MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • May 23, 2021
The American Ornithological Society has a committee of taxonomic experts who maintain the checklist of North American birds. Birding organizations, publishers of field guides and the birding community, in general, follow this checklist. The committee maintains a list of standardized common names for North American birds. Supporters advocate for the replacement of all common names named after a person (eponyms) with a name describing a distinctive characteristic of the bird. For instance, Bicknell’s thrush might become treeline thrush and Wilson’s warbler might become black-capped warbler. Those new names are much more informative than eponymous common names. ~ Herb Wilson