Wildlife Acoustics GUANO Metadata Namespace

The GUANO Metadata (https://guano-md.org) specification reserves a namespace "WA" for use by Wildlife Acoustics, Inc. This document describes the custom fields defined by Wildlife Acoustics. Wildlife Acoustics reserves the right to modify the usage of these fields at any time.

Revision History

2020-07-05: Added acoustic indexes
2018-03-12: Added internal tags used in Kaleidoscope 5 and standard tags
2017-11-22: Added WA|Kaleidoscope|Compression and WA|Song Meter|Prefix
2017-11-09: Initial disclosure.


Standardized GUANO fields
Field name Data type Description
GUANO|Version text 1.0
Filter HP float High-pass filter frequency in kHz
Filter LP float Low-pass filter frequency in kHz
Firmware Version text Recorder firmeare version
Hardware Version text Recorder hardware version
Humidity float Relative humidity as a percentage
Length float Recording length in seconds
Loc Accuracy float Estimated Position Error in meters
Log Elevation float Elevation/altitude above mean sea level in meters
Loc Position float float WGS84 latitude and longitude
Make text Manufacturer of the recorder hardware
Model text Model name or number of the recording hardware
Note text (muli-line) Freeform textual note associated with the recording
Original Filename text Original filename before subsequent renaming during processing
Samplerate integer Recording sample rate, Hz
Serial text Serial number or unique identifier of recording hardware
Species Auto ID text Comma separated list of automatic classification species
Species Manual ID text Comma separated list of human-verified species
Tags text Comma separated list of arbitrary tags or labels
TE integer Time-expansion factor. If not specified, then 1 (no time-expansion a.k.a. direct-recording) is assumed.
Temperature Ext float External temperature in degrees Celsius outside the recorder's housing
Temperature Int float Internal temperature in degrees Celsius inside the recorder's housing
Timestamp datetime Date and time of the start of the recordinge (ISO 8601 with caveats)
Wildlife Acoustics GUANO Namespace
Field name Data type Description
WA|Attribution text To share files, you can specify how you would like to be attributed by others who reference your data
WA|Copyright text To share files, you can specify a copyright notice to be associated with your data
WA|Kaleidoscope|Auto ID Text Auto ID assignments generated by Kaleidoscope, like "Species Auto ID" This facilitates multiple programs to add auto id labels to the same files. The most recently used would overwrite the global "Species Auto ID", but the Kaleidoscope-specific ID is saved here. Presumably other programs will have other program-specific equivalents.
WA|Kaleidoscope|Channel Integer When splitting multi-channel (stereo) recordings into individual mono recordings, Kaleidoscope writes this metadata to the output file indicating which channel on the original recording represents the source of the data.
WA|Kaleidoscope|Classifier|Settings JSON-encoded Text Classifier settings used to run the auto-id with the following JSON objects:
  • min freq - float minimum frequency, Hz
  • max freq - float maximum frequency, Hz
  • min dur - float minimum pulse duration, s
  • max dur - float maximum pulse duration, s
  • min calls - integer - minimum number of pulses
  • enhance - text - signal enhancement "on" or "off"
  • sensitivity - text - "liberal", "balanced" or "conservative"
  • species - array of strings - list of species codes selected
WA|Kaleidoscope|Classifier|Statistics JSON-encoded Text Auto ID classification results with the following JSON objects:
  • id - text - Auto ID species code result
  • score - float - "margin" value
  • pulses - integer - number of pulses detected
  • matching - integer - number of pulses matching the Auto ID result
  • match ratio - float - ratio of matching/pulses
  • alternates - array of strings - alternate possible identifications
  • Fc - float - mean pulse characteristic frequency, kHz
  • Sc - float - mean pulse characteristic slope, OPS
  • Dur - float - mean pulse duration, ms
  • Fmax - float - mean pulse maximum frequency, kHz
  • Fmin - float - mean pulse minimum frequency, kHz
  • Fmean - float - mean pulse mean frequency, kHz
  • TBC - float - mean time between pulses, ms
  • Fk - float - mean pulse frequency of knee, kHz
  • Tk - float - mean pulse time of knee, ms
  • S1 - float - mean pulse initial slope, OPS
  • Tc - float - mean pulse time of characteristic, ms
