Regularly I like to blog about some of the more interesting birds of the world. Today, one of the 45 species of Birds-of-Paradise. Birds-of-Paradise, family Paradisaedae, are only found in Indonesia, New Guinea, and a small part of Australia. In the early years of exploration, European Traders shipped Bird-of-Paradise skins from New Guinea to collectors …
I earlier discussed the proposal by the American Ornithologist’s Union (AOU) to change the common names of birds named after people. Let me add a little more here. Will this lead to a change in scientific names as well? The AOU changed McCown’s Longspur to the Thick-billed Longspur because of McCown’s support of slavery as …
I like to alternate my posts between scientific and philosophical musings with looks at some interesting birds. Today the bird is the Anhinga. The word “anhinga” is derived from the native Brazilian Tupi-Guarani language word “ana’ĩnĩa,” which translates to “devil bird”, “snake bird” or “evil spirit of the woods.” The Tupi people (one of the …
From the Washington Post, November 1, 2023: “The American Ornithological Society (AOU) says it will alter the names of North American birds named after humans, starting with up to 80 of them.” Their justifications are that the names are of people with negative reputations – endorsing or participating in slavery, for example – and that …
