How I tell Frank from Harry from Flo

First a very quick primer on how bushtits are "named" and how we refer to their names out loud.

Once caught (more on that in another post) or taken (briefly) from the nest (more details on that as well), each bushtit is given a unique combination of three colored plastic leg bands along the with the legally required aluminum USGS band that comes with a unique number as well as instructions about what to do if you find a banded bird.  [Note:  Catching, handling, and banding wild birds requires Federal and State permits at the very least!  It is otherwise illegal.)

Each color has a corresponding letter.  P is for  a pale purple (sometimes called mauve).  R is for red.  And so on.  I'll post the complete list as I refer to more birds.  Once banded, the color combos are read from top (closest to the bird) to bottom and from left to right as the bird is facing me.  In other words, the first band I read is really the bird's right leg.   Confused?  Well, that's how I was taught to do it and so I do.  Some ornithologists do the opposite.  It's really what you're used to doing.  As long as you're consistent!

Here are some real-life examples of banded birds and how I pronounce their names.  I've found over the years that it's easier to remember and more fun to give them "names" based on their band combos. My students and I do have some fun with that as you will see. By the way, males have brown eyes and females yellow or cream eyes, so telling male from female is not impossible, although if you are aware of how small a bushtit is, you can imagine it can be quite the challenge sometimes!

Here goes:
RXRG has a red over aluminum on his right leg (left-facing) and a red over avocado green on his left (right-facing) leg.  There are some loose rules about the pronunciation of each band combo and we often stretch those rules to end up with silly names.  But RXRG is "RexRug" and (as you will see in future post) he was quite the little cad in 2019.  Some other examples:

GXGG (a female) is GeeGee (although she could be GyxGog)
PYLX (a male) is Piles
PPRX (a male) is PopRocks  (see what I mean?......fun)
LYYX (a male) is Likes

I could go on....and on....and on........as I have banded over 2000 bushtits over the years.  Maybe even more.  I haven't counted recently.

So that's my primer on bushtit bands and names.  Stay tuned for some of the incredible stories these banded birds have told me about their complicated lives.