I have created an Excel spreadsheet that looks up the full species name and the latin name when you enter a code for each bird seen. This could be used as a standalone tool but is really intended to complement the Bird ID branch of the Northwest Sequence for CyberTracker (see description above). If you paste the results of a query table from CyberTracker, this spreadsheet will lookup the full name and latin name. Note that it is also a great learning tool to help master the coding scheme (i.e., think of a bird, enter the code, and then check your answer).

The spreadsheet employs the 6-letter coding scheme used with the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) rather than a list due to the sheer number of possible species. For more information on this coding system and rules for applying it see http://www.nmt.edu/~shipman/z/nom/6home.html. A simplified set of rules are:

• One word name, enter first 6 characters: osprey = Osprey
• Two word name, enter first 3 characters of both names: amerob = American Robin
• Three word name, enter 2 characters from first name, 1 from second name, and 3 from third name:
  rebnut = Red Brested Nuthatch
• Four word name, enter 1 character from first three words and 3 from the fourth:
  Bcnher = Black-Crowned Night-Heron
• An exception is made for the common colors of Black and Brown. Black becomes blk or bk and brown becomes brn or bn: bkcchi = Black-capped Chickadee

I credit the idea for this branch and the accompanying spreadsheet to Terry Kem who built his own system using the Bird Banding Lab’s (BBL) 4-letter coding system.