Dr Julie Elie of the University of California, Berkeley has won the 2026 Coller-Dolittle Prize, receiving $100,000 for decoding zebra finch vocalisations. She identified 11 core calls and mapped their meanings using machine learning and behavioural tests. Judges from Tel Aviv University called it a key breakthrough in interspecies communication research, according to organisers said
Scientist wins $100,000 prize for decoding birdsong
Dr Julie Elie of the University of California, Berkeley, has won the 2026 Coller-Dolittle Prize for Two-Way Interspecies Communication, receiving $100,000 for decoding the core vocabulary of zebra finches and advancing research into human-animal communication.
Elie identified the 11 core calls used by zebra finches and decoded their meanings. Her research showed that the birds use distinct calls to announce their identity and activities while recognising one another through individual vocal signatures, regardless of what they are saying. She also found that the birds were more likely to confuse calls with similar meanings than those with similar sounds.
“I’m really super-honoured,” Elie said on winning the prize, adding that she hoped the work was a step forwards in the “great endeavour” to communicate with animals. Prof Yossi Yovel, a zoologist at Tel Aviv University and chair of the judging panel, said the research marked “a key moment in the field”.
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