A bird charity has vowed to change its posters after a birdwatcher from Bristol claimed they're sexist.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has said it will update the illustrations on its posters given out to ornithologists.
The RSPB was dragged into a sexism row after birdwatcher Dr Mya-Rose Craig, from Compton Martin, questioned why they used smaller pictures for female birds..
As The Daily Star reports, their posters are given out in hides so that ornithologists, nicknamed twitchers, can identify what species they are looking at.
Dr Mya-Rose, also known as 'birdgirl', said on Twitter: “If you aren’t into nature, you won’t know that when you go into bird watching hides there are often posters up to help you with bird ID.
“But why are the female birds always shown as a smaller picture insert? #sexisminbirding? We need a revolution.”
Dr Mya-Rose Craig, 19, is the youngest person in the UK to receive an honorary degree, awarded by the University of Bristol.
In August 2019 she became the youngest person in the world to see half the world's birds, that's 5,369 in total.
The Daily Star Sunday contacted the RSPB - who have now promised to address the issue and “do better”.
A spokesperson told the publication: “It is a fair point and we must do better.
"We’re pleased Mya-Rose brought this to our attention and will be reviewing these posters with our team internally.”
Mya-Rose’s comment on Twitter has attracted hundreds of comments from fellow ornithology enthusiasts.
One said: “Completely agree. Also, can we do away with the habit of describing (for example) a male blackbird as a “blackbird” while the female is always “a female blackbird”.
“Like the male is default while the female is some kind of variation. No thanks.”
Another said: “This is such a great point to raise.
“Especially given the plumage differences are often more subtle and so harder to distinguish - larger images would actually really help to ID.”
