<html class="apple-mail-supports-explicit-dark-mode"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">4 letter codes are also a way to keep current on your classification <div>For example </div><div><br><div>AMGO is no more</div><div>Now</div><div><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 11.04px;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 11.04px;">American Goldfinch AGOL* Spinus tristis SPITRI</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 11.04px;">American Goshawk AGOS* Astur atricapillus ASTATR</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 11.04px;">Why?</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 11.04px;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 11.04px;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 11.04px;"><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en" style="font-family: "Google Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; color: rgb(84, 84, 84); font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; caret-color: rgb(84, 84, 84); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 124%;"><span class="hgKElc pOOWX" style="padding: 0px 8px 0px 0px;"> July of this year, the American Ornithological Society decided to go along with the overwhelming evidence that <span style="border-radius: 4px; padding: 0px 2px; color: rgb(4, 12, 40); animation: 0.75s cubic-bezier(0.05, 0.7, 0.1, 1) 0.25s forwards highlight; background-size: 200% 100%;">most goshawks in North America are not closely related to most goshawks in Europe and Asia</span>, voting to split the Northern Goshawk into the American Goshawk and the Eurasian Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis).</span></span><span class="kX21rb ZYHQ7e" style="white-space: nowrap; font-size: 17.360001px; display: inline-block; font-family: "Google Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; padding-right: 0px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 124%;">N</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></p></div><div><div dir="ltr">Clarice Clark</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Feb 13, 2026, at 2:43 PM, Steve Loitz via Tweeters <tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Are you referring to 4-letter Alpha Codes? If so, IME, Alpha Codes can be part of the fun for a new birder, and for some it may actually enhance learning. We have a couple new birders in our local chapter who enjoy calling out "AMKE," "TUVU," "AMGO," etc. on our field trips. I refer them to this: <a href="https://www.birdpop.org/docs/misc/Alpha_codes_eng.pdf">https://www.birdpop.org/docs/misc/Alpha_codes_eng.pdf</a></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div>Steve Loitz</div><div>Ellensburg</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 2:12 PM Ted Ryan via Tweeters <<a href="mailto:tweeters@u.washington.edu">tweeters@u.washington.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><u></u><div><div>I think there is a balance here to consider. On the one hand, we don't want to make it overly burdensome for a new birder to participate. On the other hand, I don't think new folks to a hobby should expect no barriers with regards to nomenclature. All hobbies have acronyms and words that we have to learn. That's part of the hobby, that's part of the experience and it's inescapable. I think the OP will find that learning the acronyms will aid in your enjoyment.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, If we remove such things than all birds are just LBJ's and where does that get us?</div><div><br></div><div>Ted Ryan</div><div>South Kitsap, WA</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>As do basically all newer birders. As someone who?s worked with newer</div><div>birders a lot over the years (I ran the Santa Clara County version of</div><div>tweeters for over a decade, among other things) I?ve talked to and worked a</div><div>lot with our less senior partners, and when two senior birders start</div><div>chattering in this shorthand, it tends to make them feel excluded and</div><div>intimidated. It?s not a welcoming thing to birders trying to grow into</div><div>their adult feathers.</div><div><br></div><div>Because of that, I stopped using the acronyms in casual communications</div><div>where the new birders will be looking in long ago (or I?m careful to</div><div>always put the term in context in the note) and I generally discouraged</div><div>random use of them in open forums like this. And I think, if you want new</div><div>birders to feel part of our community and grow up to be more senior birders</div><div>along with us, that we do so as well.</div><div><br></div><div>Chuq</div></blockquote><br><div><br></div></div>_______________________________________________<br>
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</blockquote></div><div><br clear="all"></div><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div>Steve Loitz</div>
<div>Ellensburg, WA</div>
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