A long-term study of the Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) population in Sweden is ongoing. Among other studies, the bird's song is recorded where the main aim is to understand the role of the song in an ecological and evolutionary context.

A bird's song is used as an identification tool, serving as a recognition signal to indicate the individual, the kinship, and the species. The song is also often used in male-male competition and may play a role into the mate choice of a female.

The studies so far are however impaired by the lack of methods which would automatically and more objectively analyze the song structure. The properties in the song are still an unexplored field, and call for modern program tools.  In a pre-study, we have shown that time-frequency analysis is a promising tool in the classification of syllables and identification of unique elements of the song.  A first evaluation, showing the reliability of the methods in comparing repertoire size has also been made. The project will focus on the construction of a reliable program tool for analysis and classification of syllables.