I'd have thought most young birds would learn their calls in a pretty
straightforward manner from their parents. Certainly, young canaries
don't learn to sing properly if not kept near an older male, and there
are distinct call dialects among many species, etc. However, unless
this Kookaburra was orphaned, or its parents somehow fell down on their
duties, then, all else being equal, you'd assume it would learn the
proper call. Maybe it just doesn't want to get onto the other part of
its laugh, or maybe it does indeed need a speech therapist - maybe
there is some physical defect which stops it giving its complete
repertoire? Just some of my thoughts, anyway.
John Tongue
Hobart.
On Wednesday, May 3, 2006, at 04:26 AM, Frank O'Connor wrote:
I received the following query about a kookaburra learning to laugh.
If anyone has any ideas, then please include Margaret in on the
reply
(email
From: "teddybearmargaret" <>
To: <>
Subject: A query about a kookaburra
Date: Tue, 2 May 2006 17:21:20 +0800
Hi Frank, I hope you may be able to help me with my query and if
not maybe you can let me know how would be able to.
We live on a farm 14 kilometres east of Geraldton.
About October last year a nest couple of kookaburras had a baby
and
we were fascinated watching it learn to laugh, which it did in a
couple of weeks.
Then the parent birds had another young one just after Christmas.
It is a male and he has never learned to laugh properly. We have
been amused, annoyed and frustrated listening to him constantly
trying to laugh. He gets to the kook kook kook kook section but
can
never get onto the the ka ka ka ka section of the laugh. We are
wondering if this is common. Perhaps we need to get a kookaburra
speech therapist for him.
It would be interesting to know if this is common or unusual.
Thank you for taking my email
Margaet Adamson
Moonyoonook
Western Australia
_________________________________________________________________
Frank O'Connor Birding WA [1]http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au
Phone : (08) 9386 5694 Email :
References
1. http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au/
===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
===============================
===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
===============================
|