Four-Letter Bird Codes (FLBCs)
Kent Fiala
Four-letter codes are commonly (and too often incorrectly) used as a short-hand way to write a bird name. Two different sets of codes are in use. The first codes were created by the Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) for use by bird banders in submitting data; consequently the codes are frequently referred to as “banding codes”. A slightly different set of codes has been published by the Institute for Bird Populations (IBP).
The basic codes were derived from a simple set of rules for reducing a name to four letters. A major problem is that the rules can create “collisions”; cases where two (or more) different names reduce to the same four letters. In these cases, different codes had to be created ad hoc. Unfortunately, if you want to use the codes, you simply must memorize the special cases; there is no way around it. Worse, the BBL and IBP code sets differ in some of these ad hoc codes.
Here is a summary of the basic rules:
- If the name is one word, the code is the first four letters.
DICK Dickcissel SORA Sora
- If the name is two unhyphenated words, the code is the first two letters of each word.
MODO Mourning Dove AMRO American Robin
- If the name is three words, the code is the first letter of each of the first two words,
and the first two letters of the third word.
A name of three hyphenated words is treated the same way.
GCFL Great Crested Flycatcher AWPE American White Pelican CWWI Chuck-will's-widow
- If the name is a word and a pair of hyphenated words,
the code is the first two letters of the unhyphenated word and the first letter of each of the hyphenated words.
Hyphenated word first (coded essentially the same as a three-word name):
BTGR Boat-tailed Grackle RTHU Ruby-throated Hummingbird RTHA Red-tailed Hawk
Hyphenated word last:
EASO Eastern Screech-Owl EAWP Eastern Wood-Pewee
There are a very few bird names where the first word contains two capital letters. Such words are treated like a hyphenated word:
LCSP LeConte's Sparrow MGWA MacGillivray's Warbler
- If the name has four parts, either separate words or hyphenated parts, the code is the first letter of each part
BCNH Black-crowned Night Heron NRWS Northern Rough-winged Swallow BBWD Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Note that it should go without saying that in order to use these rules, you MUST know exactly what the bird's name is. You MUST know that it's American Robin, not just Robin. You MUST know that it's Tricolored Heron, not Tri-colored Heron.
There are no published rules for resolving collisions in the BBL system, but I have observed the patterns below. First, note that the basic rules for two- or three-word names divide the name into a “first name” and “last name”, or specific name and group name, and the specific name always gets two letters and the group name two letters. Most of the ad hoc cases deviate from this equal division between specific name and group name.
- The most common way of resolving a collision is to take three letters from the specific name and only one letter from the group name. For example, Carolina Wren, Cactus Wren, and Canyon Wren all reduce to CAWR, so unique codes were obtained by taking three letters from the specific name and only the W from Wren: CARW, CACW, and CANW.
- When the above rule still does not provide unique codes, then the code may be made by using only one letter from the specific name and three letters from the group name. For example, Northern Shoveler and Northern Shrike both reduce to NOSH by the basic rules, or NORS by the above rule, so the actual codes are NSHO and NSHR.
- If both of the above rules still fail to create unique codes, another possibility is to use the first and last letters of the specific name instead of the first two letters. Thus, the codes for Barred Owl and Barn Owl are BDOW and BNOW (in the BBL system. The IBP codes are the much less intuitive BADO and BANO, and unfortunately eBird uses these).
- The “last letter” approach is also used in some four-word names. For example, Black-throated Green Warbler is BTNW and Black-throated Gray Warbler is BTYW, using the last letter of the distinguishing word.
- There are some cases that don't fit any of these rules, for example BRNG for Barnacle Goose and BAGO for Barrow's Goldeneye.
When codes collide, usually all of the involved species take ad hoc codes. But in some cases where one species is rare or has a limited distribution, and the other is commoner or more widely distributed, the ad hoc code may be only used for the less common species. This is illustrated by the last example above, where Barrow's Goldeneye keeps the basic code BAGO even though it could be confused with Barnacle Goose, which gets an ad hoc code.