  • Qual - float - mean pulse quality ratio
WA|Kaleidoscope|Classifier|Version text Name and version of the classifier
WA|Kaleidoscope|Cluster|Settings JSON-encoded text Kaleidoscope cluster settings
  • min freq - float - minimum frequency, Hz
  • max freq - float - maximum frequency, Hz
  • min dur - float - minimum duration, s
  • max dur - float - maximum duration, s
  • max gap - float - maximum gap, s
  • mode - text - clustering mode pass1, pass2, scan or scan-null
  • win - float - window, seconds
  • max states - integer - maximum number of states in model
  • max clusters - integer - maximum number of clusters to form
  • max dist merge - float - maximum distance used to merge clusters
  • max dist scan - float - maximum distance used to filter results
WA|Kaleidoscope|Cluster|Statistics JSON-encoded text Kaleidoscope cluster results
  • offset - float - offset to detection, seconds
  • duration - float - duration of detection, seconds
  • fmin - float - minimum frequency of setected signal, Hz
  • fmean - float - mean frequency of setected signal, Hz
  • fmax - float - maximum frequency of setected signal, Hz
  • cluster - array of 3 strings indicating top 3 cluster names
  • distance - array of 3 floats indicating top 3 distances
WA|Kaleidoscope|Compression text Describes compression algorithm used in writing WAV files if any (e.g. "W4V-8")
WA|Kaleidoscope|Conversion text Describes any conversion from input file to this file as one of:
  • WAC to WAV
  • WAC to ZC
  • WAV to ZC
  • ZC to WAV
WA|Kaleidoscope|Fingerprint text A unique fingerprint corresponding to the raw data samples or zero crossing timings associated with a full spectrum or zero crossing audio file
WA|Kaleidoscope|GPS Fuzz float GPS Fuzz precision used to obfuscate location coordinates to the nearest grid center. For example, a value of 0.1 would round GPS latitude and longitude coordinates to the nearest 0.1 degree.
WA|Kaleidoscope|Acoustic Index|Settings JSON-encoded text Acousic index module settings:
  • NDSI
    • fft - integer - fft window size
    • anthro_min - float - minimum frequency for anthrophony (Hz)
    • anthro_max - float - maximum frequency for anthrophony (Hz)
    • bio_min - float - minimum frequency for biophony (Hz)
    • bio_max - float - maximum frequency for biophony (Hz)
  • ACI
    • fft - integer - fft window size
    • fmin - float - minimum frequency (Hz)
    • fmax - float - maximum frequency (Hz)
    • j - float - value of J (s)
  • ADI
    • fmax - float - maximum frequency (Hz)
    • fstep - float - step frequency (Hz)
    • thold - float - threshold (dB re peak signal)
  • AEI
    • fmax - float - maximum frequency (Hz)
    • fstep - float - step frequency (Hz)
    • thold - float - threshold (dB re peak signal)
  • BI
    • fft - integer - fft window size
    • fmin - float - minimum frequency (Hz)
    • fmax - float - maximum frequency (Hz)
  • SPEC
    • fft - integer - fft window size
    • fmin - float - minimum frequency (Hz)
    • fmax - float - maximum frequency (Hz)
  • QUT
    • fft - integer - fft window size
    • thold - float - threshold (dB re noise floor)
WA|Kaleidoscope|Acoustic Index|Statistics JSON-encoded text Acoustic index results (array by channel), floating point values of specific indexes
  • MEAN
  • SD
  • SEM
  • MEDIAN
  • MODE
  • Q25
  • Q75
  • IQR
  • SKEW
  • KURT
  • SFM
  • SH
  • NDSI
  • ACI
  • ADI
  • AEI
  • BI
  • BGN
  • SNR
  • ACT
  • EVN
  • LFC
  • MFC
  • HFC
  • CENT
WA|Kaleidoscope|SPL|Settings JSON-encoded text SPL analysis module settings:
  • period - the reporting sample period in seconds
  • adjust - decibel adjustment
  • SEL on - event onset threshold, dB
  • SEL off - event offset threshold, dB
WA|Kaleidoscope|SPL|Statistics JSON-encoded text SPL analysis results (array by channel)
  • samples - audio sample in measurement, seconds
  • correction - total correction factor, dB
  • name of band (repeated for selected bands)
    • min - minimum measurement, dB
    • max - maximum measurement, dB
    • mean - mean measurement, dB
    • SELcum - cumulative Sound Exposure Level, dB*sec
WA|Kaleidoscope|Offset float Offset of result from input file in seconds
WA|Kaleidoscope|Version text Kaleidoscope software version
WA|Kaleidoscope|License text To share files, you can specify the type of licence under which you are willing to share your data. Choices include none (private), public domain, and various creative commons licenses.
