Superb Lyrebird
Menura novaehollandiae
One bird can impersonate a whole panicking flock.
Male Superb Lyrebirds can combine the alarm calls of several species with imitations of wingbeats, creating the sound of a mobbing flock. Playback experiments showed that other birds responded to the imitation. One performer, multiple apparent birds, and a very convincing impression that something alarming is happening in the trees.
BirdChat '95 β #forest
What's real?
Male Superb Lyrebirds can imitate the alarm calls and wingbeat sounds of a mobbing flock. Playback experiments elicited responses from other birds. This chat is an analogy, not a live conversation, literal transcript, or proof of conscious deception.
A forest is more than its loudest soloist.
A lyrebird's performance draws attention to a whole community of forest sounds. BirdLife Australia introduces this ground-dwelling forest bird and works more broadly for the future of native birds and their habitats.
Protecting forest communities is the connection here. The mimicry study does not demonstrate that this particular behavior has collapsed after habitat loss.
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