Some specific problems with the BBL codes relate to their primary purpose for banding. For some species, no official code is provided. For example, the BBL does not oversee banding of gallinaceous birds, so it provides no code for them. Also, they tend to retain established codes rather than update them as nomenclature changes. For example, they retain CAGO for Canada Goose even though Cackling Goose is now recognized as a species. And sometimes they provide only specific codes for recognizable forms rather than an over-all code for a species. For example, they have several codes for various forms of Snow Goose, but SNGO is not an official code for the species. The codes from the IBP address these problems.
As you can see, there are many reasons not to use these codes. The foremost reason is that they are a barrier to communication with people who do not know the codes. Another reason is that you are likely to make mistakes, and years later when you refer back to your notes you may find yourself unsure which species you actually meant. Nevertheless, you can't stop people from using the codes so it's best to try to learn them. I suggest that the most appropriate use of the codes is for quick taking of field notes that you will transcribe before you forget what you meant (and will not use to communicate with others). If you are already a user of the codes, I predict that if you study the table carefully, you will discover at least a couple of species for which you've been using the wrong codes.
The table below lists a suggested code for each species that might be recorded in the Carolinas. This code is either the BBL code; or if none is provided, the IBP code. If the code is an ad hoc code rather than one that comes from application of the basic rules, there is an asterisk in the Exception column. If the IBP ad hoc code differs from the one from BBL, it is listed in the Alt. code column. For ad hoc codes, the reason that the basic code cannot be used is explained in the Conflict with column. The code for the conflicting species is also given there.
Both BBL and IBP list numerous codes for recognizable forms other than species. A few of these are listed in a second table; see the original sources for others.
Name | Exception | Code | Alt. Code | Conflict with | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck | BBWD | ||||
Fulvous Whistling-Duck | FUWD | ||||
Greater White-fronted Goose | GWFG | ||||
Snow Goose | SNGO | BBL uses specific codes for different forms of Snow Goose | |||
Ross's Goose | ROGO | ||||
Brant | BRAN | BBL uses ATBR for Atlantic Brant | |||
Barnacle Goose | * | BRNG | BARG | Barrow's Goldeneye BAGO | |
Cackling Goose | * | CACG | Canada Goose CANG | ||
Canada Goose | * | CAGO | CANG | Cackling Goose CACG | |
Mute Swan | MUSW | ||||
Trumpeter Swan | * | TRUS | Tree Swallow TRES | ||
Tundra Swan | TUSW | BBL uses WHSW for Whistling Swan | |||
Wood Duck | WODU | ||||
Gadwall | GADW | ||||
Eurasian Wigeon | EUWI | ||||
American Wigeon | AMWI | ||||
American Black Duck | ABDU | ||||
