You are first given the choice of sorting by Common Name or Scientific Name. For each you may select “First, Last” or “Last, First”. You may also sort by Band Code. Once you have made this choice you are given the choice of sorting by alphabetic or taxonomic order.
So these are your ten choices:
Sort list by Common Name, alphabetic by first name [American Robin]
Sort list by Common Name, alphabetic by last name [Robin, American]
Sort list by Scientific Name, alphabetic by first name [Turdus migratorius]
Sort list by Scientific Name, alphabetic by last name [migratorius, Turdus]
Sort list by Band Code, alphabetic by band code [AMRO]
Sort list by Common Name, taxonomic by first name
Sort list by Common Name, taxonomic by last name
Sort list by Scientific Name, taxonomic by first name
Sort list by Scientific Name, taxonomic by last name
Sort list by Band Code, taxonomic by band code
Below we have chosen Common Name and alphabetic:
There is no right or wrong way to sort the bird names. Select whichever works for you.
Printed Field Guides are arranged in taxonomic order. Ducks come first and smaller perching birds (Passerines) are at the end. Scientists love to monkey around with the taxonomic list – and even change the common names of birds! For the North American taxonomic list they recently decided Ducks come first -- not Loons.. Sixty years ago they had Parrots and Cuckoos listed first!
The organization in charge of the North America taxonomic list is the American Ornithologists' Union. They announce their changes each August. The listing in this program follows the 50th Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-List of North American Birds. The Auk 126(3):705−714, 2009. Future updates to the taxonomic list used in this program will be available by clicking Help and then clicking Check for Updates.
To see bird names in Spanish, French or German, or to show alias names when English is selected, click Tools in the Menu Bar and click on Options (on Windows computers.) For Mac computers, click on View.