Greetings Paul,
You have invited advice on recording your Superb Lyrebirds. My experience
has been almost entirely with the other species, the Albert's Lyrebird.
However, I think the Superb's behaviour is sufficiently similar for the
following to be helpful.
Time of year:
Lyrebirds are winter breeders. From about May to August the males are
usually calling well, though with Albert's if there has been a few years of
drought and it is continuing, they may not call very much. Outside the
breeding season they call much less and it is unpredictable as to time and
place.
Time of day:
In the breeding season the male Albert's are very reliable in calling a=
t
dawn from the forest canopy where they have roosted. Once there is enough
light for safety on the ground, a male then performs on one or more of his
display arenas. He may continue singing for an hour or more, before
starting to feed - foraging for invertebrate fauna in the leaf litter and
soil.
With Albert's (and Superbs are probably similar), as a generality, he will
have another song session mid-morning, a third about 1 PM and a final one
mid-afternoon.
Weather:
He is singing to communicate with other lyrebirds over considerable
distances. (Under favourable conditions the loud territorial song can be
heard from more than a kilometre away.) So with heavy rain or strong wind
they call very little. No use wasting energy singing if it won't be heard.
But one wouldn't want to be recording then, anyway.
Recording strategy:
In the breeding season, each mature male occupies and defends against other
males, a territory of a hectare or more in extent. Within this he will hav=
e
a number of fixed display points. Superbs clear all vegetation from a spac=
e
a couple of metres across and rake up the soil into a low mound on which
they sing and display. These display mounds are easily recognised.
To be sure of a good recording, one needs to spend a few days studying the
behaviour of one individual, to locate several of his favourite mounds. Wit=
h
some exceptions, lyrebirds are extremely shy and will not tolerate a human
presence. They have exceptionally keen eyesight and hearing. Trying to
approach a singing male close enough for a good recording is unlikely to be
successful unless you have already identified the mound on which he is
performing and determined a safe approach route such that he cannot catch a
glimpse of you.
Recording technique:
This must depend to a large extent on what you are seeking. There are two
main possibilities: (a) a recording that has maximum fidelity for analysis;
(b) a recording that is best for listening to.
For (a) place a mic at the display mound with a long cable (50 m is usually
enough) back to a place of concealment for the recordist. If you can affor=
d
a number of mics and cables you increase your chances of having him sing at
one of them. Otherwise, the better you have studied his behaviour, the
better your chances. Recording in stereo has no advantage.
For (b) stereo may add to the interest if other birds - lyrebirds or other
species - can be heard. My interest has been in the detail of lyrebird
vocal behaviour where what I want is the cleanest passible mono recording,
but I suggest that for best listening, the best option would be a stereo mi=
c
placed some distance away from the mound with cable to place of concealment=
;
next best, use a mic in a parabolic reflector for maximum gain; and somewha=
t
less effective, a shotgun mic.
Caution:
Remember that the acoustic environment of the forest affects the sound. On=
e
does not normally get close to a singing lyrebird and the sound one hears
has been altered (enriched?) by that acoustic environment. A recording mad=
e
with the mic right at the mound will sound 'thin' and unnatural by
comparison. I guess it would be somewhat akin to comparing music recorded
in an anechoic chamber to the same music recorded in a fine concert hall.
WARNING: Lyrebirds are addictive!
Mainly for Paul:
You may care to consider consider subscribing to the Australian Wildlife
Sound Recording Society. There are other members who know more of Superb
Lyrebirds than do I, one being the Group's Sound Editor, Vicki Powys, autho=
r
of "Regional variation in the territorial songs of the Superb Lyrebird in
the Central Tablelands of New South Wales", published in the journal "Emu"
95, 280-289, (1995).
Email the Secretary if you would like further information o=
n
subscribing.
Cheers
Syd (Menura-addicted) Curtis
> From: Paul Jacobson <>
> Reply-To:
> Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:56:05 +1000
> To:
> Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] The amazing lyrebird
>
(Snip)
>
> I managed one recording, but there were people talking, overflying
> aircraft and motor cycles in the background... Still it's interesting
> that none of these influences show up in the calls. I'm keen to try
> to get some cleaner recordings, so perhaps Syd could advise the best
> times to record Lyrebirds.
|