Mallard | MALL | ||||
Mottled Duck | MODU | ||||
Blue-winged Teal | BWTE | ||||
Cinnamon Teal | CITE | ||||
Northern Shoveler | * | NSHO | Northern Shrike NSHR | ||
Northern Pintail | NOPI | ||||
White-cheeked Pintail | * | WHIP | WCHP | White-crowned Pigeon WCPI | |
Garganey | GARG | ||||
Green-winged Teal | GWTE | BBL uses AGWT for American Green-winged Teal | |||
Canvasback | CANV | ||||
Redhead | REDH | ||||
Ring-necked Duck | RNDU | ||||
Tufted Duck | TUDU | ||||
Greater Scaup | GRSC | ||||
Lesser Scaup | LESC | ||||
King Eider | KIEI | ||||
Common Eider | COEI | ||||
Harlequin Duck | * | HARD | HADU | Hawaiian Duck HAWD | |
Surf Scoter | SUSC | ||||
White-winged Scoter | WWSC | ||||
Black Scoter | BLSC | ||||
Long-tailed Duck | LTDU | ||||
Bufflehead | BUFF | ||||
Common Goldeneye | COGO | ||||
Hooded Merganser | HOME | ||||
Common Merganser | COME | ||||
Red-breasted Merganser | RBME | ||||
Masked Duck | MADU | ||||
Ruddy Duck | RUDU | ||||
Northern Bobwhite | NOBO | BBL provides no codes for gallinaceous birds | |||
Ring-necked Pheasant | * | RNEP | Red-necked Phalarope RNPH | BBL provides no codes for gallinaceous birds | |
Ruffed Grouse | RUGR | BBL provides no codes for gallinaceous birds | |||
Wild Turkey | WITU | BBL provides no codes for gallinaceous birds | |||
Red-throated Loon | RTLO | ||||
Pacific Loon | PALO | ||||
Common Loon | COLO | ||||
Pied-billed Grebe | PBGR | ||||
Horned Grebe | HOGR | ||||
Red-necked Grebe | RNGR | ||||
Eared Grebe | EAGR | ||||
Western Grebe | WEGR | ||||
Clark's Grebe | CLGR | ||||
Yellow-nosed Albatross | YNAL | ||||
Black-browed Albatross | BBAL | ||||
Northern Fulmar | NOFU | ||||
Herald Petrel | HEPE | BBL provides no code | |||
Fea's Petrel | FEPE | BBL provides no code | |||
Bermuda Petrel | BEPE | BBL provides no code | |||
Black-capped Petrel | BCPE | ||||
Bulwer's Petrel | BUPE | ||||
Cory's Shearwater | COSH | ||||
Cape Verde Shearwater | CVSH | BBL provides no code | |||
Great Shearwater | GRSH | ||||
Sooty Shearwater | SOSH | ||||
Manx Shearwater | MASH | ||||
Audubon's Shearwater | AUSH | ||||
Little Shearwater | LISH | ||||
Wilson's Storm-Petrel | WISP | ||||
White-faced Storm-Petrel | WFSP | ||||
European Storm-Petrel | EUSP | BBL provides no code | |||
Black-bellied Storm-Petrel | BBSP | BBL provides no code | |||
Swinhoe's Storm-Petrel | * | SSTP | Swamp Sparrow SWSP | BBL provides no code | |
Leach's Storm-Petrel | * | LHSP | LESP | Least Storm-Petrel LTSP | |
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel | * | BANP | BSTP | Brewer's Sparrow BRSP | |
White-tailed Tropicbird | WTTR | ||||
Red-billed Tropicbird | RBTR | ||||
Masked Booby | MABO | ||||
Brown Booby | BRBO | ||||
Red-footed Booby | RFBO | ||||
Northern Gannet | NOGA | ||||
American White Pelican | AWPE | ||||
Brown Pelican | BRPE | ||||
Double-crested Cormorant | DCCO | ||||
Great Cormorant | GRCO | ||||
Anhinga | ANHI | ||||
Magnificent Frigatebird | MAFR | ||||
American Bittern | AMBI | ||||
Least Bittern | LEBI | ||||
Great Blue Heron | GBHE | ||||