WA|Song Meter|Audio settings JSON-encoded text Song Meter settings (converted from WAMD metadata) including the following JSON objects in a per-channel array:
  • rate - integer - samplerate (samples per second)
  • mic - text - microphone type e.g. "U1"
  • gain - float - total gain in dB
  • hpf - float - high-pass filter, Hz
  • trig level - float - trigger level, dB
  • trig window - float - trigger window, s
  • trig max len - float - trigger maximum length, s
  • trig min freq - float - trigger minimum frequency, Hz
  • trig max freq - float - trigger maximum frequency, Hz
  • trig min dur - float - trigger minimum duration, s
  • trig max dur - float - trigger maximum duration, s
WA|Song Meter|Compression text The compression used by the Song Meter if any, converted from WAMD metadata, (e.g. "W4V-8")
WA|Song Meter|Prefix text The file prefix, if any, converted from WAMD metadata
Internal GUANO tags used in Kaleidoscope 5 for database interfaces
Field name Data type Description
WA|*ACCESS text Set to 0 for private or 1 for public access to data
WA|*BATCHFINGERPRINT text Unique fingerprint checksum for a given batch job
WA|*BATCHLABEL text A user-defined label to identify a batch job
WA|*BATCHRECORDSBYTES integer Size of batch database records (uncompressed .wdb (Wildlife Acoustics Databse) file, in bytes.
WA|*BATCHRECORDSRECORDINGS integer Number of recording records
WA|*BATCHRECORDSAUTOIDS integer Number of autoid records
WA|*BATCHRECORDSCLUSTERS integer Number of cluster records
WA|*CHANNEL integer The input file channel used to create outputs
WA|*DIVRATIO integer The zero crossing division ratio corresponding to a file
WA|*DRIVELABEL text A user-defined label to identify a location (e.g. external disk drive) corresponding to a file
WA|*FILE text The filename (with extension, but without directories)
WA|*FINGERPRINT text A unique fingerprint corresponding to the raw data samples or zero crossing timings associated with a full spectrum or zero crossing audio file
WA|*FOLDER text The folder path relative to the input directory to the input file
WA|*INDIR text The absolute input directory path
WA|*INDRIVELABEL text A user-defined label to identify a location (e.g. external disk drive) corresponding to an input file
WA|*INFILE text The input filename (with extension, but without directories)
WA|*INPATH text The absolute path name of the input file
WA|*INPATHID integer A unique internal temporary id corresponding to an input file
WA|*INPATHMD5 text The MD5 hash of WA|*INPATH used as a unique lookup key
WA|*NCHANNELS text The number of audio channels in a file
WA|*NOTEID integer A unique internal temporary id corresponding to a unique Note
WA|*NOTEMD5 text The MD5 hash of a Note used as a unique lookup key
WA|*OFFSET float The offset in seconds into an audio file corresponding to a result
WA|*ORGID text The unique Kaleidoscope Cloud account UUID corresponding to the source of a database entry
WA|*OUTDIR text The absolute output directory path
WA|*OUTDRIVELABEL text A user-defined label to identify a location (e.g. external disk drive) corresponding to an output file
WA|*OUTFILE text The output filename (with extension, but without directories)
WA|*OUTFILEFS text The full spectrum output filename (with extension, but without directories)
WA|*OUTFILEZC text The zero crossing output filename (with extension, but without directories)
WA|*OUTPATHFS text The absolute path name of the full spectrum output file
WA|*OUTPATHZC text The absolute path name of the zero crossing output file
WA|*OUTPATHIDFS integer A unique internal temporary id corresponding to a full spectrum output file
WA|*OUTPATHIDZC integer A unique internal temporary id corresponding to a zero crossing output file
WA|*OUTPATHMD5FS text The MD5 hash of WA|*OUTPATHFS used as a unique lookup key
WA|*OUTPATHMD5ZC text The MD5 hash of WA|*OUTPATHZC used as a unique lookup key
WA|*PATH text The absolute path name of the file
WA|*PATHID integer A unique internal temporary id corresponding to the file
WA|*PATHMD5 text The MD5 hash of WA|*PATH used as a unique lookup key
WA|*PROFILEID integer A unique internal temporary id corresponding to a settings profile
WA|*REVIEWORGID text The unique Kaleidoscope Cloud account UUID corresponding to the source of a review entry
WA|*REVIEWUSERID text The user nickname (or email address if no nickname is specified) source of a review entry
WA|*SETTINGS0 JSON-encoded text The recorder settings for the left channel (channel 0) derived from "WA|Song Meter|Audio Settings"
WA|*SETTINGS1 JSON-encoded text The recorder settings for the right channel (channel 1) derived from "WA|Song Meter|Audio Settings"
WA|*TIMESTAMP datetime Current timestamp for batches and reviews
WA|*USERID text The user nickname (or email address if no nickname is specified) source of a database entry