Duncan and all,
I never cease to be amazed by the ability of lyrebirds to mimic several
sounds at once. Here in the Blue Mountains the Superb Lyrebird regularly
mimics calls made by a whole flock of Crimson Rosellas, a group Kookaburra
chorus, and the male/female duet of the Red Wattlebird.
An article by K.C.Halafoff in Victorian Naturalist 78 (July 1961) sheds
light on how this might be achieved. A recording of the lyrebird's song,
which included mimicry of two scrubwrens twittering simultaneously together
with the call of a different species, was slowed down eight times, and it
was found that all these sounds quickly alternated and did not overlap at
all.
Another possible explanation I read somewhere suggested that some birds are
able to produce two sounds simultaneously in each of the two bronchi (a
bird's vocal organ, the syrinx, is located not in the throat but at the
junction of the two bronchi with the trachea).
However they do it, to my ears they are nothing short of amazing!
Carol
Carol Probets
Katoomba NSW
---
Duncan Fraser wrote:
>While listening to a Superb Lyrebird going through its repertoire yesterday,
>we were interested to hear it mimic not just a single Pied Currawong, but
>several talking at once, a neat trick we thought. Duncan Fraser.
>
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