betsy
08-23-2011, 11:09 AM
In case anyone uses alpha code shorthand for birds in their posts without first using the common name that everyone recognizes, I thought I'd provide some help for those unfamiliar with these codes. Here are the references you'll need:
Rationale for alpha code shorthand for birds:
http://www.birdpop.org/alphacodes.htm
List of AOU version of the codes:
http://www.birdpop.org/DownloadDocuments/Alpha_codes_english.pdf
List of Bird-banding Lab (BBL) version of the codes (see instructions on the web page for sorting the codes alphabetically on the page):
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/manual/speclist.cfm
Their suggested codes for birds that do not receive federal bands:
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/manual/gallaou.htm
If you know the rules for forming the banding alpha codes, you can often figure out which bird is being referenced without consulting a list of alpha codes, so here are the general rules (which aren't always followed, especially when following them would result in giving the same alpha code to two or more different birds).
Rules for forming the BBL codes (these rules pretty much apply to the AOU codes as well):
http://infohost.nmt.edu/~shipman/z/nom/bblrules.html
Also, if you have acquired the Crossley ID Guide to Eastern Birds, you can find an alphabetic list of the AOU alpha codes in the appendices in the back of the book for translating the ones you encounter in posts. For finding the appropriate code to use, if you want to use one, there are two places to look -- the page for the species in question, or the pictorial table of contents for birds that starts on page 6.
Rationale for alpha code shorthand for birds:
http://www.birdpop.org/alphacodes.htm
List of AOU version of the codes:
http://www.birdpop.org/DownloadDocuments/Alpha_codes_english.pdf
List of Bird-banding Lab (BBL) version of the codes (see instructions on the web page for sorting the codes alphabetically on the page):
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/manual/speclist.cfm
Their suggested codes for birds that do not receive federal bands:
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/manual/gallaou.htm
If you know the rules for forming the banding alpha codes, you can often figure out which bird is being referenced without consulting a list of alpha codes, so here are the general rules (which aren't always followed, especially when following them would result in giving the same alpha code to two or more different birds).
Rules for forming the BBL codes (these rules pretty much apply to the AOU codes as well):
http://infohost.nmt.edu/~shipman/z/nom/bblrules.html
Also, if you have acquired the Crossley ID Guide to Eastern Birds, you can find an alphabetic list of the AOU alpha codes in the appendices in the back of the book for translating the ones you encounter in posts. For finding the appropriate code to use, if you want to use one, there are two places to look -- the page for the species in question, or the pictorial table of contents for birds that starts on page 6.