Corina Newsome is a black ornithologist, as rare as some of the birds she studies. When she joined US bird conservation organisation Georgia Audubon last year, the group’s executive director called her hiring a first step to “begin working to break down barriers” so that people from all communities can fully enjoy birding and the outdoors. But overcoming those barriers will be daunting. As with the wider field of conservation, racism and colonialism is in ornithology’s DNA, indelibly linked to its origin story. The challenge of how to move forward is roiling white ornithologists as they debate whether to change as many as 150 eponyms, names of birds that honour people with connections to slavery and supremacy. READ MORE: In just one day, hundreds of birds were discovered dead in a US city, the slaughter shook birdwatchers Race relations: what happens if we ignore this white reservoir of rage? Forget Netflix: Tune in to the feathered soap opera outside your window There are almost one-third fewer birds in North America than in 1970 The Bachman’s sparrow, Wallace’s fruit dove and other winged creatures bear the names of men who fought for the Southern cause , stole skulls from Native American…