To Predict a Bird’s Song, Head Out to Space

“Thomas Smith, an ecologist at UCLA, and his team from the US, UK, Cyprus, and The Netherlands, found that satellite data, combined with traditional field studies, could help them predict the variations in singing by the common little greenbul (Andropadus virens, pictured), a songbird found in many habitats across Africa.

The study, published online in Evolutionary Applications, not only shows how bird songs can vary, but demonstrates how combining satellite data with field studies can trace the evolution and variation of any species. It is also the first study to ever use satellite data to track variation of earth-bound species of animals or plants.