Detector IDs birdsongs of various species

Bonn, Germany -- German computer scientists say they've developed a computerized detector that can identify the songs of various bird species.

The University of Bonn researchers, in collaboration with Berlin's Humboldt University, said the new type of sound detector can facilitate surveys of bird populations.

The researchers said they placed microphones at selected points in the wild to record all sounds, in some cases for months at a time. The new computer software then sifted through the many hundreds of hours of recorded material overnight, determining how many birds of which species have been singing and how often they performed.

Despite interference from rain, wind and amphibians, the researchers said their software program recognized, with 92 percent accuracy, the song of a species of bird that is still found on the shores of the Baltic, but which has become rare elsewhere in Europe.

The birdsong detectors are as yet only calibrated to identify the birdsong of individual species. However, in the near future using GPS technology, the researchers said it might be possible to make the mapping of bird populations simpler and more efficient.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.