Great Egret | GREG | ||||
Snowy Egret | SNEG | ||||
Little Blue Heron | LBHE | ||||
Tricolored Heron | TRHE | ||||
Reddish Egret | REEG | ||||
Cattle Egret | CAEG | ||||
Green Heron | GRHE | ||||
Black-crowned Night Heron | BCNH | ||||
Yellow-crowned Night Heron | YCNH | ||||
White Ibis | WHIB | ||||
Glossy Ibis | GLIB | ||||
White-faced Ibis | WFIB | ||||
Roseate Spoonbill | ROSP | ||||
Wood Stork | WOST | ||||
Black Vulture | BLVU | ||||
Turkey Vulture | TUVU | ||||
Osprey | OSPR | ||||
Swallow-tailed Kite | STKI | ||||
White-tailed Kite | WTKI | ||||
Snail Kite | SNKI | ||||
Mississippi Kite | MIKI | ||||
Bald Eagle | BAEA | ||||
Northern Harrier | NOHA | ||||
Sharp-shinned Hawk | SSHA | ||||
Cooper's Hawk | COHA | ||||
American Goshawk | * | AGOS | American Goldfinch AGOL | Formerly NOGO for Northern Goshawk | |
Red-shouldered Hawk | RSHA | ||||
Broad-winged Hawk | BWHA | ||||
Swainson's Hawk | SWHA | ||||
Red-tailed Hawk | RTHA | ||||
Rough-legged Hawk | RLHA | ||||
Golden Eagle | GOEA | ||||
American Kestrel | AMKE | ||||
Merlin | MERL | ||||
Gyrfalcon | GYRF | ||||
Peregrine Falcon | PEFA | ||||
Yellow Rail | YERA | ||||
Black Rail | BLRA | ||||
Clapper Rail | CLRA | ||||
King Rail | KIRA | ||||
Virginia Rail | VIRA | ||||
Sora | SORA | ||||
Purple Gallinule | PUGA | ||||
Common Gallinule | COGA | Recently split from Common Moorhen (COMO). | |||
American Coot | AMCO | ||||
Limpkin | LIMP | ||||
Sandhill Crane | SACR | ||||
Whooping Crane | WHCR | ||||
Northern Lapwing | NOLA | ||||
Black-bellied Plover | BBPL | ||||
American Golden-Plover | AMGP | ||||
Snowy Plover | SNPL | ||||
Wilson's Plover | WIPL | ||||
Common Ringed Plover | CRPL | ||||
Semipalmated Plover | SEPL | ||||
Piping Plover | PIPL | ||||
Killdeer | KILL | ||||
Mountain Plover | MOPL | Formerly MOUP because of conflict with Mongolian Plover, which is now called Lesser Sand-Plover | |||
American Oystercatcher | AMOY | ||||
Black-necked Stilt | BNST | ||||
American Avocet | AMAV | ||||
Spotted Sandpiper | SPSA | ||||
Solitary Sandpiper | SOSA | ||||
Spotted Redshank | SPRE | BBL provides no code | |||
Greater Yellowlegs | GRYE | ||||
Willet | WILL | ||||
Lesser Yellowlegs | LEYE | ||||
Upland Sandpiper | UPSA | ||||
Eskimo Curlew | ESCU | BBL provides no code | |||
Whimbrel | WHIM | ||||
Long-billed Curlew | LBCU | ||||
Black-tailed Godwit | * | BLAG | BTGD | Bar-tailed Godwit BARG | |
Hudsonian Godwit | HUGO | ||||
Bar-tailed Godwit | * | BARG | BTGO | Black-tailed Godwit BTGO | |
Marbled Godwit | MAGO | ||||
Ruddy Turnstone | RUTU | ||||
Red Knot | REKN | ||||
Sanderling | SAND | ||||
Semipalmated Sandpiper | SESA | ||||
Western Sandpiper | WESA | ||||
Red-necked Stint | RNST | ||||
Little Stint | LIST | BBL provides no code | |||
Least Sandpiper | LESA | ||||
White-rumped Sandpiper | WRSA | ||||
Baird's Sandpiper | BASA | ||||
Pectoral Sandpiper | PESA | ||||
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper | * | SHAS | SPTS | Stilt Sandpiper STSA | |
Purple Sandpiper | PUSA | ||||
Dunlin | DUNL | ||||
