Burton and Tweeters,

Four-letter codes for bird species are here to stay. The chance of
them disappearing is about as great as the likelihood of Gondwanaland
reuniting :-)

Four-letter codes are necessary for computerized bird records,
banding files, etc. However, I agree with Burton and others that their
use should generally be avoided in groups like TWEETERS. A major
reason-- there is not just one system of four-letter codes, there are
quite a few. The system used by the Bird Banding Office is probably
the best known. However, some widely-used birding software programs
have a different system of codes. Also, some regional groups or
institutions (e.g. the B.C. Wildlife Branch) have quite different
systems. The B.C. system was modified in the 1980s to correspond with
changes in official A.O.U. names for birds; dozens of species codes
were changed. Bad idea!
The uncertainty as to which system of codes is being used, as well
as changes in time within one system caused by changes in English
names for birds, causes endless confusion, Better to avoid codes
completely on TWEETERS and other E-mail groups.

Sincerely,

Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops, B.C.
wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca




-----Original Message-----
From: Burton Guttman <guttmanb at elwha.evergreen.edu>
To: MaryK <BassClef at aa.net>
Cc: tweeters at u.washington.edu <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Monday, May 01, 2000 8:43 AM
Subject: Re: Four-Letter Bird Abbreviations


>On Sun, 30 Apr 2000, MaryK wrote:
>
>> I'm a relatively new birder and am definitely new to Tweeters.
Will
>> someone kindly tell me where to find a list/dictionary of all those
>> four-letter bird name abbreviations? Thanks in advance!
>
>Well, I'm an old birder and a longtime Tweeter, and I find the use of
>these four-letter abbreviations distinctly distasteful. I wish
people
>would stop using the damn things. I wish they were outlawed.
(Dan?!) Our
>society has some kind of time-saving craze (though I don't think most
>people have any good reason to be saving their time), and presumably
these
>abbreviations are supposed to save time in typing. Nonsense, I say.
>Nonsense! I'll bet it takes longer to think of the proper
abbreviation
>and type it than to just, simply type the ordinary English name of
the
>bird. Then consider the time-saving of the rest of us who have to
spend
>time puzzling over the meaning of your little abbreviation. I often
skip
>messages containing these things just because it's not worth the
effort to
>figure them out. So I say fie on ye, fie on ye all! I say,
"Ordinary
>names now and forever!" All those who agree with me, meet under
yonder
>great cedar, and we will make our battle plans. Onward, brave
comrades,
>onward!
>
>Burt Guttman guttmanb at elwha.evergreen.edu
>The Evergreen State College Voice: 360-866-6000, x. 6755
>Olympia, WA 98505 FAX: 360-866-6794
>
>Reunite Gondwana!
>