Stephen and all,
It's my understanding that the Tasmanian lyrebirds continued to mimic
mainland birds which don't occur in Tas for several generations after
their introduction. I believe that Richard Jordan has been
researching this very question in recent years. (Not sure if Richard
is currently on this email list.)
Cheers,
Carol
At 11:17 AM +1100 28/10/10, Stephen Ambrose wrote:
It would be interesting to know if the lyrebirds that were introduced into
Tasmania from the mainland in the 1930s & '40s continued to mimic calls of
some mainland bird species that aren't present in Tasmania (if they did so
beforehand), or if they readily began to mimic local bird calls instead.
It would be even more interesting to know if any of the descendants of the
translocated lyrebirds mimic the calls of any mainland bird species that
their ancestors mimicked.
Such information would help us understand better the nurture vs nature
debate.
Stephen Ambrose
Ryde, NSW
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