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Comment by irrational | Hacker News Reader

I recently learned that Stellar Jays are actually Stellar's Jays, some guy's name. I always thought Stellar referred their deep blue and black color, like InterStellar space.

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Again incorrect spelling - it's "Steller's Jays", not stellar.

And if anyone lives in their habitat and wants to get a few of them around... they love shelled unsalted peanuts! Costco has them pretty cheap.

There are dozens of birds named in a similar way -- Cooper's Hawk, Brewer's Sparrow, Wilson's Warbler, etc, etc.

Also Wingspan is a great board game where you learn all of this. I suspect there may be some players in this thread :)

To be fair, there are birds where the name is the description. Red Wing Black Bird, Blue Jay, snowy egret...

Not for much longer

https://americanornithology.org/american-ornithological-soci...

This will no longer be true next year, as The American Ornithology Society's Diversity & Inclusion Committee plans to rename all these species with "non-colonized, inclusive" names.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84GchnXInb8&t=3903s&ab_chann...

either that or starting next year the american orthonogalogical society will no longer be a reliable resource for bird names

"what's in a name?"

Unfortunately a lot. if they rename stellars jays, for example, it creates a rift in American culture.

No, the rift has been there for centuries, about as long as it's been "America."

ok, english-speaking culture, but only english speakers in the western half of north america.

They would have to rename every bird. Bluebird and Cardinal are named after English colors, the colonizers language.

Names of people.

Ah yes, rename the birds back, that will undo all the bad parts of colonisation.

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