By Ian Patrick

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Researchers have developed an AI technology that can distinguish individual birds, according to a report from New Atlas. This is designed to save time and effort when studying small bird species.

A research article on the matter details the researchers’ purpose and methods of training. They supplied thousands of images of individual birds of different species to allow the system to note identifying features of these animals. Researchers tested the system on captive and wild birds; specifically weavers, tits, and zebra finches. The AI’s performance was evaluated by its ability to identify these individual birds by using different cameras and angles. One camera was placed at a feeding station for each bird type. It recorded the birds upon their initial visit to the feeder with a close camera shot, and matched those initial photos to the birds when they returned to the feeder after some time.

Overall, the system had a high percentage of recognizing the birds in each case.  It hovered in the high 80s and the 90s in “positive identification” for each species when using a specific camera angle.

The research is still in early stages, as the study recognizes the challenges that come with appearance and environmental changes.The specifics and details of the tests and research can be found by clicking this link.

Sourced from New Atlas and The British Ecological Society