Someone has figured out how to encode data into bird calls

The Register: Flock storage: Audio boffin encodes data in a starling

"...little bird successfully learned and emulated the sound in the exact same frequency range that he heard it, effectively transferring about 176 kilobytes of uncompressed information."

It's a neat demonstration of what a starling is capable of. "While there are a lot of caveats and limitations there," Jordan went on, "the fact that you could set up a speaker in your yard and conceivably store any amount of data in song birds is crazy."

We asked Jordan if there might be more attempts in the future. "I suppose if I were to try again, I'd use FT8 signals, which are used in amateur radio and designed to transmit data with the imperfections of analog signals.

https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/30/encoded_audio_starling_song/

#hamradio #ft8

Flock storage: Audio boffin encodes data in a starling

: Birdsong stores 176 KB, but can it run Doom?

The Register
@ai6yr I saw a video of a violinist practicing on her patio, and the unseen bird in the bushes started warbling back with the same sequence of notes, and the violinist was shocked, but then started playing short segments of notes, and after a couple of repetitions, the bird would repeat what she played. She was having so much fun playing with the birds! I wish I played an instrument so I could try it, but I doubt my chainsaw and tractor will have the same effect. 🤣🤷🏻‍♀️

@MissConstrue @ai6yr Nonsense, you just need to find a Lyre Bird. :)

https://youtu.be/mSB71jNq-yQ

Attenborough: the amazing Lyre Bird sings like a chainsaw! Now in high quality | BBC Earth

YouTube
Superb Lyrebird imitating construction work - Adelaide Zoo

YouTube