[texbirds] Re: Banding Codes on TEXBIRDS
- From: "Harvey Laas" <hlaas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2012 22:24:39 -0500
The six-letter codes seem like a good idea; however, there are at least
three different ones out there I found with just a brief internet search.
Each one is slightly different. I first saw a 6-letter code in the 2008
Smithsonian Field Guide that includes a disc with calls of 138 species. The
back of the guide lists these 138 species with a 6-letter code that it says
is standardized, but doesn't mention by whom and it only prints the code for
the species on the disc. I found 6-letter codes by John Shipman and Bruce
Bowman on the Spokane Audubon website and each has some variation.
It looks like the 6 letter code is a good idea that hasn't been standardized
yet, so David's point is especially valid.
Harvey Laas
10 miles N of Brookshire
Picking nits since 66
Good Point, David - the inherent problems with the 4-letter codes almost
make them more of a hindrance than a help.
Corey Finger of the 10,000 Birds blog site uses a six-letter bird code that
seems to do a pretty good job of eliminating the obvious duplications.
Thus, the Black-tailed Godwit becomes BLTAGO and a Bar-tailed Godwit is a
BATAGO.
I do not know whether there is an existing list of the six-letter codes, and
I am certainly not going to champion their use or acceptance here on
TexBirds, but paraphrasing what Arlo says in Alice's Restaurant "...can you
imagine fifty people a day (using a six-letter code)...... they may thinks
it's a movement" ;-)
Clay Taylor
TOS Life Member
Calallen (Corpus Christi), TX
Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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