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We can finally 'talk' to birds
27 Jun 2026

Dr. Julie Elie, a scientist from the University of California, Berkeley, has won the 2026 Coller-Dolittle Prize for her groundbreaking work in interspecies communication.

The award recognizes her efforts in decoding the zebra finch's vocabulary and understanding their core calls and meanings.

The achievement is a major step toward enabling two-way communication between humans and animals.

Elie's research on zebra finches
Research findings

Dr. Elie's research sheds light on how zebra finches communicate their identities and activities through individual signatures.

Interestingly, she discovered that these birds sometimes confuse calls with similar meanings more than those that sound alike.

The study involved over a decade of observing and recording the birds' sounds, classifying them based on context and the bird producing them.

Using machine learning to decode calls
Technological assistance

Dr. Elie used machine learning to decode the information encoded in zebra finch calls. She conducted tests that showed the birds agreed with her classification of their sounds.

In one such test, zebra finches were played various calls from their repertoire when they tapped a button, learning to skip unrewarding calls over time.

This behavior indicated they have a mental imagery of the meaning behind their vocalizations.

Coller-Dolittle Prize and other shortlisted scientists
Award purpose

The Coller-Dolittle Prize, established by the Jeremy Coller Foundation and Tel Aviv University, aims to raise awareness of animal welfare and sentience.

Along with annual prizes for progress, the foundation has also launched a $10 million grand prize for solving two-way human-animal communication.

Other scientists shortlisted for this year's award include a French team that discovered African striped mice's identity-revealing ultrasonic squeaks, and a Swiss-US team that found bonobos combining their calls into sequences resembling human sentences.