Variable Measured: Species, age, sex, capture date, location of capture, head-bill, tarsus, wind chord, molt score, fat score, and mass.

Species Code:
Species Code    Common Name     Scientific Name
BHCO    Brown-headed Cowbird    Molothrus ater
GRSP    Grasshopper Sparrow    Ammodramus savannarum
HESP    Henslow Sparrow    Ammodramus henslowii

Color Band Color Abbreviations:
A    Gray
B    Light Blue
D    Dark Blue
G    Green
K    Black
O    Orange
P    Pink
R    Red
S    Silver
W    White
Y    Yellow
 
Age:
NG    Nestling
HY    Hatch Year
AHY    After Hatch Year
SY    Second Year
ASY    After Second Year
TY    Third Year
ATY    After Third Year
U    Unknown

How aged or sexed:
Plumage    Young (hatch-year) birds have distinct plumage. Following their first year, GRSP cannot be sexed or aged by plumage
CP    Cloacal Protuberance present—indicates male in breeding condition
BP    Brood Patch present—if >0.5, indicates female in breeding condition (males only lose a few belly feathers)
OnNest    Nestlings found in nest = known age. Birds flushed from nest sexed as females
Song    Males observed singing prior to capture (females don’t sing)
Display    Males observed displaying prior to capture (females don’t display)
Molecular    Molecularly sexed post-hoc
Ossification    Young (< 4 mo) birds have incomplete ossification
Recap    If a bird was captured in a previous season, we can age precisely (if HY or NG at time for first capture), or know minimum age (if captured as AHY)

Sex:
M    Male
F    Female
U    Unknown

CP:
0    No evidence of swelling
1    Very slight thickening
2    Still longer than wide, but noticeably bulging
3    Resembling the drawing in the front of Pyle guide
4    Size of an unripe blueberry
5    Size and color of an ripe blueberry

BP:
1    Smooth feathers are dropped and some vascularization is evident, but most of the area is still rather smooth and dark red
2    Vascularization is evident, some wrinkles are present, and some fluid is present under the skin, giving the area a pale, opaque, pinkish color
3    Vascularization is at the maximum extent of the brood patch; the brood patch is thickly wrinkled, and much fluid is present under the skin
4    Wrinkled, vascularization and fluid is mostly gone, skin retains many thin, dry, contracted wrinkles
5    Molting with no vascularization or fluid, most wrinkles gone, and pinfeathers present only on breast with no other flight feather or body molt occurring

Molt:
0    No molt
1    Some pin feathers, adventitious flight feather molt, or very beginning stages of complete molt (i.e., dropped feathers but no new feathers grown in)
2    Moderate molt. Multiple feather tracts and/or flight feathers or retricies
3    Most tracts in molt including flight feathers and body

Fat:
0    No fat visible in furculum
1    A light covering or partial covering of fat on the inside of the furculum
2    >10% full and <~35% full
3    Roughly half full of fat
4    Furculum ~75% full, fat typically extending out of furcular area at the top and some visible fat in wing pits and lower belly
5    Furculum ~full-slightly bulging. Obvious fat reserves elsewhere on the body
6    Furculum very bulging. Extensive fat reserves elsewhere

Observer Initials    Full name
AB    Alice Boyle
AJH    Alex J Henry
AJM    Andrew Mayer
ANB    Allison Nicole Bays
BNP    Blair Pfeifer
BV    Bram Verheijen
CES    Chelsea E Sink
CKP    Chyna Kaling Pei
DCA    Dakota C Allen
DDH    Destiney D Hett
DJS    Dylan J Smith
EJW    Emily J Williams
GW    Virginia Winder
HCM    Henry Castro-Miller
HN    Hunter Nedland
HRL    Heather Lerner
JLG    Joanna Gresham
JMG    Jackie M Gehrt
JMS    Joseph Schmit
KB    Katharina Bremser
KEG    Keil E Garey
KET    Katelyn E Thompson
KLK    Kristin Kersten
KMS    Katy M. Silber
MDR    Miriam Reynaldo
MKW    Mary Kate Wilcox
MLG    Michaela L Gustafson
MW    Mariel Winnerman
NAB    Natasha A Bergevine
RCD    Ryan Donnelly
SKW    Sarah K Winnicki
SLD    Sarah Lindsay Demadura
SVR    Suzy V Replogle Curnutt

For additional metadata information see: http://lter.konza.ksu.edu/sites/default/files/DC.pdf

For additional methods information see: http://lter.konza.ksu.edu/sites/default/files/MM.pdf