Urban ecology of gang-gang cockatoos

Using Artifical Intelligence to recognise individuals

If you live in Canberra, you have likely heard the distinctive “creaking door” call of the endangered Gang-gang Cockatoos. These charismatic birds are the study species of the Masters project of University of Zurich student Miro van den Berg. 

As part of this project, we are developing an AI that can individually identify Gang-gang cockatoos from photographs, with the goal of supporting future population analyses and conservation efforts. To train this tool, we are collecting thousands of images of Gang-gang cockatoos all over Canberra.

If you have Gang-gangs frequenting your neighbourhood and take photos of the birds, we’re always interested to hear from you. Your images could help us identify individual birds and better understand their distribution. We may even be able to help you identify your local Gang-gangs! 

(Contact us at: miro.vandenberg_at_uzh.ch).  

Understanding urban movements

We are currently in the pilot and testing stage of deploying GPS trackers (Bluetooth low-energy beacons) on urban Gang-gangs in Canberra, Australia. The trackers are small and lightweight and transmit location data whenever the bird is close to an phone. This data will help us understand how a Canberra Gang-gang spends it day and how much it moves across the city.