Curlew Sandpiper | CUSA | ||||
Stilt Sandpiper | STSA | ||||
Buff-breasted Sandpiper | BBSA | ||||
Ruff | RUFF | ||||
Short-billed Dowitcher | SBDO | ||||
Long-billed Dowitcher | LBDO | ||||
Wilson's Snipe | WISN | Formerly COSN for Common Snipe | |||
American Woodcock | AMWO | ||||
Wilson's Phalarope | WIPH | ||||
Red-necked Phalarope | RNPH | ||||
Red Phalarope | REPH | ||||
Black-legged Kittiwake | BLKI | ||||
Sabine's Gull | SAGU | ||||
Bonaparte's Gull | BOGU | ||||
Black-headed Gull | BHGU | ||||
Little Gull | LIGU | ||||
Laughing Gull | LAGU | ||||
Franklin's Gull | FRGU | ||||
Black-tailed Gull | BTGU | Band-tailed Gull BTGU (now called Belcher's Gull) | |||
Mew Gull | MEGU | ||||
Ring-billed Gull | RBGU | ||||
California Gull | CAGU | ||||
Herring Gull | * | HERG | Heermann's Gull HEEG | ||
Yellow-legged Gull | YLGU | BBL provides no code | |||
Thayer's Gull | THGU | ||||
Iceland Gull | ICGU | ||||
Lesser Black-backed Gull | LBBG | ||||
Slaty-backed Gull | SBGU | ||||
Glaucous Gull | GLGU | ||||
Great Black-backed Gull | GBBG | ||||
Brown Noddy | BRNO | ||||
Sooty Tern | SOTE | ||||
Bridled Tern | BRTE | ||||
Least Tern | LETE | ||||
Gull-billed Tern | GBTE | ||||
Caspian Tern | CATE | ||||
Black Tern | BLTE | ||||
White-winged Tern | WWTE | ||||
Roseate Tern | * | ROST | Royal Tern ROYT | ||
Common Tern | COTE | ||||
Arctic Tern | ARTE | ||||
Forster's Tern | FOTE | ||||
Royal Tern | * | ROYT | Roseate Tern ROST | ||
Sandwich Tern | SATE | ||||
Black Skimmer | BLSK | ||||
Great Skua | GRSK | ||||
South Polar Skua | SPSK | ||||
Pomarine Jaeger | POJA | ||||
Parasitic Jaeger | PAJA | ||||
Long-tailed Jaeger | LTJA | ||||
Dovekie | DOVE | ||||
Common Murre | COMU | ||||
Thick-billed Murre | TBMU | ||||
Razorbill | RAZO | ||||
Black Guillemot | BLGU | ||||
Long-billed Murrelet | LBMU | ||||
Atlantic Puffin | ATPU | ||||
Rock Pigeon | ROPI | ||||
Band-tailed Pigeon | BTPI | ||||
Eurasian Collared-Dove | * | ECDO | EUCD | ECDO does not follow the rules for forming a code | |
White-winged Dove | WWDO | ||||
Mourning Dove | MODO | ||||
Passenger Pigeon | PAPI | ||||
Common Ground Dove | COGD | Formerly Common Ground-Dove | |||
Monk Parakeet | MOPA | ||||
Carolina Parakeet | CAPA | ||||
Yellow-billed Cuckoo | YBCU | ||||
Black-billed Cuckoo | BBCU | ||||
Smooth-billed Ani | SBAN | ||||
Groove-billed Ani | GBAN | ||||
Barn Owl | * | BNOW | BANO | Barred Owl BDOW | |
Eastern Screech-Owl | EASO | ||||
Great Horned Owl | GHOW | ||||
Snowy Owl | SNOW | ||||
Burrowing Owl | BUOW | ||||
Barred Owl | * | BDOW | BADO | Barn Owl BNOW | |
Long-eared Owl | LEOW | ||||
Short-eared Owl | SEOW | ||||
Northern Saw-whet Owl | NSWO | ||||
Lesser Nighthawk | LENI | ||||
Common Nighthawk | CONI | ||||
Antillean Nighthawk | ANNI | ||||
Chuck-will's-widow | CWWI | ||||
Eastern Whip-poor-will | EWPW | Formerly WPWI before the qualifier “Eastern” was added. | |||
Chimney Swift | CHSW | ||||
Mexican Violetear | MEVI | As Green Violetear, formerly GRVE before the hyphen was removed from “Violet-ear”, then GVIO before the species was split. | |||
