Yes, you can store data on a bird — enthusiast converts PNG to bird-shaped waveform, teaches young starling to recall file at up to 2MB/s
A music and science lover has revealed that some birds can store and retrieve digital data. Specifically, he converted a PNG sketch of a bird into an audio waveform, then tried to embed it in the song memory of a young starling, ready for later retrieval as an image. Benn Jordan made a video of this feat, sharing it on YouTube, and according to his calculations, the bird-based data transfer system could be capable of around 2 MB/s data speeds. Excuse Jordan (and us, as we are new to bird-based data transfer performance), but there are definitely a few caveats behind that speed claim.
During the introductory segment of the video, we learn about some of the background considerations of this experiment. For example, Jordan outlines why he didn’t use the well-known mimicry skills of a parrot for this PNG data storage and retrieval test.
To cut a long story short, songbirds have some of the best-developed vocal abilities in the animal world, so they were the best choice. A particular feature among songbirds is the syrinx, located at the junction of the trachea and bronchi. This can be tuned by independently controlled muscle groups to control pitch and speed for extraordinary vocal gymnastics. Due to the bilateral structure of the syrinx, even phase and wave interference effects are possible.
