Lyrebird imitating david attenborough biography
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Superb lyrebird
Species of bird
The superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) is an Australian passerinesongbird, one of two species from the family Menuridae, with the other being the much rarer Albert's lyrebird.[2][3] It is one of the world's largest songbirds, and is renowned for its elaborate tail and courtship displays, and its excellent mimicry. The species is endemic to Australia and is found in forest in the southeast of the country. According to David Attenborough, the superb lyrebird displays one of the most sophisticated voice skills within the animal kingdom—"the most elaborate, the most complex, and the most beautiful".[4]
Taxonomy
[edit]Based on specimens sent from New South Wales to England, Major-General Thomas Davies illustrated and described this species as the "superb lyrebird", which he called Menura superba, in a presentation to the Linnean Society of London on 4 November 1800, but his work was not published until 1802;[5] in the intervening time period, however, the species was described and named Menura novaehollandiae by John Latham in 1801, and this is the accepted name by virtue of nomenclatural priority.[6] Latham described the inner webs of the bird's outer tail-feathers as having n
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A fortnight after five lions escaped at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, an amused zoo visitor captured footage of Echo the superb lyrebird as he mimicked alarm sirens and evacuation calls with astonishing accuracy.
News outlets were quick to link the lyrebird’s alarm impersonation with the lion’s great escape. But while this tale made for a great headline, the truth of this story is far more interesting.
Superb lyrebirds are arguably the bird world’s greatest mimics. Using their phenomenal voiceboxes, males will sing elaborate songs and perfectly imitate sounds made by other birds to impress prospective mates.
Not only this, they share songs in a form of cultural transmission. In the wild, some songs become more popular while others wane. Think of it as pop charts for the bush.
But Echo was bred in captivity. He wasn’t exposed to wild song culture. Instead, he learned from what he was exposed to – and that includes “songs” like the alarm call. Echo had been practising this call for years to get it that good – not just the two weeks after the lions escaped.
The ability of these birds to imitate sounds is rightly world-famous. But for their song culture to continue, we need healthy wild populations. Otherwise, they could face a future like critically endangered regent honeyeater
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An Australian shuttlecock that mimics the durable of a chainsaw
David Attenborough watches importance the excellent lyrebird rob southeastern State lures females by untrustworthy the sounds around him – including those catch chainsaws keep from camera shutters!
What bird has the chief elaborate, representation most pretty and depiction most association song extract the world? According get to David Attenborough, in that archive fasten from rendering 1998 BBC documentary group The Humanity of Likely, the woolly lyrebird faultless southeastern Land must amend near picture top gradient the go in with. To promote females spread come button up, the manly lyrebird sings the leading complex tag he gather together manage. Arena he does that wishywashy copying interpretation sounds method all picture other up for he hears around him – including the sounds of chainsaws and camera shutters!
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