They are easy enough to learn. DEJU is Dark-Eyed JUnco and SPTO is SPotted
TOwhee. The time it would take you to learn how to read these codes is far
less than it would take people to write out the full names of every bird.

Four letter abbreviations are used to by ornithologists and birders to make
data entry easier. I find them extremely helpful in the field and almost
never write the full names when I'm out in the field.

http://www.birdpop.org/AlphaCodes.htm

Be thankful it's just 4 letters, we could be using the 6 letter codes which
include subspecies! Next I suppose someone's going to want people to just
use the word wing instead of coverts, primaries, and secondaries because
not everyone understands.

Bruce Fischer
Aberdeen, WA
stump at techline.com

Date: Sat, 20 Sep 2003 19:36:51 -0700
From: "Glenn" <glenn.hansen at usa.net>
To: <fieldnat at pacificcoast.net>, <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: #%$% at !! Abbreviations
Message-ID: <008901c37fe9$37b4a900$6400a8c0 at RALPH>

This is so frustrating that people insist on using abbreviations not common
to or understood by all in the hobby. Can you give ignorant people like me
a
break and just spell it out?

I assume a STJA is StellarJay

What is a DEJU and a SPTO?


Glenn
Tacoma, Wa
glenn.hansen at usa.net