Suggestions for Name Changes for Eponymously-named Gulls

Thu, 28 May 2026 11:00:09 -0700

Heermann's Gull wintering in Victoria BC, October 2025.

To Rename or Not to Rename

Back in November of 2023, the American Ornithological Society announced that it would be changing the English names of birds named after people.
Since then we have heard precious little, and well-known ornithologists like N. G. Howell, co-author of Gulls of the Americas, have publicly called for the scaling back of this initiative.
Given this pushback, and the current political climate in the United States, there are genuine concerns that the AOS has stalled this project indefinitely.
For me personally, changing bird names to reflect morphology, plumage, habitat or geographic distribution would be a welcome change*. Having only started birding post-pandemic, I am not as closely attached to bird names as someone more experienced.

As of this writing, the gull subfamily has 11 species named after people. Out of personal preference, I am more inclined to side with Peter Adriaens et al. (2022) on the species status of Thayer’s Gull, and unanswered questions surrounding the breeding range of this subspecies may result in further taxonomic reshuffling, but I digress.
11 species of gulls is significantly less than the ~263 total bird species that were slated to be renamed in the Americas, making them ideal candidates for imagining what new bird names could look like.

For each eponymously-named gull I have written down one or more alternative names, some of which I found in the literature or on Avibase.

This exercise helped me to appreciate different aspects of each gull’s life history, and is something I encourage other people to do for their favourite birds.
The beauty of this practice is that you do not have to make each name conform to established norms. Perhaps an Anna’s Hummingbird becomes a Magenta-headed Feeder-gem, or Barrow’s Goldeneye becomes Crescent-cheeked Whistling-seaduck.

The world of bird names is your oystercatcher (sorry).

Gulls on Ethan Moon

Suggestions for Name Changes for Eponymously-named Gulls

To Rename or Not to Rename