The Mysterious Songs of the Lyrebird: Nature's Greatest Mimic
This bird really knows how to imitate and dance!
In the rainforests of South East Australia lives nature’s greatest mimic.
Renowned for its blow-minding ability to imitate natural and artificial sounds, this feathered friend captivated scientists and natives for a long time.
This bird is also a master at fooling other animals.
From chainsaws and camera shutters to the calls of other birds, their diverse vocal repertoire will fool more than one bird or bird watchers.
Welcome to the world of the superb lyrebird. Let’s uncover the secrets of their songs and vocal talent.
Meet The Superb Lyrebird
Lyrebirds are passerine songbirds from the family Menuridae.
There are 2 species of this bird in the world:
Albert Lyrebird (Menura alberti).
Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae).
We will focus on the latter.
Superb lyrebirds are among the largest passerine birds in the world. They live in Australia’s rainforests, particularly in Victoria, Blue Mountains National Park, and the south-east of Queensland. But despite their amazing talent for imitating natural and artificial sounds, they have another amazing characteristic.
These birds are the oldest songbirds in the world.
This means that the first songbirds may look more like lyrebirds. A truly living legend.
Unlike other birds, lyrebirds are poor fliers and live on the ground. They use their strong legs and feet to dig and find food. This also makes them a great seed disperser, helping native plant species to grow.
That’s why they are one of Australia’s rainforest best friends.
Masters Of Imitation
A superb lyrebird can imitate almost any sound.
David Attenborough, for example, famously recorded a scene of this bird imitating sounds from many others but also cameras, car alarms, and even a chainsaw.
The imitation was so perfect that it fooled humans.
Recently, another lyrebird from the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, went viral due to its perfect imitation of a human baby's cry. Months later, they found the bird perfectly imitating a fire alarm. Of course, the bird fooled the whole zoo.
But can lyrebirds fool other birds?
Well, yes! In a study published in El Sevier, scientists tested the accuracy of these birds’ imitations using real and imitation calls of another bird called shrike-thrush. They put hidden speakers around the rainforest and play both real and imitated calls. What they found was remarkable.
The imitation was so perfect that these birds got confused.
They flew to the place where they heard the imitation sound, giving evidence that lyrebirds reproduced the temporal patterning of elements that characterize shrike-thrush songs (Dalziell et al., 2012).
See? Nature’s greatest mimic.
Why Do They Imitate?
As you learned, lyrebirds imitate a wide range of sounds.
Males use this diverse repository to create songs by varying all the sounds they copy. They use this new and unique song for courtship and find a mate.
The more complex the song is, the higher the chances of finding a partner.
Watch Me Dance, Baby
Wait, because lyrebirds don’t only sing their imitations in a remix.
They dance too! Males put their tail feathers like an umbrella on top of their heads and start dancing in front of a female to attract her or alone to practice.
And there’s more.
Scientists from the National Australian University found that lyrebirds dance while singing. They filmed 12 individuals in the wild and found that males danced in four song types. Each song was accompanied by a specific move. It was like a different choreography for each song! (Dalziell et al., 2013).
Just like we humans sing and dance at the same time.
We
and had the pleasure of spotting this bird in its natural habitat.It is one of the most beautiful memories we share.
Animals are incredible. They continually amaze us with their unique colors, behaviors, and the complex ecosystems they inhabit.
In Cognitive Creatures, you will discover their secrets and learn why are they crucial for our planet.
“With a greater sense of understanding comes a greater sense of wonder”. — Anil Seth.
Until the next time,
Axel and Victoria.
📚 Reference
Dalziell, A. H., & Magrath, R. D. (2012). Fooling the experts: Accurate vocal mimicry in the song of the superb lyrebird, Menura novaehollandiae. Animal Behaviour, 83(6), 1401-1410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.03.009
Dalziell, A. H., Peters, R. A., Cockburn, A., Dorland, A. D., Maisey, A. C., & Magrath, R. D. (2013). Dance Choreography Is Coordinated with Song Repertoire in a Complex Avian Display. Current Biology, 23(12), 1132-1135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.05.018
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