Describing the sounds of nature: Using onomatopoeia to classify bird calls for citizen science

Abstract

Bird call libraries are difficult to collect yet vital for bio-acoustics studies. A potential solution is citizen science labelling of calls. However, acoustic annotation techniques are still relatively undeveloped and in parallel, citizen science initiatives struggle with maintaining participant engagement, while increasing efficiency and accuracy. This study explores the use of an under-utilised and theoretically engaging and intuitive means of sound categorisation: onomatopoeia. To learn if onomatopoeia was a reliable means of categorisation, an online experiment was conducted. Participants sourced from Amazon mTurk (N = 104) ranked how well twelve onomatopoeic words described acoustic recordings of ten native Australian bird calls. Of the ten bird calls, repeated measures ANOVA revealed that five of these had single descriptors ranked significantly higher than all others, while the remaining calls had multiple descriptors that were rated significantly higher than others. Agreement as assessed by Kendall’s W shows that overall, raters agreed regarding the suitability and unsuitability of the descriptors used across all bird calls. Further analysis of the spread of responses using frequency charts confirms this and indicates that agreement on which descriptors were unsuitable was pronounced throughout, and that stronger agreement of suitable singular descriptions was matched with greater rater confidence. This demonstrates that onomatopoeia may be reliably used to classify bird calls by non-expert listeners, adding to the suite of methods used in classification of biological sounds. Interface design implications for acoustic annotation are discussed.

The acoustic communication of the Eurasian Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis)

“…More recently, bioacoustics has become an important tool for biologists and conser vationists, improving our understanding of the natural world (Shaw et al 2021). High quality recordings of species coupled with detailed observations are especially valuable in revealing new behaviour (Dalziell & Welbergen 2016) and, with the emergence of digital technology, have increased the opportunities for ornithologists to contribute to science (Vella et al 2021) providing scope to review and revise our understanding of vocalisations and auditory signals for a range of species including woodpeckers (Węgrzyn et al 2021).…”

Structure and function of the vocal repertoire of the Rifleman ( Acanthisitta chloris ), a member of the earliest diverging passerine suborder, Acanthisitti

“…Due to its phylogenetic position, Rifleman vocal abilities and repertoire are increasingly recognized as valuable for understanding the evolution of complex vocalizations in songbirds (Suh et al 2011, Loo andCain 2021). Several authors have partially documented its calls using onomatopoeic names (Higgins et al 2001, Withers 2013, although the spelling of call names may be different between authors (Vella et al 2021). However, a complete vocal repertoire of this species has not been produced.…”