Dasyueshan Bird Watching Contest Records 152 Species; AI Validates 6 Finalists in Inaugural Bird Call Mimicry Competition

The 16th Dasyueshan Bird Watching Competition kicked off with a 24-hour marathon involving 46 teams and 170 participants, recording a total of 152 bird species. The event also saw the launch of Taiwan''s first-ever ''Dasyueshan Bird Call Mimicry Competition,'' where six contestants'' vocal skills were validated by an AI recognition system. According to the Taichung Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, the competition attracted international birders from Indonesia and the Philippines, cementing Dasyueshan''s status as a world-class bird-watching destination. Participants recorded 29 endemic species and 43 endemic subspecies during the race. This year''s new mimicry competition utilized the ''SILIC'' AI system developed by the Biodiversity Research Institute to identify bird sounds, creating a new trend in ecological observation. Ten finalists, including two elementary school students, competed by mimicking species like the Taiwan Bamboo Partridge. The winner, Liao Shu-yu from Taichung, along with five others, received AI certification for their skills, marking a milestone in tech-assisted citizen science.