<div dir="ltr">Sorry to comment from another state, but I feel strongly about this. And I'll just state my position with little defense. Choose what you wish.<div>After changing zillions of bird names (I'm not using the E-word, also exclusive) after historical figures for greater inclusion, now many are saying, in effect,<i><b> just learn 4-letter codes</b></i> is about as exclusive as I can think of. It speaks of initiation,even hazing, of people who might have some interest in birds. Learn up first, then read Tweeters. </div><div>On the other hand, I'm willing to go with the suggestion of first naming the bird's English Name (which in many cases will soon change and not be recognizable, even to experienced birders. with the 4-letter code, following, all caps, in parentheses. This will help modestly interested birders know the subject of later codes, and learn it if so inclined. I see NO REASON that they should even ha have to contemplate 'learning them'.</div><div>Bob OBrien Portland (Birding 73 years now and knowing all the codes).</div><div><br></div><div>P.S. Someone in this thread, as I recall, said the 4-letter codes will NOT CHANGE. In my opinion, if true, this is the craziest thing yet, now the words will become pure memorization with no logical significance. Unless, they change, for instance, Anna's Hummingbird becomes Anomalous Hummingbird (for the male's Dive/Chirp breeding performance which I believe is unique. Even then I PREFER TO STICK WITH Anna's..........................</div><div><br></div><div>P.P.S Going forward, and guessing the 4-letter code for a species, is pretty easy to decipher Anna's Hummingbird = ANHU ; Rough-legged Hawk = RLHA. Those who use them have it easy. Going backwards from a code is NOT SO EASY. And that's what the current problem is.Thanks to the person who objected to this. I heartily agree with her.</div><div>.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div><br></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 6:27 PM HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters <<a href="mailto:tweeters@u.washington.edu" target="_blank">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>
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My Dad used to say that you could tell how long someone had been birding by what you called something. Just run through the old (really old) such as first edition Peterson and earlier and see what things were called. Change always makes life "fun".
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<span><span>Hal Michael<br><span style="font-size:12pt">Board of Directors, </span><a style="font-size:12pt" href="http://ecowb.org/" target="_blank">Ecologists Without Borders</a></span></span>
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<span>Olympia WA<br>360-459-4005<br>360-791-7702 (C)<br><a href="mailto:ucd880@comcast.net" target="_blank">ucd880@comcast.net</a></span>
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On 02/13/2026 6:18 PM PST Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <<a href="mailto:tweeters@u.washington.edu" target="_blank">tweeters@u.washington.edu</a>> wrote:
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</div> Just to clarify a little more, the Eurasian Goshawk is now <em>Astur gentilis</em>, and our Cooper’s Hawk is <em>Astur cooperii</em>. There are other species of <em>Astur</em> and <em>Accipiter</em> scattered around the world, as genetic work probed into the classification and found that there were two groups of accipiters that warranted being in two different genera.
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And I’m all for using the four-letter codes, as long as people are introduced to them, as others have said, so as not to be confusing. Writing Short-eared Owl (SEOW), then going on to use the acronym in further writing, seems a fine way to go.
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I have to add that I’m used to common and scientific names changing, but when four-letter codes change, I come up with a few four-letter words myself! Think of years of field notes taken using the four-letter codes.
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Dennis Paulson
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Seattle
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dennispaulson at comcast dot net
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On Feb 13, 2026, at 5:08 PM, qblater via Tweeters <<a href="mailto:tweeters@u.washington.edu" target="_blank">tweeters@u.washington.edu</a>> wrote:
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4 letter codes are also a way to keep current on your classification
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For example
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AMGO is no more
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Now
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<span style="font-size:11.04px">American Goldfinch AGOL* Spinus tristis SPITRI</span>
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<span style="font-size:11.04px">American Goshawk AGOS* Astur atricapillus ASTATR</span>
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<span style="font-size:11.04px">Why?</span>
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<span style="font-size:11.04px"><span style="font-family:"Google Sans","Helvetica Neue",sans-serif;color:rgb(84,84,84);font-size:16px;line-height:24px"><span 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);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 style="white-space:nowrap;font-size:17.36px;display:inline-block;font-family:"Google Sans","Helvetica Neue",sans-serif;padding-right:0px">N</span></span>
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Clarice Clark
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On Feb 13, 2026, at 2:43 PM, Steve Loitz via Tweeters <<a href="mailto:tweeters@u.washington.edu" target="_blank">tweeters@u.washington.edu</a>> wrote:
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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" target="_blank">https://www.birdpop.org/docs/misc/Alpha_codes_eng.pdf</a>
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On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 2:12 PM Ted Ryan via Tweeters <<a href="mailto:tweeters@u.washington.edu" target="_blank">tweeters@u.washington.edu</a>> wrote:
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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.
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Besides, If we remove such things than all birds are just LBJ's and where does that get us?
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Ted Ryan
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As do basically all newer birders. As someone who?s worked with newer
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lot with our less senior partners, and when two senior birders start
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chattering in this shorthand, it tends to make them feel excluded and
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Because of that, I stopped using the acronyms in casual communications
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Chuq
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</div> <span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span>
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Steve Loitz
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