Who Can Bird?

Surely, at some point you have come across videos on social media of young people and adults passionate about birds imitating gull calls or whistling passerine melodies. Belgium, with its famous European Seagull Screeching Championship, and the United States, with duck calling and turkey calling competitions, have been major pioneers already well established in this type of vocal performance.

In this twelfth edition, the Delta Birding Festival takes the leap and officially launches the first bird song and call imitation contest of the Ebro Delta!

The aim of this contest is to test participants’ ability to imitate bird songs and other vocalizations, rewarding both accuracy and creativity. Are you ready to discover how it works and compete for amazing prizes?

1. The contest will take place during the Delta Birding Festival, at the location and time announced by the organization.
2. Participation is free and open to anyone attending the festival.
3. Places are limited and, should maximum capacity be reached, participants will be admitted on a strict first-come, first-served basis, either by registration or arrival time, as determined by the organization.
4. Each participant will have a maximum of two minutes to perform.
5. During their performance, participants may imitate as many bird songs or calls as they wish.
6. All imitations must be produced exclusively using the human voice. The use of artificial calls, recordings, musical instruments, mobile applications, or any other device that may assist in producing or reproducing sounds is not allowed.
7. The contest will include the following categories:
   a. Most Accurate Imitation Award, recognizing the participant who most faithfully reproduces one or several bird songs or calls.
   b. Highest Number of Species Imitated Award, recognizing the participant who successfully performs the greatest number of different species.
   c. Audience Award, granted to the performance receiving the highest appreciation from the audience.
8. The categories Most Accurate Imitation and Highest Number of Species Imitated will be judged by a panel appointed by the organization. For the Most Accurate Imitation Award, the jury may complement its evaluation using automatic sound identification tools such as BirdNET, especially in cases of doubt or to resolve ties. In all cases, the final decision will rest with the jury.
9. To qualify for the Highest Number of Species Imitated Award, participants must verbally indicate which species they are imitating before or after each imitation so that the jury can validate it.
10. The Audience Award will be decided through the voting system determined by the organization.
11. Only imitations considered sufficiently recognizable and attributable to a specific species by the jury will be counted. Imitations that cannot be identified with a minimum degree of reliability will not count toward the Highest Number of Species Imitated Award.
12. The taxonomic and nomenclature criteria for species will follow the IOC World Bird List.
13. Members of the jury, contest organizers, and staff of the Delta Birding Festival organization may not participate in the contest (volunteers are exempt from this restriction).
14. The jury’s decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
15. The prizes will be announced by the organization and awarded during the Delta Birding Festival.
16. The organization reserves the right to interpret these rules and resolve any unforeseen issues.
17. Participation in this contest implies full acceptance of these rules.

We can’t wait to discover your bird imitation skills and see you give it your all in this ornithological talent competition!!!

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