Green-breasted Mango | * | GREM | GNBM | Gray-breasted Martin GBMA | |
Broad-billed Hummingbird | * | BBLH | BBIH | Buff-bellied Hummingbird BUFH | |
Buff-bellied Hummingbird | * | BUFH | BBEH | Broad-billed Hummingbird BBLH | |
Blue-throated Mountain-gem | BTMG | Formerly BLUH or BTHH for Blue-throated Hummingbird, conflicting with Broad-tailed Hummingbird | |||
Ruby-throated Hummingbird | RTHU | ||||
Black-chinned Hummingbird | BCHU | ||||
Anna's Hummingbird | ANHU | ||||
Calliope Hummingbird | CAHU | ||||
Broad-tailed Hummingbird | BTHU | Formerly BTLH for conflict with Blue-throated Hummingbird | |||
Rufous Hummingbird | RUHU | ||||
Allen's Hummingbird | ALHU | ||||
Belted Kingfisher | BEKI | ||||
Red-headed Woodpecker | RHWO | ||||
Red-bellied Woodpecker | RBWO | ||||
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | YBSA | ||||
Downy Woodpecker | DOWO | ||||
Hairy Woodpecker | HAWO | ||||
Red-cockaded Woodpecker | RCWO | ||||
Northern Flicker | NOFL | BBL uses YSFL for Yellow-shafted Flicker | |||
Pileated Woodpecker | PIWO | ||||
Ivory-billed Woodpecker | IBWO | ||||
Olive-sided Flycatcher | OSFL | ||||
Eastern Wood-Pewee | EAWP | ||||
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher | YBFL | ||||
Acadian Flycatcher | ACFL | ||||
Alder Flycatcher | ALFL | ||||
Willow Flycatcher | WIFL | ||||
Least Flycatcher | LEFL | ||||
Gray Flycatcher | GRFL | ||||
Pacific-slope Flycatcher | PSFL | ||||
Cordilleran Flycatcher | COFL | ||||
Eastern Phoebe | EAPH | ||||
Say's Phoebe | SAPH | ||||
Vermilion Flycatcher | VEFL | ||||
Ash-throated Flycatcher | ATFL | ||||
Great Crested Flycatcher | GCFL | ||||
Tropical Kingbird | TRKI | ||||
Couch's Kingbird | COKI | ||||
Western Kingbird | WEKI | ||||
Eastern Kingbird | EAKI | ||||
Gray Kingbird | * | GRAK | Great Kiskadee GKIS, Green Kingfisher GKIN | ||
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher | STFL | ||||
Fork-tailed Flycatcher | FTFL | ||||
Loggerhead Shrike | LOSH | ||||
Northern Shrike | * | NSHR | Northern Shoveler NSHO | ||
White-eyed Vireo | WEVI | ||||
Bell's Vireo | BEVI | ||||
Yellow-throated Vireo | YTVI | ||||
Blue-headed Vireo | BHVI | ||||
Warbling Vireo | WAVI | ||||
Philadelphia Vireo | PHVI | ||||
Red-eyed Vireo | REVI | ||||
Black-whiskered Vireo | BWVI | ||||
Blue Jay | BLJA | ||||
American Crow | AMCR | ||||
Fish Crow | FICR | ||||
Common Raven | CORA | ||||
Horned Lark | HOLA | ||||
Purple Martin | PUMA | ||||
Tree Swallow | * | TRES | Trumpeter Swan TRUS | ||
Violet-green Swallow | VGSW | ||||
Northern Rough-winged Swallow | NRWS | ||||
Bank Swallow | * | BANS | Barn Swallow BARS, Bahama Swallow BAHS | ||
Cliff Swallow | CLSW | ||||
Cave Swallow | CASW | ||||
Barn Swallow | * | BARS | Bank Swallow BANS, Bahama Swallow BAHS | ||
Carolina Chickadee | CACH | ||||
Black-capped Chickadee | BCCH | ||||
Tufted Titmouse | TUTI | ||||
Red-breasted Nuthatch | RBNU | ||||
White-breasted Nuthatch | WBNU | ||||
Brown-headed Nuthatch | BHNU | ||||
Brown Creeper | BRCR | ||||
