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Journal article
AvianLexiconAtlas: A database of descriptive categories of English-language bird names around the world
PloS one, v 20(6), e0325890
11 Jun 2025
PMID: 40498755
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Common names of species are important for communicating with the general public. In principle, these names should provide an accessible way to engage with and identify species. The common names of species have historically been labile without standard guidelines, even within a language. Currently, there is no systematic assessment of how often common names communicate identifiable and biologically relevant characteristics about species. This is a salient issue in ornithology, where common names are used more often than scientific names for species of birds in written and spoken English, even by professional researchers. To gain a better understanding of the types of terminology used in the English-language common names of bird species, a group of 85 professional ornithologists and non-professional contributors classified unique descriptors in the common names of all recognized species of birds. In the AvianLexiconAtlas database produced by this work, each species' common name is assigned to one of ten categories associated with aspects of avian biology, ecology, or human culture. Across 10,906 species of birds, 89% have names describing the biology of the species, while the remaining 11% of species have names derived from human cultural references, human names, or local non-English languages. Species with common names based on features of avian biology are more likely to be related to each other or be from the same geographic region. The crowdsourced data collection also revealed that many common names contain specialized or historic terminology unknown to many of the data collectors, and we include these terms in a glossary and gazetteer alongside the dataset. The AvianLexiconAtlas can be used as a quantitative resource to assess the state of terminology in English-language common names of birds. Future research using the database can shed light on historical approaches to nomenclature and how people engage with species through their names.
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Details
- Title
- AvianLexiconAtlas: A database of descriptive categories of English-language bird names around the world
- Creators
- Erin S Morrison - New York UniversityGuinevere P Pandolfi - New York UniversityStepfanie M Aguillon - University of California, Los AngelesJarome R Ali - Princeton UniversityOlivia Archard - New York UniversityDaniel T Baldassarre - State University of New York at OswegoIlleana Baquero - New York UniversityKevin F P Bennett - University of Maryland, College ParkKevin M Bonney - New York UniversityRiley Bryant - New York UniversityRosanne M Catanach - Trinity, Alabama, United States of AmericaTherese A Catanach - Drexel UniversityIda Chavoshan - New York UniversitySarah N Davis - Carnegie Museum of Natural HistoryBrooke D Goodman - State University of New York at OswegoEric R Gulson-Castillo - University of MichiganMatthew Hack - University of MichiganJocelyn Hudon - Royal Alberta MuseumGavin M Leighton - Buffalo State UniversityKira M Long - University of IdahoZiqi Ma - New York UniversityDakota E McCoy - University of ChicagoJ F McLaughlin - University of Alaska AnchorageGaia Rueda Moreno - New York UniversityTalia M Mota - New York UniversityLara Noguchi - New York UniversityUgo Nwigwe - New York UniversityTeresa Pegan - University of MichiganKaiya L Provost - University of Garden CityShauna A Rasband - University of Maryland, College ParkJessie Frances Salter - Santa Monica CollegeLauren C Silvernail - Oswego, New York, United States of AmericaJared A Simard - New York UniversityHeather R Skeen - Field Museum of Natural HistoryJuliana Soto-Patiño - University of Illinois at Urbana ChampaignYoung Ha Suh - Natural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyQingyue Wang - New York UniversityMatthew E Warshauer - New York UniversitySissy Yan - New York UniversityBetsy Zalinski - New York UniversityZiqi Zhao - New York UniversityAllison J Shultz - Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
- Publication Details
- PloS one, v 20(6), e0325890
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science
- Number of pages
- 17
- Grant note
- New York University Liberal Studies New Faculty Scholarship Award
Funding was provided by the New York University Liberal Studies New Faculty Scholarship Award to E.S.M. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Ornithology
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001509994800013
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105007931690
- Other Identifier
- 991022056998804721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Evolutionary Biology