Which bird can imitate chainsaws and camera shutters?
Quick answer
The superb lyrebird of southeastern Australia is famous for imitating almost any sound it hears, including other birds, camera shutters, chainsaws and car alarms. Males use their mimicry in elaborate courtship songs. A 1998 BBC clip narrated by David Attenborough made the lyrebird a worldwide sensation.
Key facts
- Scientific name
- Menura novaehollandiae
- Range
- Forests of southeastern Australia
- Size
- About 80–100 cm long, including the male’s tail
- On money
- Australia’s 10-cent coin
Master of mimicry
About 70–80% of a male lyrebird’s song is made of copied sounds, mostly other birds, such as kookaburras, whipbirds and parrots, often in perfect detail. In areas near people, lyrebirds sometimes add human-made sounds to their repertoire.
Reports of mechanical sounds are often traced to birds that lived near people or in zoos. Wild lyrebirds mainly mimic the forest around them.
How it does it
Lyrebirds have one of the most complex vocal organs (syrinx) of any songbird. Young males spend years practicing, learning from older birds as well as the original sources. Some sounds pass down through generations: lyrebirds in Tasmania, introduced from the mainland in the 1930s, still copy mainland birds that don’t live there.
The lyre-shaped tail
Males grow a spectacular tail of 16 feathers, including two curved outer feathers shaped like a lyre, an ancient Greek stringed instrument. During courtship, a male clears a small mound of earth, fans his tail over his head and performs his song while dancing, with moves matched to particular sounds.
Other great mimics
| Bird | Talent |
|---|---|
| Superb lyrebird | Mimics complex sounds, including machines |
| African grey parrot | Learns hundreds of human words |
| Northern mockingbird | Repeats dozens of other birds’ songs |
| Common starling | Copies phones, alarms and speech |
| Marsh warbler | Mimics many African and European species |
Why mimic?
Scientists think females prefer males with larger and more accurate repertoires, a sign of age and fitness. Some research also suggests lyrebirds imitate a whole “mobbing flock” of alarmed birds to keep a female nearby during courtship.
For a bird with record-breaking flight, see which bird can fly backwards. Another remarkable Australian animal is the platypus.
Still curious?
Jump to a random question from the archive.