Long-term monitoring of bird flocks in the wild – interview with Kshitiz

In work presented at the 32nd International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI 2023), Kshitiz, Sonu Shreshtha, Ramy Mounir, Mayank Vatsa, Richa Singh, Saket Anand, Sudeep Sarkar and Sevaram Mali Parihar investigate using computer vision techniques to monitor large flocks of birds. In this interview, Kshitiz tells us more about this research. In our work, Long-term Monitoring of Bird Flocks in the Wild, published in IJCAI 2023, we delve into developing and applying computer vision techniques and datasets tailored for non-invasive monitoring and analysis of migratory bird flocks in their natural habitats. The aim is to understand the behavior and ecology of migratory birds through automated video analysis with minimal human intervention, thereby bolstering conservation initiatives. The core technical challenges associated with wildlife monitoring arise from the uncontrolled, outdoor nature of the imagery (both images and videos) capturing large flocks of migratory birds over several months.