Date: 6/21/25 5:17 pm From: Caleb A <calebscotta...> Subject: Re: [cobirds] Merlin changing its mind
Hello Paula!
Thanks for bringing this up--as a musician who's messed around with testing the accuracy of Merlin's audio identification (I can't afford a camera, so I've gravitated towards recording bird songs for the past few years haha), the proximity to the singing bird affects two incredibly important factors that influence the computer: clarity of timbre (specificity, density on sonogram, etc.) and decibels (imagine looking at a photo that has contrast blasted vs. a very low contrast-res image). Since many passerines are distinguished by mere nuances of timbre at times, *and* considering the constantly fluctuating factor of background noise that pollutes the clarity of the timbres Merlin can capture with a live sonogram, I've learned to give Merlin audio an appropriate amount of skepticism. Merline audio will continue to improve with time, but the volume of audios captured in the birding community is so enormously dwarfed by the photos captured, so training Merlin has disproportionately favored photos over audio as of now!
Happy birding! Caleb Alons
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