Good question. I was going to give a comment on this, as it raises lots of interesting and related questions, like about various possible strategies, and I
have a long interest in this. However, before doing so, I just now checked in HANZAB and fortunately that describes that yes both sexes of Satin Bowerbird engage in vocal mimicry. (I did not know, but that is the answer I expected).
Philip
From: Filipio Gwynne [
Sent: Wednesday, 9 May, 2018 2:45 PM
To: COG List
Subject: [canberrabirds] mimicry question
Trying to spot an occasional softly but characteristically creaking Gang-gang in my Cook backyard yesterday, it remained stubbornly elusive as I seemed to hone in on a quite unlikely-looking dense leafy shrub. When it suddenly seemed an
alarmed magpie-lark must have been keeping it very close company, I realised I was actually closing in on a Satin Bowerbird running through its mimicry repertoire. And there it was - a Female or Juvenile Male. Spent a nice additional 10 mins or so listening
as it seemed to warm up -- sure there was a bit of a raptor call in there of some sort too, along with, perhaps, rosellas and definite noisy miners.
Can I ask someone with a HANZAB, do both sexes engage in mimicry? My own limited sources are a bit ambiguous on this, as is the internet.
