many people from our community who care about birds and the names by which they are known. Since we announced our decision about changing the eponymous English common names of birds under our geographic purview, we have received an outpouring of feedback, both supportive and critical, representing a multiplicity of viewpoints. We value the ideas and concerns you have shared with us regarding this decision.

We invite you and other signatories of your petition to review the most recent blog post that the AOS leadership has just shared about the AOS English Common Names Pilot Project, as this communication addresses many of the concerns that were raised in the petition. It describes our progress during the past several months in reviewing everyone’s feedback and planning a pilot project to replace an initial set of harmful names in a new, more inclusive process that engages the broader ornithological community.

The AOS leadership is committed to open communication about all the work that our scientific society does, and we apologize that we have not provided more frequent communication about the highly sensitive issue of eponymous bird names. As you can see from the blog post, we have been seeking to understand and address the myriad complexities associated with changing English common bird names, especially eponyms. This has required time and careful study, and we are now at a point where we feel we can move forward in an auspicious way.

We ask for your continued patience as we move forward with the pilot project, which will be changing the English common names of six species of birds that occur primarily within the U.S. and Canada, including four eponymous names honoring individuals who engaged in what we think most people today would agree was reprehensible behavior plus two other non-eponymous names recommended to be changed by both the AOS ad hoc English Bird Names Committee and the AOS North American Classification Committee. This pilot project will provide information not only on the new process that is being implemented, including active engagement of the public, but also on the costs and benefits of this new approach. AOS leadership plans to have a professional survey conducted at the conclusion of the pilot project to evaluate the goals, methods, and accomplishments of the project and the new naming process.

We recognize the complexities involved in changing English common names of migratory species of birds that do not recognize international boundaries. It is important that we engage in respectful discussions with other ornithological societies and organizations, checklist committees, and representatives of other groups of people both inside and outside of North America who use the English common names and thus have a stake in what they should be called. Such discussions will be an integral part of the new naming process.

In connection with the blog post, we have requested feedback on this initiative from our AOS members as well as anyone interested from the broader ornithological and birding community. On our website we have an online form where people can provide feedback on the renaming initiative itself, on the pilot project that is being planned, and on an upcoming public forum on bird names that will be held as part of our professional society’s annual meeting in Estes Park, Colorado, in October.

Again, we thank you for your thoughtful feedback and we encourage everyone who is interested in birds to engage in the upcoming pilot project and to provide constructive suggestions about it. Our AOS leadership team will continue to listen carefully as we move forward.

Sincerely,

Colleen M. Handel
President                                                     

SaraR. Morris
President-Elect