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Scientists Amused to Find Australian Lyrebird Incredibly Mimic Construction Sounds

The Lyrebird can mimic sounds of over 20 other species, and sometimes, it is difficult to distinguish the original from the copy.

BY SOMDATTA MAITY

PUBLISHED 2 DAYS AGO

A photo of a lyrebird in a forest (Representative Cover Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by Deborah Pickett)

Over the years, many peculiar traits have been noted in various species. One of the most popular traits has been mimicking. There are thousands of videos on YouTube, showcasing parrots and monkeys mimicking humans. However, lyrebirds appear to have a unique object of affection, stated ABC.

Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) (Representative Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by Dominic Sherony)

A lyrebird in captivity seems to have a liking for construction noises. This habit garnered worldwide popularity when a video of Chook the lyrebird from Adelaide zoo, imitating construction sounds, became viral. This construction was associated with the building of an enclosure and a new zoo entrance. The mimicking became an unexpected hit. The video, to date, has garnered four million views.

The video begins with drilling sounds, and then it seamlessly changes to hammering. The impeccable manner in which Chook was able to pick up machine sounds sheds light on the creature's ability. Even the little details like talking and whistles were mimicked to the T. All in all, the creature did not miss a beat.

The comment section was very impressed. @kickinbackinOC was surprised and shared, "He's got that rechargeable drill motor sound down perfect! Even copied the whistle of a worker!" @levi7187loved the attention to detail and wrote, "There are times when it actually mimics construction workers talking.... truly amazing little creature!"

Associate Professor David Paton, an ornithologist at Adelaide University, believed that Chook was making the sounds to attract a mate. He speculates that these birds make a variety of noises to increase their appeal to the female counterpart. The construction mimicking was noted around August, which is just around the breeding season. This fact aligns with Paton's assertion, and he added that lyrebirds' mimicking is generally more observed during this period.

Lyrebird's capability of imitating construction sounds became popular, but that's not the only sound in their repertoire, stated Audubon. They are known to mimic camera shutters, other birdsong, car alarms, and even chainsaws. Due to their ability, some have even called the bird Michael Winslow (actor, comedian) of the avian kingdom. The bird was first recorded by British colonialists around the year 1800. They did not focus much on the birds' mimicking talents, and concentrated more on their stunning beauty.

Major General Thomas Davies described the bird's 16-feathered tail, which supposedly contains two prominent brown feathers. The most notable mention of this description was that the brown feathers curved like a lyre. Soon, these birds' feathers were fitted on the hats of the most fashionable women from Sydney to London. The first recording of the bird's voice was captured by amateur filmmaker Ray Littlejohns. The 11-minute recording was broadcast to the entire Australian subcontinent in 1931.

The initial recording shed light on the bird's ability to mimic around 20 other species, such as the Kookaburra, the Australian Thrush, and the Whipbird. Experts claim that the mimicking is so good that it may even confuse the original birds. Though these birds rarely imitate humans, when they do, they are crowd pleasers. A BBC video featuring them doing human voices surpassed 22 million views.