Thursday, October 27, 2011

The Lyre of Nature

Thank you to Nora's Necessity for introducing me to the Lyre Bird. It's incredible!
This gorgeous bird can mimic ANY sound it hears and loves to show off with it as well.


"A lyrebird's call is a rich mixture of its own song and any number of other sounds it has heard. The lyrebird's syrinx is the most complexly-muscled of the songbirds, giving the lyrebird extraordinary ability, unmatched in vocal repertoire and mimicry. Lyrebirds render with great fidelity the individual songs of other birds and the chatter of flocks of birds, and also mimic other animals, human noises, machinery of all kinds, explosions, and musical instruments. The lyrebird is capable of imitating almost any sound — from a mill whistle to a cross-cut saw, and, not uncommonly, sounds as diverse as chainsaws, car engines and car alarms, fire alarms, rifle-shots, camera shutters, dogs barking, crying babies, and even the human voice. Lyrebirds are shy birds and a constant stream of bird calls coming from one place is often the only way of identifying them and their presence."
(www.wikipedia.com)