All birders crave that perfect view or photo, a gorgeous bird in perfect focus in an endearing pose with a spectacular background. But unfortunately, many such “perfect” photos are circulating through different websites and social media, and they’re neither perfect nor photos.

They’re AI.

What Are AI Photos?

AI – artificial intelligence – photos aren’t actually photos at all. They’re computer generated images, fantasy depictions of birds that most likely don’t even exist. And they’re infuriating, but we’ll get into that later.

There are a wide range of AI image generators available. Some offer assorted options from photorealistic designs to trendy built-in filters to cartoon-esque images. Different generators may have limits for free use or feature different subscription levels with varying options and customization for higher costs.

The quality of the photos can vary significantly, with some looking so nearly perfect as to be confusing even to expert birders, while other generators create so-called “birds” with three wings, missing feet, or an extra bill. Sizes, proportions, download ability, and other features all vary on different generators.

Why Are AI Birds a Bad Thing?

But aren’t all great images just wonderful art and meant to be appreciated? Granted, I’m not an artist. I can’t speak to what real artists – those who work with their hands and craft visual beauty from raw materials – think of image generators that permit anyone with no artistic experience or training at all to simply type a few words to create their own “masterpiece.”

But as a birder, these images are indeed infuriating. They offer no substance to enjoy or appreciate real birds, but instead just spark a flurry of shallow comments that can quickly overshadow and overwhelm the real birds we love.

AI birds might…

• Take work away from truly talented bird and nature photographers
• Foster unrealistic expectations of how birds really look in different settings
• Create disappointment when new birders discover birds don’t actually look like that
• Give inaccurate estimates of bird diversity or rare sightings
• Frustrate birders who get tired of seeing AI-generated images everywhere

So why are AI birds being used? Many times, the individual “sharing” such a bird is a spammer or scammer or an AI bot themselves, seeking nothing more than hits and interaction that will drive up their own engagement for profit or to mine for data such as profile names, emails, and other details of those who fall for the image.

This does not mean all AI birds are bad or there is never a good use for an AI bird image. On a business card, as a fun gift, part of a cartoon, or as an instructional device, these images can be great. But they should always be disclosed, and unfortunately, they most often aren’t.

Instead, an AI bird is simply shared and takes flight without any validation or credibility, to the harm of the real birds we may not notice flying by after all.

How to Tell a Bird is an AI Image

Fortunately, even the very best AI images offer clues to their reality (or lack thereof). As birders, we learn to see even the tiniest details to help identify birds. We can use those same skills to identify AI birds, whether examining the photo itself or the way in which it is presented.

• Species
  Many AI images of birds will be shared simply with grandiose language, such as “How beautiful!” or “Isn’t nature amazing?” but won’t actually identify the bird pictured either with a common name (American robin) and certainly not with a binomial scientific name (Turdus migratorius). The comments may be filled with people asking what bird it is, but the original poster will be silent on that matter. Similarly, the location or other information about the “bird” will also be missing.
• Color
  One of the easiest giveaways for AI images is spectacular color. Richly saturated with outstanding hues, these images will often look quite literally picture-perfect. It can be easy to be confused because many birds do have outstanding colors, but the beautiful colors will extend through the entire image, background included. Similarly, the focus will be absolutely on-point and otherwise the photo will look just too good to be true. (Hint – It IS too good to be true.)

• Authority
  AI birds will not typically be shared by any recognizable authority figure. You won’t see them from National Geographic, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, well-known authors of field guides, birding tour leaders, or bird photographers. While anyone can make a mistake and share a very deceptive AI bird once in awhile (we’re all human), if one source – a social media page, unfamiliar account, etc. – is sharing several of these great “photos” then they’re not the authority you want to trust.
• Markings
  While an AI bird may have very clear and beautiful markings, so much so that identification should be ridiculously easy, what these images often won’t have are markings that attribute credit where it is due. There will be no watermark or copyright on the image itself, nor will any credit be shared in a caption or text accompanying what ought to be an award-winning image. Granted, image theft and copyright violations are rampant on the internet, but this is one more clue to watch for.

In addition to the SCAM that is AI birds, what might some other clues be for these insincere images? Consider if the poster tries to sound authoritative, such as using a bit of truth and distorting it to suit the image they have created. For example, flamingos get their pink coloration from the carotenoids in the brine shrimp that are a critical part of their diet. But what if a flamingo was vegan and only ate plants?

Yeah, see, how I distorted a bit of truth there to make it seem to support an unexpected and too-good-to-be-true bird photo? That’s one more hint that a photo may not be legit.

What Should We Do About AI Birds?

Seeing bird after bird after bird after bird that is obviously computer generated can get to be very frustrating, especially when each one is accompanied by dozens, even hundreds of comments and support. This is especially aggravating for legitimate content creators (such as Be Your Own Birder) who post carefully curated content and photos but barely get interactions. (Another hint – there are many different ways you can help Be Your Own Birder without spending a dime!) But what can be done?

First of all, sharing AI birds is not illegal, no matter how infuriating it may be. So long as someone is not being deliberately fraudulent – such as claiming it is a natural photo of a real species – they can do what they wish. We, however, do not have to support that behavior.

Because AI images are designed to generate interactions, the best way to react to them is to not offer such interactions. Do not like, share, or comment on such posts or draw attention to them in any way. Even negative comments calling out the image as AI are still an interaction that helps promote the page or poster. So what to do instead? Scroll on by and do nothing at all (which is actually doing something!). If you feel so inclined, block or report the poster for fraud, spam, or scam, but do not comment on otherwise interact with the AI image post.

Will you keep seeing AI birds? Most likely, yes, because there’s always a new scam bot or someone looking to get noticed fast with an AI image. Just keep ignoring them, and eventually you may see fewer of these birds-that-aren’t-birds.

Be Your Own Birder and AI Birds

For full disclosure, every bird image on this post – and this post alone – is an AI image, one I generated myself in just a few minutes playing around with different generators and creation instructions. These images illustrate the points I’ve discussed, and show just how gorgeous (and disingenuous) these images can be.

Be Your Own Birder will not knowingly use AI images of birds, though granted, as generators get better and better, it is possible an error may creep in. I’m a one-woman show with this website, and I’m grateful for the generous photographers who permit me to use their photos of real birds with appropriate copyright licensing. May we all keep flying in the real world.