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https://theconversation.com/that-siren-imitating-lyrebird-at-taronga-zoo-he-lost-his-song-culture-and-absorbed-some-of-ours-192929>
"A fortnight after five lions escaped at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, an amused zoo
visitor captured footage of Echo the superb lyrebird as he mimicked alarm
sirens and evacuation calls with astonishing accuracy.
News outlets were quick to link the lyrebird’s alarm impersonation with the
lion’s great escape. But while this tale made for a great headline, the truth
of this story is far more interesting.
Superb lyrebirds are arguably the bird world’s greatest mimics. Using their
phenomenal voiceboxes, males will sing elaborate songs and perfectly imitate
sounds made by other birds to impress prospective mates.
Not only this, they share songs in a form of cultural transmission. In the
wild, some songs become more popular while others wane. Think of it as pop
charts for the bush.
But Echo was bred in captivity. He wasn’t exposed to wild song culture.
Instead, he learned from what he was exposed to – and that includes “songs”
like the alarm call. Echo had been practising this call for years to get it
that good – not just the two weeks after the lions escaped.
The ability of these birds to imitate sounds is rightly world-famous. But for
their song culture to continue, we need healthy wild populations. Otherwise,
they could face a future like critically endangered regent honeyeaters, which
are now borrowing mating songs from other birds."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
