Australia uses AI to find plains-wanderer bird after 30 years

Animal conservation group Zoos Victoria spotted the elusive plains-wanderer bird with the help of artificial intelligence.

The technology allowed human experts to spot its distinctive soft and low “oom” sound at two sites and confirm their discovery.

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Chris Hartnett, Zoos Victoria’s threatened species program coordinator, said the result was “like finding gold.” 

Finding the rare ‘Goldilocks’ bird

The Council of Australasian Museum Directors (CAMD) said it’s been 30 years since people last spotted the plains-wanderer bird. 

Hartnett says the rare avian lives in grasslands that are “not too dense, not too sparse, but just right.” 

“We’ve often referred to the plains-wanderer as a ‘Goldilocks species,’” she said, explaining this special name. 

CAMD says plains-wanderers tended to stay and establish territories.

Unfortunately, their populations have significantly decreased due to the loss of their grassland habitats. 

Nowadays, they number around 250 to 1,000 wild birds, and with the help of AI, conservationists found them once more. 

Zoos Victoria installed 35 audio recorders, or song meters, across nine properties that match the plains-wanderer’s habitat. 

These gadgets collected tens of thousands of hours of recordings.

Then, the experts sifted through the data using AI.

As a result, they found two locations that sounded the bird’s distinct call. 

“Finding plains-wanderers west of Melbourne is huge from a conservation perspective,” said Chris Hartnett in an Instagram video.

“It means that this area can still support this critically endangered species.”

“We can build on this information to start creating the conditions to support a whole population of plains-wanderers.” 

This rare bird stands roughly six inches or 15 cm tall and weighs less than four ounces.

Plains-wanderers have bright yellow beaks, legs and eyes.

They have tan, white and black feathers that form streaky or spotted patterns.

Also, females have patterned black and white feathers around their necks and red chest feathers. 

These shy, winged critters have no close relatives, meaning they’re the only known living members of the Pedionomidae family.

Zoos Victoria says, “In evolutionary terms, the plains-wanderer is one of a kind. There is no bird like it in the world.”