Rules for the six-letter bird code system

As with the Bird Banding Lab's four-letter codes, six-letter codes are derived by abbreviating the name of the bird. Names are not limited to standard AOU species names. Codes may be based on obsolete names (e.g., Short-billed Marsh Wren), subspecies names (Peale's Falcon), color morphs (Blue Goose), or even vague categories like "raptor" or "Empidonax sp."

1. Birds with one-word names are abbreviated by taking the initial letters of the name:

           CANVAS  Canvasback
           RUFF    Ruff
           MURREL  murrelet
           EMPIDO  Empidonax sp.

2. For two-word names, take the first three letters of the first word and the first three letters of the last word. Hyphenated words are always treated as separate words:

           CEDWAX  Cedar Waxwing
           LARFAL  large falcon
           STOPET  storm-petrel

3. For three-word names, take two letters from the first word, one from the second, and three from the third:

           BABWAR  Bay-breasted Warbler
           GRPCHI  Greater Prairie-Chicken
           DABSHE  dark-backed shearwater

4. For four or more words, take one letter each from the first three words, then the first three letters of the last word:

           GBBGUL  Great Black-backed Gull
           BCNHER  Black-crowned Night-Heron
           BTBWAR  Black-throated Blue Warbler

5. Certain similar color names are abbreviated in standard ways: green as GRN or GN; gray as GRY or GY; black as BLK or BK; blue as BLU or BU; and brown as BRN or BN:

           BLKPHO  Black Phoebe
           GRYJAY  Gray Jay
           GNBHER  Green-backed Heron
           BNCFLY  Brown-crested Flycatcher

Last updated: 1996/01/21 20:02:29
URL: http://www.nmt.edu/~shipman/z/nom/6rules.html