Eponyms of birds mostly honour scientists and show positive inclusivity trends

Abstract

In biological taxonomy, eponyms have become controversial, mostly because some believe that eponyms represent social injustice and include biases against women and people in non-western countries. Unfortunately, there are very few comprehensive quantitative studies of eponyms to inform this debate. In a data set of 28 395 names of valid bird genera, species and (non-nominate) subspecies, 6135 (21.6%) eponyms were identified. The proportion of eponyms has increased since the mid-20th century and was 43% in 2010–2022. Most honourees were scientists (71.5%), and this has been the case since the early 19th century. The proportion of scientists has increased significantly since 1900, whereas the proportion of facilitators of science (a group that includes collectors, sponsors, and artists) has declined significantly during the same period. Overall, there were strong biases towards males (93%) and people in western countries (93%). However, since 1900 the proportions of female and non-western honorifics have increased significantly, and in 2010–2022 these proportions were 17% and 30%, respectively. These trends are encouraging, because a large portion of (non-avian) biodiversity remains to be described. Therefore, there will be plenty of opportunities to compensate for past biases in groups other than birds.