Some more thoughts about this. It is interesting to note that this system appears to be well used in USA. I think this four letter system is a good one, or would be, if it was used consistently. To do so is not actually difficult. Where the rules used create the occasional clash, then a decision was made to remove the clash e.g. Grey Falcon & Grey Fantail become GYFA & GRFA and similar for any others. Therefore it will work with no clashes or ambiguities. Following such a system (if that ever happens) would also mean that at no time are lower case letters, spaces or hyphens ever used. So that contrasts with Allan Richardson’s comments. Every code is exactly 4 UC letters (except Emu which is EMU).
However I believe in database work what is used most often is numbers, as in the Atlas numbers. In doing all the work to set up COG’s GBS, I used these Atlas numbers. Mainly because the COG database already did. We could have gone with a four letter code and the workings would be exactly the same, but we didn’t. I happen to think a four letter code is easier to remember than numbers and so I would have preferred to have used that system instead. The numbers have little if any overriding or obvious principle and whilst they may have had a meaningful sequence in mid 1970s, that is obscure now.
The way this GBS database works is that at no time are species names (common or scientific) or any letter codes or abbreviations used in entering, storing or manipulating the data. The entire data handling and analysis is done on the Atlas codes (e.g. Weebill = 465). Obviously this saves a huge amount of work. Then links set in a table, connect the numbers to the bird names. Thus on screen and in reports you can display the bird name in whatever way you want it. So you don’t need to ever type stuff like B-faced C-shrike. On the input system a species is selected by inputting the number which then brings up the bird name to confirm it, before you enter data. If you don’t have the number, it can be selected by typing in the first characters of the bird name and the system fills in possibilities as you go, that takes much more effort.
Philip
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