American Ornithologists' Union Alpha Codes for birds
Mar 13, 2013 9:25:12 GMT -5
Post by Ira Runyan on Mar 13, 2013 9:25:12 GMT -5
Alpha Codes are an attempt to standardize abbreviations of common bird names to 4 or 6 letters as shorthand when entering data about birds. It is particularity useful when a database is being constructed and needs to be indexed in order to locate data. It is not very useful in identifying a bird if you don't know the birds English common name in the first place.
The U.S. Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) has long used alpha codes in banding data, and these codes have become an integral part of large ornithological programs across Canada and the United States. Bird Banding Lab codes were introduced in the year of 1978.
The basic rules for the 4 letter Alpha Codes of the Bird Banding Lab were as follows:
1. If the name consists of only one word, the code is taken from the initial letters, up to four:
DUNL Dunlin
DOVE Dovekie
OU Ou
GADW Gadwall
2. If there are two words in the name, the code is made from the first two letters of each word:
AMWI American Wigeon
EAME Eastern Meadowlark
3. For three-word names where only the last two words are hyphenated, the code uses two letters from the first word and one each from the last two:
EASO Eastern Screech-Owl
WEWP Western Wood-Pewee
4. 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
5. 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
Inconsistencies have occurred in the rules governing the alpha codes of the BBL, and their list does not include most species found in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean but not in the United States or Canada. Therefore, a new set of four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003) in a rigorous manner, to reflect American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) taxonomy and nomenclature. A total of 2083 bird species recorded from the AOU area (according to the AOU's 53rd supplement) are included in the new set of alpha codes. These codes have been updated several times since 2003, and I'm sure further revisions will occur in the future.
The current American Ornithologists' Union Alpha Codes for birds is contained in the following PDF file:
English and Scientific Alpha Codes for North American Birds - sorted alphabetically by English Name
It's been noted that some photographers have been posting photos on this forum without identifying the subject of their photograph. One of the reasons this forum was established was to allow people who don't or can't get out in the field to learn about all the different forms of Florida wildlife that exist in this state. Most people don't get to see the Wildlife & Nature wonders we see on a daily basis.
When posting photographs on this Forum, please ID the bird for your readers, but please don't just use the 4 letter Alpha Code! Use the common English Name and if you want then you can include the 4 Letter Alpha Code. Example: Black Crowned Night Heron (BCNH).
The U.S. Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) has long used alpha codes in banding data, and these codes have become an integral part of large ornithological programs across Canada and the United States. Bird Banding Lab codes were introduced in the year of 1978.
The basic rules for the 4 letter Alpha Codes of the Bird Banding Lab were as follows:
1. If the name consists of only one word, the code is taken from the initial letters, up to four:
DUNL Dunlin
DOVE Dovekie
OU Ou
GADW Gadwall
2. If there are two words in the name, the code is made from the first two letters of each word:
AMWI American Wigeon
EAME Eastern Meadowlark
3. For three-word names where only the last two words are hyphenated, the code uses two letters from the first word and one each from the last two:
EASO Eastern Screech-Owl
WEWP Western Wood-Pewee
4. 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
5. 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
Inconsistencies have occurred in the rules governing the alpha codes of the BBL, and their list does not include most species found in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean but not in the United States or Canada. Therefore, a new set of four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003) in a rigorous manner, to reflect American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) taxonomy and nomenclature. A total of 2083 bird species recorded from the AOU area (according to the AOU's 53rd supplement) are included in the new set of alpha codes. These codes have been updated several times since 2003, and I'm sure further revisions will occur in the future.
The current American Ornithologists' Union Alpha Codes for birds is contained in the following PDF file:
English and Scientific Alpha Codes for North American Birds - sorted alphabetically by English Name
It's been noted that some photographers have been posting photos on this forum without identifying the subject of their photograph. One of the reasons this forum was established was to allow people who don't or can't get out in the field to learn about all the different forms of Florida wildlife that exist in this state. Most people don't get to see the Wildlife & Nature wonders we see on a daily basis.
When posting photographs on this Forum, please ID the bird for your readers, but please don't just use the 4 letter Alpha Code! Use the common English Name and if you want then you can include the 4 Letter Alpha Code. Example: Black Crowned Night Heron (BCNH).