This is bird note. I'm Jay Drew Lanham, an ornithologist, naturalist, and writer.

As we consider redacting the names of people from birds, it's important to remember birds are flesh, feather, and bone

monuments of life, hope, and higher aspiration. So it does matter. But I'm just one black bird-loving ornithologist, so what can I do?

This is what. I'm taking the lark by the horns and forming my own committee of one.

Henceforth, I no longer refer to Backman's sparrow by the racist's name

tacked to it by some other racist buddy named John James.

It is now back to a better melodiously appropriate name in my book, Pine Woods Sparrow.

Likewise, the likely extinct southern warbler with the backman name on its front end will also be typed by Habitat instead of hate.

It will be Swamp-Cane Warbler because that's what it loved to skulk around in before we drove it out of existence.

Those are just a couple of the naming controversies currently in question.

I wanted to help the experts with some super simple ones from my personal feel guide, not field but feel, because emotions are

involved here. You're welcome. For Bird Note, I'm Jay Drew Lanham.