Wait, don’t go! This is not a post about eponymous bird names. I’ve done that before, and I’ll surely do it again, but not today. All the recent discussion about birds named after people has been great and it looks like, with some specifics still to be hashed out, we are roughly headed in the…Continue readingA Definitive List of Bird Names that Also Suck
Author: Kyle Horner
A very long time ago – like nine months – I made some opinions about The State of Birding, and the Weirdos Who Do It. Those opinions included a few brief thoughts on birding apps, and at the time I thought I would later expand on those thoughts in a post of their own. Then…Continue readingThe Problem of Birding Apps: Solved
A few days ago I wrote some things about the recent AOS decision to change bird names. It was a struggle, because the situation is big and complex and difficult to distill down to a few digestible paragraphs. I tried my best, but I never know when to stop talking, so here are five additional…Continue readingFive More Random Thoughts About the AOS Changing Bird Names
As usual it’s been a minute since I’ve made internet words, but you had to know that if anything was going to bring me out of my hiatus it would be last Wednesday’s shock announcement by the American Ornithological Society that they’re poised to change a whole bunch of bird names. My three favourite things…Continue readingBird Names Are Changing. Here’s Why You Should Care (and Why You Shouldn’t).
Recently – and this will come as a shock to those of you who know me well – I have been reading a book. It’s not something I make a habit of. In fact I can’t off-hand remember the last one I saw through to the end. But you know self improvement is all the…Continue readingThe State of Birding, and the Weirdos Who Do It
Well here we are folks, new year, new blog. Story of my life. What can I say? I am a walking identity crisis. The reasons for the change are manyfold, and I won’t bore-slash-horrify you with a peek into the inner workings of my brain. Maybe I’m just past the stage of my life in…Continue readingSeagull Is Not a Dirty Word
As a serial apartment-dweller, I long for birdfeeders. I grew up with kitchen windows framing feeders flush with birds, but small, urban rental units rarely provide this opportunity. I brim with envy of friends and family with backyard birdfeeder bonanzas. So when I moved last month to a main-floor rental with a treed yard beside…Continue readingIn Defense of Feeding the Wildlife
How many blog posts, over the years, have I started with the phrase “it’s been a while”? Too many to count, probably. I’ve just come to accept it as an inherent feature of any writing project of mine. Maybe I have trouble staying focused on a given task or maybe – for significant periods of…Continue readingOf Mothing and Privilege
I recently saw an Instagram post about the Powerful Woodpecker and – as happens every time I hear that spectacular name – a little tingle went down my spine. If you love a good bird name like I do, you simply must agree that this one really has it all. It’s simple, truthful, and evocative.…Continue readingPowerful Woodpecker, and the Other Best Bird Names in the World.