Carolina Wren | * | CARW | Canyon Wren CANW, Cactus Wren CACW | ||
Bewick's Wren | BEWR | ||||
House Wren | HOWR | ||||
Winter Wren | WIWR | ||||
Sedge Wren | SEWR | ||||
Marsh Wren | MAWR | ||||
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | BGGN | ||||
Golden-crowned Kinglet | GCKI | ||||
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | RCKI | ||||
Northern Wheatear | NOWH | ||||
Eastern Bluebird | EABL | ||||
Mountain Bluebird | MOBL | ||||
Townsend's Solitaire | TOSO | ||||
Veery | VEER | ||||
Gray-cheeked Thrush | GCTH | ||||
Bicknell's Thrush | BITH | ||||
Swainson's Thrush | SWTH | ||||
Hermit Thrush | HETH | ||||
Wood Thrush | WOTH | ||||
American Robin | AMRO | ||||
Varied Thrush | VATH | ||||
Gray Catbird | GRCA | ||||
Northern Mockingbird | NOMO | ||||
Sage Thrasher | SATH | ||||
Brown Thrasher | BRTH | ||||
European Starling | EUST | ||||
White Wagtail | WHWA | ||||
American Pipit | AMPI | ||||
Sprague's Pipit | SPPI | ||||
Cedar Waxwing | * | CEDW | Cerulean Warbler CERW | ||
Lapland Longspur | LALO | ||||
Chestnut-collared Longspur | CCLO | ||||
Smith's Longspur | SMLO | ||||
Snow Bunting | SNBU | ||||
Bachman's Warbler | BAWA | BBL provides no code | |||
Blue-winged Warbler | BWWA | ||||
Golden-winged Warbler | GWWA | ||||
Tennessee Warbler | TEWA | ||||
Orange-crowned Warbler | OCWA | ||||
Nashville Warbler | NAWA | ||||
Northern Parula | NOPA | ||||
Yellow Warbler | YEWA | Formerly YWAR because of conflict with Yellow Wagtail (now called Eastern Yellow Wagtail) | |||
Chestnut-sided Warbler | CSWA | ||||
Magnolia Warbler | MAWA | MacGillivray's Warbler MGWA | |||
Cape May Warbler | CMWA | ||||
Black-throated Blue Warbler | BTBW | ||||
Yellow-rumped Warbler | YRWA | ||||
Black-throated Gray Warbler | * | BTYW | Black-throated Green Warbler BTNW | ||
Black-throated Green Warbler | * | BTNW | Black-throated Gray Warbler BTYW | ||
Townsend's Warbler | TOWA | ||||
Blackburnian Warbler | * | BLBW | Blackpoll Warbler BLPW | ||
Yellow-throated Warbler | YTWA | ||||
Pine Warbler | PIWA | ||||
Kirtland's Warbler | KIWA | ||||
Prairie Warbler | * | PRAW | Prothonotary Warbler PROW | ||
Palm Warbler | PAWA | BBL uses YPWA for Yellow Palm Warbler and WPWA for Western Palm Warbler | |||
Bay-breasted Warbler | BBWA | ||||
Blackpoll Warbler | * | BLPW | Blackburnian Warbler BLBW | ||
Cerulean Warbler | * | CERW | Cedar Waxwing CEDW | ||
Black-and-white Warbler | BAWW | ||||
American Redstart | AMRE | ||||
Prothonotary Warbler | * | PROW | Prairie Warbler PRAW | ||
Worm-eating Warbler | WEWA | ||||
Swainson's Warbler | SWWA | ||||
Ovenbird | OVEN | ||||
Northern Waterthrush | NOWA | ||||
Louisiana Waterthrush | LOWA | ||||
Kentucky Warbler | KEWA | ||||
Connecticut Warbler | * | CONW | Colima Warbler COLW | ||
Mourning Warbler | MOWA | ||||
MacGillivray's Warbler | * | MGWA | Magnolia Warbler MAWA | ||
Common Yellowthroat | COYE | ||||
Hooded Warbler | HOWA | ||||
Wilson's Warbler | WIWA | ||||
Canada Warbler | CAWA | ||||
Yellow-breasted Chat | YBCH | ||||
Green-tailed Towhee | GTTO | ||||
