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Re: Lyrebird

Subject: Re: Lyrebird
From: "Michael Dalton" mdaltonarielle
Date: Fri Dec 17, 2010 6:23 am ((PST))
I was surprised to hear the new effects in the clip, because I remember the=
 originally aired clip. There is another clip that appeared on YouTube of a=
 Lyrebird in the Adelaide Zoo. The bird had learned the sounds made by cons=
truction workers as a result of renovations at the zoo. So the Lyrebird mad=
e sawing noises, electric drill/screwdriver sounds, hammering, and other no=
ises.
=A0
Most listeners to the Adelaide Zoo clip did NOT hear the speech sounds that=
 the bird learned. I was able to decode the bird's speech. In experiments w=
ith a talking bird (macaw), I verified something that is regarded as conjec=
ture. Talking birds (parrots, et al.) can learn to say something on a singl=
e hearing.=A0So while the Attenborough clip is faked up, the premise is not=
 faulty.
=A0
What is more surprising is the finding that a talking bird can learn knowle=
dgeable language, including many elements of grammar. For more information =
see my book "Another Kind of Mind: A Talking Bird Masters English."
=A0
Mike
Florida
www.ParrotSpeech.com/Another_Mind.html


=A0
Message: 2b.
Subject: 

Re: Lyrebird
Posted by: "vickipowys"  =A0 vpowys
Thu Dec=A016,=A02010 5:00=A0pm (PST)


Don't be bluffed by this! The original footage on Life of Birds did
feature a lyrebird mimicking a camera shutter and a motor drive, but
this was a captive bird, raised in captivity, at Healesville Zoo in
Victoria. The bird also mimicked the calls of other birds, as wild
lyrebirds do.

The added sounds in this youtube sequence are dubbed in. I've seen a
few versions of this doctored footage. Sad that such meddling will
continue to perpetuate the myth that lyrebirds in the wild will mimic
anything. They don't!!!

Vicki Powys
Australia










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