I went in search of the VG.... er, Violet-green Swallow, and did not catch up with it - though I did catch up with Richard Guthrie.Most if not all of us like short cuts, which include banding codes. They may serve banders well who use them professionally and are intimately familiar with that group’s vernacular, but for others, it can ( and obviously does ) lead to discord. I admit that at times being stumped by a code whose meaning escapes me. While there may have been temporary frustration, speaking for myself it does not foment much ado. To me, its no different to throw a HERG into the text, as it is to throw in the terms remiges, or patagial bar. I can look it up, because I have an interest in birds and birding and it’s a learning experience. When I am unfamiliar with a term I used to look it up in the dictionary. Now, all I have to do is double-click to highlight the word, right-click on it, and select “ search google for (the word)”. For band codes, I use the Sibley app when necessary. It allows one to search for a bird by band code. Mystery solved. Yeah, spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and incorrect band codes etc can interrupt the cognitive flow, but I suspect that some do not want to be ‘inconvenienced’ by having to do such odious work as ‘looking it up’ or knowing that the author used the wrong choice between they’re, their, or there. Oh well. In lieu of band codes I have found simple abbreviations to work as well if not better in saving my lazy self from the tortuous chore of spelling out the complete name. W pel may be easier than AWPE, for example. At other times I have found that 3-3 is better than the standard 2-2 of band codes. BarSwa and BanSwa eliminates one of many collisions that are inevitable, and only requires 2 more letters typed! Even the spoken word has room for simplification; one might say “Rough-wing” instead of Northern Rough-winged Swallow or “Moe Doe” instead of Mourning Dove. I enjoy the portmanteau and find that Redhatch rolls off the tongue so much better than Red-breasted Nuthatch; as does Americrow, Rublet, and many others. So while an erroneous band code may be upsetting to some, trust me, its nowhere near as upsetting as attempting to relocate that swallow several hours distant and not succeeding. At least peak migration is just around the corner!Arie Gilbert North Babylon NY Sent from my T-Mobile 5G Device -------- Original message --------From: Richard Guthrie <richardpguth...@gmail.com> Date: 4/22/21 2:44 PM (GMT-05:00) To: NYSBIRDS_L <nysbirds-l@cornell.edu>, Hmbirds <hmbi...@groups.io> Subject: [nysbirds-l] RWSW Not yet Several birders here. No swallow Yet Rich Guthrie--NYSbirds-L List Info:http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htmhttp://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htmhttp://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htmARCHIVES:1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01Please submit your observations to eBird:http://ebird.org/content/ebird/-- --
NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