Spotted Towhee | SPTO | ||||
Eastern Towhee | EATO | ||||
Cassin's Sparrow | CASP | ||||
Bachman's Sparrow | * | BACS | Baird's Sparrow BAIS | ||
American Tree Sparrow | ATSP | ||||
Chipping Sparrow | CHSP | ||||
Clay-colored Sparrow | CCSP | ||||
Field Sparrow | FISP | ||||
Vesper Sparrow | VESP | ||||
Lark Sparrow | LASP | ||||
Lark Bunting | * | LARB | Lazuli Bunting LAZB | ||
Savannah Sparrow | * | SAVS | Sagebrush Sparrow SAGS, Saltmarsh Sparrow SALS | ||
Grasshopper Sparrow | GRSP | ||||
Henslow's Sparrow | HESP | ||||
Le Conte's Sparrow | LCSP | ||||
Nelson's Sparrow | NESP | Formerly NSTS for Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow | |||
Saltmarsh Sparrow | * | SALS | Sagebrush Sparrow SAGS, Savannah Sparrow SAVS | Formerly SSTS for Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow | |
Seaside Sparrow | SESP | ||||
Fox Sparrow | FOSP | ||||
Song Sparrow | SOSP | ||||
Lincoln's Sparrow | LISP | ||||
Swamp Sparrow | SWSP | Swinhoe's Storm-Petrel SSTP | |||
White-throated Sparrow | WTSP | ||||
Harris's Sparrow | HASP | ||||
White-crowned Sparrow | WCSP | ||||
Golden-crowned Sparrow | GCSP | ||||
Dark-eyed Junco | DEJU | BBL uses SCJU for Slate-colored Junco | |||
Summer Tanager | SUTA | ||||
Scarlet Tanager | SCTA | ||||
Western Tanager | WETA | ||||
Northern Cardinal | NOCA | ||||
Rose-breasted Grosbeak | RBGR | ||||
Black-headed Grosbeak | BHGR | ||||
Blue Grosbeak | BLGR | ||||
Lazuli Bunting | * | LAZB | Lark Bunting LARB | ||
Indigo Bunting | INBU | ||||
Painted Bunting | PABU | ||||
Dickcissel | DICK | ||||
Bobolink | BOBO | ||||
Red-winged Blackbird | RWBL | ||||
Eastern Meadowlark | EAME | ||||
Western Meadowlark | WEME | ||||
Yellow-headed Blackbird | YHBL | ||||
Rusty Blackbird | RUBL | ||||
Brewer's Blackbird | BRBL | ||||
Common Grackle | COGR | ||||
Boat-tailed Grackle | BTGR | ||||
Shiny Cowbird | SHCO | ||||
Brown-headed Cowbird | BHCO | ||||
Orchard Oriole | OROR | ||||
Bullock's Oriole | BUOR | ||||
Baltimore Oriole | BAOR | ||||
Scott's Oriole | SCOR | ||||
Brambling | BRAM | ||||
Pine Grosbeak | PIGR | ||||
Purple Finch | PUFI | ||||
House Finch | HOFI | ||||
Red Crossbill | RECR | ||||
White-winged Crossbill | WWCR | ||||
Common Redpoll | CORE | ||||
Pine Siskin | PISI | ||||
Lesser Goldfinch | LEGO | ||||
American Goldfinch | * | AGOL | American Goshawk AGOS | Formerly AMGO | |
Evening Grosbeak | EVGR | ||||
House Sparrow | HOSP |
The table below lists a sample of codes that are defined for forms that are not species. See the original sources for others.
Blue Greater Snow Goose | BGSG |
Lesser Snow Goose (intermediate phase) | SBGI |
Lesser Snow Goose (white phase) | LSGO |
Greater Snow Goose | GSGO |
Lesser Snow Goose (blue phase) | BLGO |
Eurasian Green-winged Teal | EGWT |
Great White Heron | GWHE |
Traill's Flycatcher | TRFL |
Gray-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush | GCBT |
Brewster's Warbler | BRWA |
Lawrence's Warbler | LAWA |
Myrtle Warbler | MYWA |
Audubon's Warbler | AUWA |
Ipswich Sparrow | IPSP |
Sharp-tailed Sparrow | STSP |