predict_species_from_audio_file: Predict species within an audio file using a BirdNET model

In birdnetR: Deep Learning for Automated (Bird) Sound Identification

Predict species within an audio file using a BirdNET model

Description

Use a BirdNET model to predict species within an audio file. The model can be a TFLite model, a custom model, or a Protobuf model.

Usage

predict_species_from_audio_file(
  model,
  audio_file,
  min_confidence = 0.1,
  batch_size = 1L,
  chunk_overlap_s = 0,
  use_bandpass = TRUE,
  bandpass_fmin = 0L,
  bandpass_fmax = 15000L,
  apply_sigmoid = TRUE,
  sigmoid_sensitivity = 1,
  filter_species = NULL,
  keep_empty = TRUE,
  use_arrow = FALSE
)

## S3 method for class 'birdnet_model'
predict_species_from_audio_file(
  model,
  audio_file,
  min_confidence = 0.1,
  batch_size = 1L,
  chunk_overlap_s = 0,
  use_bandpass = TRUE,
  bandpass_fmin = 0L,
  bandpass_fmax = 15000L,
  apply_sigmoid = TRUE,
  sigmoid_sensitivity = 1,
  filter_species = NULL,
  keep_empty = TRUE,
  use_arrow = FALSE
)

Arguments

model	A BirdNET model object. An instance of the BirdNET model (e.g., birdnet_model_tflite()).
audio_file	character. The path to the audio file.
min_confidence	numeric. Minimum confidence threshold for predictions (default is 0.1).
batch_size	integer. Number of audio samples to process in a batch (default is 1L).
chunk_overlap_s	numeric. The overlap between audio chunks in seconds (default is 0). Must be in the interval [0.0, 3.0].
use_bandpass	logical. Whether to apply a bandpass filter (default is TRUE).
bandpass_fmin, bandpass_fmax	integer. Minimum and maximum frequencies for the bandpass filter (in Hz). Ignored if use_bandpass is FALSE (default is 0L to 15000L).
apply_sigmoid	logical. Whether to apply a sigmoid function to the model output (default is TRUE).
sigmoid_sensitivity	numeric. Sensitivity parameter for the sigmoid function (default is 1). Must be in the interval [0.5, 1.5]. Ignored if apply_sigmoid is FALSE.
filter_species	NULL, a character vector of length greater than 0, or a list where each element is a single non-empty character string. Used to filter the predictions. If NULL (default), no filtering is applied.
keep_empty	logical. Whether to include empty intervals in the output (default is TRUE).
use_arrow	logical. Whether to use Arrow for processing predictions (default is FALSE).

Details

Sigmoid Activation

When apply_sigmoid = TRUE, the raw logit scores from the linear classifier are passed through a sigmoid function, scaling them into the range [0, 1]. This unitless confidence score reflects BirdNET’s certainty in its prediction (it is not a direct probability of species presence). Adjusting the sigmoid_sensitivity parameter modifies the score distribution:

• Values < 1 tend to produce more extreme scores (closer to 0 or 1).

• Values > 1 result in scores that are more moderate (centered around intermediate values). For additional details on BirdNET confidence scores and guidelines for converting them to probabilities, see Wood & Kahl (2024).

Apache Arrow optimization

By default, predictions from Python are converted to R using basic data structures. For large datasets using Apache Arrow (use_arrow=TRUE) can significantly improve performance by reducing memory usage during data conversion and minimizing data copying between R and Python.

When to use Apache Arrow:

• Large audio files (>20 minutes)

• Low confidence thresholds (min_confidence < 0.1)

• Memory-constrained environments

• Whenever you encounter an unusual long pause after inference. This is a sign that the data conversion is taking a long time.

Note that using Apache Arrow requires additional dependencies (arrow R package and pyarrow Python package). You can install them manually using install_arrow().

Value

A data frame with the following columns:

start

Start time of the prediction interval.

end

End time of the prediction interval.

scientific_name

Scientific name of the predicted species.

common_name

Common name of the predicted species.

confidence

BirdNET’s confidence score for the prediction.

References

Wood, C. M., & Kahl, S. (2024). Guidelines for appropriate use of BirdNET scores and other detector outputs. Journal of Ornithology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-024-02144-5

See Also

read_labels() for more details on species filtering.

birdnet_model_tflite(), birdnet_model_protobuf(), birdnet_model_custom()

Examples

## Not run: 
model <- birdnet_model_tflite(version = "v2.4", language = "en_us")
audio_file <- system.file("extdata", "soundscape.mp3", package = "birdnetR")
predictions <- predict_species_from_audio_file(model, audio_file, min_confidence = 0.1)

## End(Not run)

birdnetR documentation built on June 8, 2025, 10:29 a.m.