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PointBlank

PointBlank

New York, NY
November 2004

JUN 09, 2006 07:22 AM

In honor of David Attenborough's 80th birthday, Metafilter has posted a brilliant video of the Lyrebird, a bird that can imitate almost anything (other birds, camera shutters, car alarms, people with chainsaws).

Really, one of the best videos I've ever posted.

J24U

J24U

Danvers, MA
February 2006

JUN 09, 2006 07:45 AM

That...was fairly awesome.

TheFuckOffKid

TheFuckOffKid

NEWSWIRE

Australia

JUN 09, 2006 07:59 AM

TheFuckOffGirl and I have been watching a bit of David lately, and we saw that segment. I told Cairo about it but I didn't have access to the footage online so thanks for that!

Here's stuff from the entry in Wikipedia:

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 Whipbird, a Bellbird, a complete laughing-song of a Kookaburra, two Kookaburras laughing in unison, a Black Cockatoo, a Gang-gang Cockatoo, an Eastern Rosella, a Pied Butcherbird, 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.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyrebird

[Edited on Jun 10, 2006 by TheFuckOffKid]

Phantasy

Phantasy

Australia
October 2005

JUN 09, 2006 07:59 AM

I can't get over the chainsaw imitation! I have actually seen that footage before but am so glad to come across it again. Thanks! kiss

toothpickmoe

toothpickmoe

Los Angeles, CA
May 2004

JUN 09, 2006 09:36 AM

Nature is neat.