Robot can identify birds with around 90 per cent accuracy

Trying to identify a wild bird while frantically leafing through a bird-spotters' guide is no easy task. But modern technology has come to the rescue, with artificial intelligence trained to help out amateur twitchers. Where people may be confused by two similar looking birds, or a juvenile which does not yet have its adult plumage, AI has been found to identify birds with up to around 90 per cent accuracy. The technology was trained using pictures of wild great tits and sociable weavers, as well as captive zebra finches. It works in a similar way to the face-recognition programmes used to identify people in crowds.