Syd,
Many thanks for the extremely comprehensive notes. I'll definitely
put your advice to practice over the coming months.
Thanks for mentioning AWSRG. I joined up last year and have found the
journal and CDs to be very interesting. Unfortunately I missed the
workshop last year, but hopefully will make to the next years gathering.
cheers
Paul
On 22/04/2008, at 10:24 PM, Syd Curtis wrote:
>
> 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 at
> 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 have
> a number of fixed display points. Superbs clear all vegetation
> from a space
> 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. With
> 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 afford
> 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 mic
> 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
> somewhat
> less effective, a shotgun mic.
>
> Caution:
>
> Remember that the acoustic environment of the forest affects the
> sound. One
> does not normally get close to a singing lyrebird and the sound one
> hears
> has been altered (enriched?) by that acoustic environment. A
> recording made
> 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, author
> 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 on
> 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.
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie
> Krause
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
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