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Index of Subjects
Index of Subjects
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Hi Chris and anyone else who may be interested,
Too bad you didn't leave an email for private replies, but perhaps it is th=
is for which NatureNS exists.
As a founding member of the AAAAA (Anti-Acronym and Abbreviation Associatio=
n) I feel obliged to add my cents worth to the discussion. These codes were=
intended for use by banders and not meant for general usage. As with any a=
bbreviations, they lead to a great deal of ambiguity. If you must use them,=
or even learn them, keep that in mind.
Some one has gone over the rules a bit, but I am appending them here from t=
he originators of said codes, Kathleen Klimkiewicz and Chandler Robbins in =
1978. The "collisions" or species that have the same codes by following the=
rules are noted at the end, with their rule-breaking codes. Both, or each =
(in the cases of triple collisions), are given distinctive codes which do n=
ot follow the rules. Note that there are even exceptions to the "collision"=
rule, where the pairs are a common and a rare bird, the common is allowed =
to follow the original rules and the rare bird is given another code. Note =
also that this includes only "North American" species, and that apparently =
includes Hawaii, as does the American Birding Association (ABA) checklist n=
ow.
The risk of ambiguity in using these codes is greater for those unfamiliar =
with the conflicts, and pity the poor reader of a report who doesn't know t=
he codes. I have seen "NOSH" used in a bird report (it is not a valid code =
- but someone not schooled in banding codes had misused it). I still wonder=
if it was a Northern Shrike or a Northern Shoveler. And so the ambiguity c=
reeps in. Additionally, the codes are often hard to interpret, again especi=
ally if you don't use them, leaving people shaking their heads. To use the =
philosophy of the AAAAA (see above) no code or abbreviation or acronym shou=
ld be used in absence of its full name (with the abbreviation in brackets) =
at its first mention in a report. It is considered good English too, for an=
yone who may care about that these days. Cheers, Larry
Codes are formed using these rules:
1. If the name consists of only one word, the code is taken from the ini=
tial letters, up to four:
DUNL Dunlin
DOVE Dovekie
OU Ou
GADW Gadwall
1. If there are two words in the name, the code is made from the first t=
wo letters of each word:
AMWI American Wigeon
EAME Eastern Meadowlark
1. For three-word names where only the last two words are hyphenated, th=
e code uses two letters from the first word and one each from the last two:
EASO Eastern Screech-Owl
WEWP Western Wood-Pewee
1. For other names with three words, the code takes one letter each from=
the first two words and two from the last word:
RTHA Red-tailed Hawk
WWCR White-winged Crossbill
WPWI Whip-poor-will
1. For four-word names, the code takes one letter from each word:
BCNH Black-crowned Night-Heron
ASTK American Swallow-tailed Kite
NSWO Northern Saw-whet Owl
A collision is a situation where two or more names would abbreviate to the =
same code using these rules. The Bird Banding Lab decides what code to use =
in these cases. If one name is far more common than the other name or names=
involved, typically the common species gets to use the name. In most cases=
(e.g., Lark Bunting and Lazuli Bunting) when both birds are common, the co=
llision code is not used, and unambiguous substitutes are provided for both=
forms.
The BBL code systems: Two-way collisions
1. BAOW BDOW Barred Owl
BNOW Barn Owl
2. BASP BACS Bachman's Sparrow
BAIS Baird's Sparrow
3. BBHU BBLH Broad-billed Hummingbird
BUFH Buff-bellied Hummingbird
4. BLWA BLBW Blackburnian Warbler
BLPW Blackpoll Warbler
5. BRCO BRAC Brandt's Cormorant
BROC Bronzed Cowbird
6. BTGO BARG Bar-tailed Godwit
BLAG Black-tailed Godwit
7. BTGW BTNW Black-throated Green Warbler
BTYW Black-throated Gray Warbler
8. BTHU BLUH Blue-throated Hummingbird
BTLH Broad-tailed Hummingbird
9. CACO CALC California Condor
CARC Caribbean Coot
10. CATO CALT California Towhee
CANT Canyon Towhee
11. CEWA CEDW Cedar Waxwing
CERW Cerulean Warbler
12. COWA COLW Colima Warbler
CONW Connecticut Warbler
13. GBHE GNBH Green-backed Heron
GTBH Great Blue Heron
14. GRJA GRAJ Gray Jay
GREJ Green Jay
15. HACR HCRE Hawaiian Creeper
HCRO Hawaiian Crow
16. HADU HARD Harlequin Duck
HAWD Hawaiian Duck
17. HEGU HEEG Heermann's Gull
HERG Herring Gull
18. LABU LARB Lark Bunting
LAZB Lazuli Bunting
19. LESP LHSP Leach's Storm-Petrel
LTSP Least Storm-Petrel
20. MOPL MONP Mongolian Plover
MOUP Mountain Plover
21. NOSH NSHO Northern Shoveler
NSHR Northern Shrike
22. PRWA PRAW Prairie Warbler
PROW Prothonotary Warbler
23. ROTE ROST Roseate Tern
ROYT Royal Tern
24. SASP SAGS Sage Sparrow
SAVS Savannah Sparrow
25. SBOR SPOO Spotted-breasted Oriole
STRO Streak-backed Oriole
26. STSH SHOS Short-tailed Shearwater
STRS Streaked Shearwater
27. TRSW TRES Tree Swallow
TRUS Trumpeter Swan
28. YEWA YWAG Yellow Wagtail
YWAR Yellow Warbler
29. ZEDO ZEBD Zebra Dove
ZEND Zenaida Dove
The BBL code systems: Three-way collisions
Not: But:
---- ----
1. BASW BANS Bank Swallow
BARS Barn Swallow
BAHS Bahama Swallow
2. CAWR CACW Cactus Wren
CANW Canyon Wren
CARW Carolina Wren
3. GRKI GRAK Gray Kingbird
GKIN Green Kingfisher
GKIS Great Kiskadee
4. HAHA HRLH Harlan's Hawk
HRSH Harris' Hawk
HWAH Hawaiian Hawk
The BBL code systems: Collisions with rare forms
In these