Listening in on Birds

Collecting data on wild birds is crucial for their conservation. But it requires huge amounts of effort. One way to help streamline the process is with gizmos called autonomous recording units, or ARUs. For days or months, these recording devices eavesdrop on the environment around them, including the songs and calls of the local birds. Identifying the songs picked up on recordings can be almost as time-consuming as in-person field work, but new AI tools are quickly making it easier to analyze the audio.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. 

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