Hoo Goes There?

Don’t have enough friends to talk to on your cell phone? You could always call an owl.

Researchers at MIT recently discovered that the two-way communication made possible by cell phones can be effectively used from afar to simulate “conversation� with wildlife in a natural habitat. Despite concerns that the audio quality would be muffled or otherwise distorted, the MIT team was able to interact with owls in northeastern Connecticut simply by placing a call.

Cell phones set up with loudspeakers were deployed in the woods, and researchers played recorded owl calls over the phone. Not only did the simulated calls encourage responses, but those responses from owls in the wild were transmitted clearly back to the lab via the cellular network.

The results are expected to present scientists with easier and more direct methods of studying avian communication in the wild, and, in the future, may even allow the average bird-lover to enjoy live bird calls piped directly to their computer or cell phone.