"Birds" - a note of caution

["Philip A. Veerman" <>]

Those noises "clicks, pops, buzzes and thrashing noises" are part of its normal repertoire. Indeed they are the important bits (the lyrebird language). The rest, all the mimicry, are just fill ins and apparently doesn't really mean anything to the lyrebird (or to the model species).

I think it was F.N. Robinson who established that, years ago.

 

PV

-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Russell <>
To: birding-aus <>
Date: Friday, 28 February 2003 14:03
Subject: Fw: [BIRDING-AUS] "Birds" - a note of caution

I haven't heard a car alarm one but a bird I tracked down many years ago in Kinglake (north of Melb) was mimicking all sorts of other birds, which I guess is normal, but it also made some very mechanical sounding clicks, pops, buzzes , and thrashing noises which sounded very human machinery derived.   Had me fooled at the time because I was then a learner birder ( do we ever stop being one ?) and had no prior experience of  lyrebirds.  Most others I've heard since tend to stick to their more normal loud whistles. I believe the mimicry takes place most frequently when a male bird is displaying on his mound - is this correct ?

 

Tony.