| Lyrebird |
Shopping Lyrebird |
Information AboutLyrebird |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT LYREBIRD | |
| menuridae | |
| bird families | |
| genera of birds | |
| higher-level bird taxa restricted to australia | |
| birds of australia | |
A Lyrebird is either of two Species of ground-dwelling Australia n Bird s, most notable for their extraordinary ability to Mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. They are the:
Lyrebirds are among Australia's best-known native birds, even though they are rarely seen in their natural habitat. As well as their extraordinary mimicking ability, lyrebirds are notable because of the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in display; and also because of their courtship display. The lyrebird is an ancient Australian animal. The Australian Museum has fossils of lyrebirds dating back to about 15 million years ago. MIMICRY 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 Passerine s (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 Chainsaw s, Car Engine s, Rifle -shots, Camera shutters, Dog s barking and crying babies. 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. The female lyrebird is also an excellent mimic, but she is not heard as often as the male lyrebird One researcher, Sydney Curtis, has recorded flute-like lyrebird calls in the vicinity of the has endorsed this information. A Lyrebird's tale During the early 1930 's, a male lyrebird, called "James", formed a close bond of friendship with a human being, Mrs. Wilkinson, after she had been offering food to him over a period of time. James would perform his Courtship dance for her on one of his mounds which he had constructed in her backyard — and he would also put on his display for a wider audience, but only when Mrs. Wilkinson was one of those present. On one such occasion, James' performance lasted for forty-three minutes, and included steps to a courtship dance accompanied by his own tune — and also included imitating perfectly the calls of a Magpie , and a young magpie being fed by a parent-bird, a Whip-bird , a Bell-bird , a complete laughing-song of a Kookaburra , two Kookaburras laughing in unison, a Black Cockatoo , a Gang-Gang Cockatoo , an Eastern Rosella , a Pied Butcher-bird , a Wattle-bird , a Grey Shrike-Thrush , a Thornbill , a Scrub-wren , a Striated Pardalote , a Starling , a Yellow Robin , a Golden Whistler , a flock of Parrots whistling in flight, the Crimson Rosella , several other birds whose notes his audience were not able to identify, and the song of honey-eaters (tiny birds with tiny voices), that gather in numbers and "cheep" and twitter in a multitudinous sweet whispering. In order to mimic the honeyeaters' singing faithfully, James was obliged to subdue his powerful voice to the faintest ''pianissimo'', but he contrived, nevertheless, to make each individual note of the soft chorus audibly distinct. Also included in James' performance was his perfect mimicry of the sounds made by a rock-crusher at work, a hydraulic ram, and the tooting of motor-horns. LIFESTYLE AND CLASSIFICATION Male lyrebirds call mostly during winter, when they construct and maintain an open arena-mound in dense Bush , on which they sing and dance in Courtship , to display to potential mates, of which the male lyrebird has several. Females build an untidy domed Nest usually low to the ground in a moist gully where she lays a single Egg , and she is the sole parent who Incubates the egg over 50 days until it hatches, and she is also the sole carer of the lyrebird Chick . Lyrebirds feed on Insect s, Spider s, Earthworm s and, occasionally, Seed s. They find food by scratching with their feet through the Leaf -litter. When in danger, lyrebirds run, rather than fly, being awkward in flight, and have also been seen to take refuge in Wombat burrows. Another instance was when firefighters, sheltering in a mine shaft during a Bushfire , were joined by several lyrebirds. The classification of lyrebirds has been much debated. They were briefly thought to be Galliformes like the broadly similar looking Partridge , Junglefowl , and Pheasant s that Europeans were familiar with, but since then have usually been classified in a family of their own, Menuridae, which contains a single genus, '''''Menura'''''. It is generally accepted that the lyrebird family is most closely related to the Scrub -birds ( Atrichornithidae ) and some authorities combine both in a single family, but evidence that they are also related to the Bowerbird s remains controversial. Lyrebirds are not endangered in the short to medium term. Albert's Lyrebird has a very restricted habitat but appears to be secure within it so long as the habitat remains intact, while the Superb Lyrebird, once seriously threatened by habitat destruction, is now classified as common. Even so, lyrebirds are vulnerable to Cat s and Fox es, and it remains to be seen if habitat protection schemes will stand up to increased human population pressure. LYREBIRDS AS EMBLEMS The lyrebird has been featured as a symbol and emblem many times, especially in New South Wales and Victoria (where the Superb Lyrebird has its natural habitat) – and in Queensland (where Albert's Lyrebird has its natural habitat).
PAINTING BY JOHN GOULD 's early 1800's painting of a Superb Lyrebird specimen at the British Museum ]] The lyrebird is so called because the male bird has a spectacular tail (consisting of 16 highly modified Feather s (two long slender ''lyrates'' at the centre of the plume, two broader ''medians'' on the outside edges and twelve ''filamentaries'' arrayed between them), which was originally thought to resemble a Lyre . This happened when a lyrebird specimen (which had been taken from Australia to England during the early 1800 's) was prepared for display at the British Museum by a Taxidermist who had never seen a live lyrebird. The taxidermist mistakenly thought that the tail would resemble a lyre, and that the tail would be held in a similar way to that of a Peacock during Courtship display, and so he arranged the feathers in this way. Later, John Gould (who had also never seen a live lyrebird), painted the lyrebird from the British Museum specimen. Although very beautiful, the male lyrebird's tail is not as in John Gould's painting, nor is the tail held in such a manner. Instead, the male lyrebird's tail is fanned over the lyrebird during courtship display, with the tail completely covering his head and back — as can be seen on an Australian 10 cent coin (above), where the Lyrebird's tail (in courtship display) is portrayed accurately. REFERENCES |
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