Will a webcam spot the ivory-billed woodpecker?

Deep in the bayous of eastern Arkansas, two robotic video cameras keep vigil for an elusive bird, aiming to capture conclusive evidence the ivory-billed woodpecker is not, as long feared, extinct.

Mounted on a power line and aimed toward the sky, the cameras are programmed to detect only “bird flight” movement, filtering out false readings from clouds and other objects.

from ABC News - Robotic Cameras Search For Elusive Woodpecker

That sounds like a pretty sophisticated motion detection algorithm. I guess it’s some sort of hybrid of motion detection and that face recognition software they use at airports and Super Bowl games.

Anbody catch Meerkat Manor? Fascinating show/study that could not have been accomplished without the use of robotic webcams. If the ivory-billed woodpecker is still with us, a trained webcam will most likely spot it eventually.