Sorry to drag this thread up again, but I've been on a school camp all week
(baw baw ranges, Vic). Incidentally, the camp was surrounded by wet
sclerophyll forest, and lyrebirds starting to sing. I noticed that, while
they were often singing medlies, some would also sometimes give an extended
burst of one species song (mostly whistler, sometimes robin, sometimes
cockatoo, sometimes whipbird), often followed by lyrebird-specific "grocks".
Then again, I was only going by past experience in picking lyrebird calls,
as 52 kids on camp took up most of my time. Hope this helps.
cheers, Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Vicki Powys
Sent: Monday, 4 August 2003 7:40 AM
To: birding-aus
Subject: Mimicry by Superb Lyrebirds
Colin and other birders,
> My question is this: when mimicking, do Superb Lyrebirds only give
> the calls of other species in the form of the "medley", or do they
> sometimes imitate the call of a single species in isolation?
In my experience, Superb Lyrebirds always give their mimicry within a
medley, and they do not usually imitate the call of a single species, unless
perhaps they are interupted in their course of singing for some reason.
Probably the isolated calls you heard were "the real thing", i.e. not the
lyrebird.
Vicki Powys
Capertee Valley, NSW
on 2/8/03 4:51 PM, Scouler at wrote:
> Hello birders,
>
> On an early morning wlk along the northern end of Lady Carrington
> Drive in Royal National Park (on the southern outskirts of Sydney)
> last week, we saw and heard several Superb Lyrebirds. The males were
> singing loudly and indulging in mimicry, in display and otherwise,
> sometimes quite spontaneously while foraging. Most of the mimicry took
> the familiar form of the "medley", a continuous stream of brief
> "quotations" from the songs of other species of birds without a pause
> in between. But from time to time we heard the call of a single
> species isolated from other calls. We were unable to determine whether
> or not these emanated from the lyrebirds. They were of species
> (Pilotbird, Pied Currawong, Grey
> Shrike-thrush) which occur in the area. If they were imitations, they
> sounded identical to the originals, at least to our inexpert ears.
>
> My question is this: when mimicking, do Superb Lyrebirds only give
> the calls of other species in the form of the "medley", or do they
> sometimes imitate the call of a single species in isolation?
>
> Regards,
> Colin Scouler.
>
>
> Scanned by PeNiCillin http://safe-t-net.pnc.com.au/
>
> Birding-Aus is on the Web at
> www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe
> birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line) to
>
>
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe
birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line) to
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message
"unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line)
to
|
