Team Counts on Birds to Sing Their Population

The intensity of birdsong can be used to accurately calculate bird populations, scientists have discovered. Researchers are using recordings from microphones placed in woods to count birds using mathematical equations. The method is expected to revolutionize the monitoring of other species. Counting animals is extremely time consuming, and many species, such as dolphins and whales, are heard and not seen.

"A sound spreading through a forest or other habitat leaves a footprint" that reveals the impact of a local animal population, the lead researcher told the Telegraph. (More birds stories.)