Townsend’s warbler is a small unassuming songbird flecked with streaks of yellow around its eyes and on its chest. But its name carries a troubling history. It was named after John Kirk Townsend, an American naturalist who documented and named many North American species. Townsend is also responsible for stealing human remains from Indigenous gravesites. A name rather undeserving of a humble warbler.

Stories like this are the focus of the new documentary film Bird Names, produced by Aliza Sovani, a professor, producer and RCGS Fellow. Together with her co-producer, environmental journalist Aliya Jasmine, and a team of dynamic birders, Sovani set out to explore why more than 150 North American bird names have not aged so well.

In November 2023, the American Ornithological Society officially announced that it was establishing a committee to rename certain bird species with an aim to “address past wrongs and engage far more people in the enjoyment, protection, and study of birds.” Using this as a spring board, the young, Canadian-led film crew explores why the names of birds matter — and how renaming birds whose names carry disturbing legacies has wide implications for both people and the natural world.

The 22 minute CBC documentary Bird Names is out today and you can watch it for free on CBC Gem or YouTube.