Satin Bowerbirds in Kambah

["Rob Geraghty via Canberrabirds " <>]

While camping in Sundown National Park in Queensland, I was woken at dawn by an extremely loud call. I grabbed my camera and went to investigate. It wasn't until a Lyrebird jumped onto a fallen log that I realised he was copying a car alarm - complete with volume. 😅 Presumably others had parked their cars in the area and something triggered the alarm. 

On Wed, 29 Apr 2026, 14:11 Alison, <> wrote:

I haven’t heard Satin Bowerbirds mimic but years ago I had a local female Magpie that mimicked the sound of a car alarm.

 

From: Canberrabirds <> On Behalf Of Rob Geraghty via Canberrabirds
Sent: Wednesday, 29 April 2026 12:55 PM
To: Canberrabirds <>
Subject: [Canberrabirds] Satin Bowerbirds in Kambah

 

It looks like the Satin Bowerbirds are back in Kambah for their winter stay. The local adult Blue bird has rebuilt his bower, and there's green birds all over the place. I was surprised just now by a green bird producing a perfect mimic of a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo. I haven't noticed Satin Bowerbirds mimicking very often; they seem to prefer their own collection of R2D2 noises. I'd suspect that a lot of the Paradise Riflebird calls I heard in Lamington National Park may have been Satin Bowerbird mimicking, except that the calls were really loud, while the Cockatoo mimic was quite soft compared to the real thing.

 

Have others noticed Satin Bowerbirds mimicking? The Lyrebird is famous for it, but it seems that a lot of other birds do - I've heard Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters and Yellow-throated Scrubwrens mimicking, and heard reports of Magpies mimicking a variety of sounds.

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