I’ve been a user of eBird for several years now. It’s a database of bird observations. The data collected is then used for research purposes. I find it cool that a simple effort on my part is contributing to science and bird conservation efforts. (To find out more, check out ebird.org. There’s also a free online course on the Cornell Lab Bird Academy website that explains how to use it.)

I prefer to use eBird on my smartphone, as it’s super convenient to use. At least, it felt easy until I got carpal tunnel syndrome earlier this year. My smartphone suddenly felt like a brick – awkward to hold and very heavy for my already-pained fingers.

Time to adapt. For now, I’m starting an eBird checklist on my phone so that it can calculate the distance I’ve traveled. Then I tuck my phone into my pocket for the rest of the trip. To record my observations, I have a lightweight notepad and a gel pen, which glides easier than a ball point pen.

To lessen the amount of writing, I use the standard four-letter bird codes – a shorthand for recording bird observations. This is widely used in the birding community and is featured in eBird as an option for inputting a bird’s name. When I get home, I transfer my written observations onto eBird in a way that is better for my hands.

I’ll admit, the codes are daunting! However, the more I use them the more I realize that there’s a clear pattern that emerges making it easy to figure out codes on the fly. It did take some practice, and I started off with practicing the codes for just the birds at my feeder.

Below are my observations about the codes – but use whatever shorthand that works for you! I use the Institute for Bird Populations for reference, using the PDF that organizes it by English name.

Bird Names with One Word

For birds whose name is only one word, such as Bufflehead or Killdeer, all you have to do is take the first four letters of its name to come up with the code.

Bufflehead = BUFF
Killdeer = KILL

Bird Names with Two Words

For two words, you typically take the first two letters of each word, then combine them to create the four-letter code. There are exceptions, but overall this is the general pattern.

Anna’s Hummingbird = AN + HU = ANHU
Black Phoebe = BL + PH = BLPH
Lesser Goldfinch = LE + GO = LEGO
Snowy Egret = SN + EG = SNEG

Exception: California Towhee is CALT instead of CATO. There may be other exceptions but I haven’t come across them yet – at least for Bay Area birds.

Bird Names with Four Words

I’m going to temporarily skip the three-worded names because it’s more complex and I’ll bet I’ll lose you instantly. Instead, this category is much easier as there’s not as many birds with four words in a name.

For this category, you simply take the first letter of each word to create the code. There’s no concern about whether or not the words are hyphenated. There are some exceptions to this pattern, of course.

Black-crowned Night Heron = B + C + N + H = BCNH

Exceptions:
There are two in particular I’m aware of, but there’s probably more: Black-throated Gray Warbler and Black-throated Green Warbler. The problem with these two birds is that they would both end up as BTGW! So instead, the codes reflect the last letter of the third word.

Black-throated Gray Warbler = BTYW
Black-throated Green Warbler = BTNW

Bird Names with Three Words

I find this category the most difficult. It seems to depend on whether there is a hyphen present and where. I don’t always remember where hyphens are in names, so that can present a problem. This may be a category where it’s easier to create your own shorthand.

For no hyphens, the general pattern is to take the first letter of the first two words, and the first two letters from the third word. For example:

American Tree Sparrow = A + T + SP = ATSP

When there is a hyphen, the rule I’ve observed is that the two hyphenated words offer only one letter to the code, regardless of their position.

Examples where the first two words are hyphenated:

Black-headed Grosbeak = B + H (hyphenated) + GR (no hyphen) = BHGR
Golden-crowned Sparrow = G + C (hyphenated) + SP (no hyphen) = GCSP

Examples where the last two words are hyphenated:

Western Screech-Owl = WE (no hyphen) + S + O (hyphenated) = WESO
Northern Pygmy-Owl = NO (no hyphen) + P + O (hyphenated) = NOPO