USDA · USDA-080 · record R1380

BirdNET to detect bird vocalizations for research and species monitoring

Department of Agriculture · Natural Resources and Environment

Overview

Development stage: DeployedSource: c) Deployed – The use case is being actively authorized or utilized to support the functions or mission of an agency.
High-impact designation: Not high-impactSource: c) Not high-impact
Impact justification: Not reported
Start date: 2021-06-01 (day precision)Source: 6/1/2021
Withheld from public reporting: Not reported

Mission

Topic area: Energy and the Environment
Operational functions: No function tag matched Derived by keyword rules; see methodology

Problem the AI is intended to solve

BirdNET quickly scans thousands of hours of forest audio recordings to detect bird calls from species that are important for forest monitoring, like American goshawks, black-backed woodpeckers, spotted owls, and willow flycatchers.

Expected benefits

This decreases the time and cost associated with manually listening to recordings to identify bird calls.

System outputs

The model outputs text files of bird calls, which include the bird species and time that the call was recorded.

Technology

AI classification: Classical / predictive MLSource: Classical/Predictive Machine Learning: Models trained on data to make predictions or classifications based on identified patterns or relatio…
System name(s): Not reported
Custom-developed code: No
Public source code: birdnet.cornell.edu ↗

Sourcing

How it was built: Developed in-houseSource: b) Developed in-house
Vendor (as reported): Not reported
Vendors (standardized): None on the standard list

A vendor is the supplier named by the agency. It does not identify the underlying model or AI technology.

Data and privacy

Involves PII: No
Privacy Impact Assessment: Not reported
Authorization to Operate: No
Demographic features: k) None of the above
Training and evaluation data: BirdNET was developed using data from the MacAulay Library of Natural Sounds at Cornell University.
Federal Data Catalog: Not reported

Governance

0 of 8 minimum-practice questions answered. A blank answer means the agency reported nothing; it does not mean the practice is absent.

Pre-deployment testingNo answer reported

AI impact assessmentNo answer reported

Independent reviewNo answer reported

Ongoing monitoringNo answer reported

Operator trainingNo answer reported

Fail-safeNo answer reported

Appeal processNo answer reported

User and public consultationNo answer reported

Potential impacts and how they were identified

Not reported