--- In vickipowys <> wrote:
> Sad that such meddling will
> continue to perpetuate the myth that lyrebirds in the wild will mimic
> anything. They don't!!!
For what it's worth, in the early '90s I was a keen mountain bike rider and
spent many weekends riding in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales, Australia).
One day while slowly but deliberately negotiating a series of switchbacks (10:1
gradient over 10km, lowest gear ratio, slowly grinding up that hill at
slower-than-walking-pace) I heard what sounded like a tiny chainsaw. Turned out
to be a lyrebird going through its repertoire. By the time I stopped to pull
out my Sony WM-D6C pro walkman cassette recorder and matching Sony MS
microphone it had been spooked and moved off. The rest of the sounds were bird
calls; without the chainsaw I probably would've cycled right past it not even
being aware of its presence.
Perhaps it wasn't mimicking a chainsaw? I have since recorded cicadas in Borneo
that would sound very much like a chainsaw cutting through a branch if imitated
by another species (i.e. a person trying to make the sound for someone else to
identify). I am not sure which species, but it would have to be either Dundubia
vaginata, Pomponia Imperatoria or Tacua speciosa. I am not sure if that type of
cicada exists in Australia - I've never heard it in NSW or Victoria.
- Greg Simmons
[P.S. That Sony recorder/microphone system, loaded with metal formulation tape
and running Dolby C NR, used to make very nice recordings that were quite
forgiving of technique. I was sad to lose it...]
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