If you’re new to birding, you might be baffled by names like Couch’s Kingbird, Wilson’s Warbler, and Townsend’s Solitaire. These birds were named in honor of scientists and their friends long ago. But the result is a long list of birds named after white men, many of whom took part in colonizing the Americas or enslaved people. The American Ornithological Society or AOS, which governs official bird names in English, is working to rename all birds named after people in North America.

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