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Not even scientists can tell these birds apart. But now, computers can:
[...] For years, researchers have identified birds by placing colored bands on their legs. They use those bands to identify birds in the wild—and in photographs and videos back in the lab. The task can often be laborious, Levin says.
[...T]eam member André Ferreira, a Ph.D. student at the University of Montpellier, decided to try a kind of artificial intelligence. The tool, called a convolutional neural network, sifts through thousands of pictures to figure out which visual features can be used to classify a given image; it then uses that information to classify new images.
[...] Ferreira fed the neural network several thousand photos of 30 sociable weavers that had already been tagged. [...] To take the photos, he set up cameras near bird feeders equipped with radio-frequency antennas. As soon as the birds landed, a small computer recorded their identity using their PIT tag, and a camera snapped pictures of their backs every 2 seconds. (The rear view is the part of the bird seen most often while they are nesting or foraging.)
After just 2 weeks, Ferreira had enough photos to train the neural network. [...W]hen given photos it hadn't seen before, the neural network correctly identified individual birds 90% of the time, they report this week in Methods in Ecology and Evolution. Doutrelant says that's about the same accuracy as humans trying to spot color rings with binoculars.
Ferreira then tried the approach on two other bird species studied by Damien Farine, a behavioral ecologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior. The tool was just as accurate in identifying zebra finches in captivity and great tits in the wild. Both species are widely studied by ecologists.
Journal Reference:
André C. Ferreira, Liliana R. Silva, Francesco Renna, et al. Deep learning‐based methods for individual recognition in small birds [open], Methods in Ecology and Evolution (DOI: 10.1111/2041-210X.13436)
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:08PM (3 children)
The French can't tell the difference between an African swallow and a European swallow, so... yeah.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:28PM (2 children)
What are the unladen air speeds?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @04:23AM (1 child)
Different kind of swallow.
(Score: 3, Funny) by driverless on Friday August 07 2020, @05:08AM
Speaking of which, most guys have no problems telling birds apart. "That one slapped me, that one poured her drink on me, that one gave me her phone number".
(Score: 3, Funny) by Immerman on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:08PM
Identifying... Identifying.... Success! Image contains an individual bird.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:09PM (2 children)
Train it on brown-skinned people and you've got a new tool for the police to use. Imagine the humanitarian benefits of being able to identify the 14% who aren't criminals before kneeling on suspects' necks.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:33PM
If you need a computer for that you're either stupid or a SJW. Wait... Same thing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:49PM
The colored bands get all the chicks.
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:25PM (1 child)
I don't know why the title grinds me, it just does.
Also in the news:
Not even scientists can multiply these two numbers together, but Now, Computers Can.
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Not even scientists can guess your password, but Now Computers Can.
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Also:
Not even scientists can insert nail using hands, but Now Hammers Can.
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:42PM
The relevant question is can the birds tell the scientists apart?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:37PM (3 children)
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then for all practical purposes it is a duck. Get over it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:39PM (2 children)
How about if it's goose stepping?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:48PM
Is pretty impurtant to know whether you are dealing with daffy or donald. They aint both just ducks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 08 2020, @12:37PM
Some ducks will try to trick you by walking in a different pattern.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @01:57PM (2 children)
if scientists can't tell them apart, how can they verify that the computer can tell them apart?
(Score: 2) by Bot on Saturday August 08 2020, @08:17AM
in fact here's the source
function identify (bird)
return (bird.possible_id[Random.rnd*len(bird.possible_id)]) -- prove me wrong, duh
Account abandoned.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 08 2020, @12:39PM
I assume the birds make distinct sounds when you step on them.