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Alpha codes can make data entry much more efficient, but are widely disliked as a means of general communication. They are a mystery to non-birders or less experienced birders, and even among experienced birders they rely on memorization. For data entry, however, they have come into their own with
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should both be CAGO. The BBL system gives this code to the Canada goose since it is the more common bird, and gives CACG to the cackling goose. In the IBP system, neither species receives the CAGO code. The cackling goose is still CACG, but the Canada goose is CANG.
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app for viewing and submitting bird observations. Use of the codes here is easy even for non-experts, since the full name is visible for confirmation and the apps can show multiple possibilities if the code is ambiguous.
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Additionally the IBP list expands coverage beyond Canada and the United States to include Mexico, Central
America, and the Caribbean. It also provides a corresponding list of six-letter codes based on birds'
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For a bird with a three-word name the first two of which are hyphenated, use the first letter of the first word, the first letter of the second word, and the first two letters of the third word, e.g.,
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The BBL codes involved human decisions (see Rules, below, for an example), and some codes are based on historical names which have since changed. The IPB codes are entirely rule-based.
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The BBL codes are not updated on a fixed schedule and become out of date as names of birds are changed. The IBP codes are updated annually to reflect naming decisions of the
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The Bird
Banding Laboratory codes first appeared in published form in 1978, and their use gradually spread from bird banders to ornithologists and birdwatchers.
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Complications, and differences between the two systems, arise when two birds would have the same code according to these rules (known as a collision), e.g.,
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For a bird with a two-word name, use the first two letters of the first word followed by the first two letters of the second word, e.g.,
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There are two very similar systems of these codes currently in use, one maintained by the Bird
Banding Laboratory (BBL) of the
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The
Institute for Bird Populations codes were created in 2003 with the goal of addressing shortcomings of the BBL codes:
217:"Four-letter and six-letter alpha codes for birds recorded in the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list area"
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in North and
Central America. The codes are written in capital letters, and look like, e.g., MODO for
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54:(IBP). The codes used by the two systems are the same for most birds, but not for all.
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The basic rules for determining the codes are simple and are similar in both systems:
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For a bird with a one-word name, use the first four letters of the name, e.g.,
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73:. The IBP codes include all birds in the covered area.
27:, are four-letter abbreviations for bird names used by
183:"Standard abbreviations for common names of birds"
250:"Standardized 4- and 6-letter Bird Species Codes"
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215:Pyle, Peter; DeSante, David F. (2003).
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69:The BBL codes omit some birds, notably
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329:Ornithological equipment and methods
309:Institute for Bird Populations codes
48:North American Bird Banding Program
254:The Institute for Bird Populations
52:the Institute for Bird Populations
14:
276:"Four-letter bird codes (FLBC)"
81:American Ornithological Society
1:
304:Bird Banding Laboratory codes
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224:North American Bird Bander
190:North American Bird Bander
177:Klimkiewicz, M. Kathleen;
147:cell phone apps, notably
179:Robbins, Chandler S.
50:, and the other by
280:Carolina Bird Club
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155:, a widely used
120:blue-winged teal
90:scientific names
19:, also known as
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157:citizen science
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298:External links
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135:cackling goose
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33:ornithologists
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274:Fiala, Kent.
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41:mourning dove
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21:banding codes
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324:Birdwatching
283:. Retrieved
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257:. Retrieved
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232:. Retrieved
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198:. Retrieved
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131:Canada goose
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37:birdwatchers
29:bird banders
24:
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149:field guide
126:and so on.
71:Galliformes
25:alpha codes
318:Categories
230:(2): 64–79
196:(1): 16–25
164:References
17:Bird codes
151:apps and
113:wood duck
285:28 March
259:28 March
234:14 March
200:14 March
181:(1978).
122:is BWTE.
115:is WODU.
108:is MALL.
106:mallard
58:History
35:, and
220:(PDF)
186:(PDF)
153:eBird
96:Rules
287:2020
261:2020
236:2020
202:2020
133:and
142:Use
23:or
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278:.
252:.
228:28
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188:.
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31:,
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194:3
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