Scientist wins $100,000 prize for decoding zebra finch calls
7 reported
Dr Julie Elie at the University of California, Berkeley, has been awarded the 2026 Coller-Dolittle prize for two-way interspecies communication after decoding the 11 core calls in the zebra finch vocabulary and their meanings. The $100,000 prize was launched in 2024 by the Jeremy Coller Foundation in partnership with Tel Aviv University. Elie observed and recorded the birds’ sounds for more than a decade, classified calls by situation and bird, and used machine learning to analyze how information was encoded. She then ran tests where birds tapped buttons to skip or select calls, confirming that they understood the meanings of their call types. The prize foundation has also established a $10m grand prize for cracking two-way human-animal communication. Jeremy Coller, the British billionaire financier behind the prize, said he is convinced the code will be cracked by 2030.
What’s reported
Dr Julie Elie at UC Berkeley won the 2026 Coller-Dolittle prize for two-way interspecies communication.
The prize is worth $100,000.
Elie decoded the 11 core calls in the zebra finch vocabulary and their meanings.
The prize was launched in 2024 by the Jeremy Coller Foundation and Tel Aviv University.
A $10m grand prize exists for cracking two-way human-animal communication.
Elie used machine learning and button-tapping tests to confirm birds understood call meanings.
Jeremy Coller stated he believes the code will be cracked by 2030.
Key figures
Dr Julie Elie, scientist at University of California, Berkeley
Prof Yossi Yovel, zoologist at Tel Aviv University and chair of the judging panel
Prof Jonathan Birch, philosopher at London School of Economics and judging panel member
Jeremy Coller, British billionaire financier behind the prize
Sources: The Guardian
