Re-post bird imitating camera hyperlink

[jay_smith3]

<a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3433507052114896375">Let me

try this again. I forgot to select HTML</a>

[michaelging]

That was very cool Jay, thanks for sharing it.

[pjmeade]

The presenter on that clip was David Attenborough, he presents most of the BBC's flagship nature and wildlife programs.

 

For those of you outside the UK, if you get a chance to see or buy any of the BBC wildlife series, they are not to be missed. The photography/filming is breathtaking.

 

Regards. Pete

[bill_thorlin]

Especially Planet Earth - truly awesome ( a phrase I hate but for once justified ) - I believe BBC America ( amongst many )has taken it and will run it sometime.

 

Not in the same class but we once had regular visits from an ordinary old Starling that could do the starting ring of the outside telephone bells. The number of times my wife or I started off to answer it was becoming hilarious - so much so that we stopped responding and thus missed a number of calls.

 

At present we have a Song Thrush who includes something similar to mobile phone alerts in his truly staggering repertoire.

 

These things just cheer me up no end.

[anis]

Very nice find. Thanks for sharing jay.

[Charles_Webster]

Last summer we had a Mockingbird who did very good cell phone ring tones. It was funny to sit on the front porch and listen to him on the tree across the street sounding like 2 or 3 different cell phones.

 

<Chas>

[rayliguori]

Come on, that must be a spoof. A bird imitating a camera with a motor drive and a chain saw?

[lancemcvay]

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyrebird">it would appear not to be a spoof</a>

[mark_chappell]

It's not a spoof. Lyrebirds are consumate mimics, even better than North American

mockingbirds, and typically include call notes of 20+

other bird species in their displays. They also happily make any other sound that piques

their interest.

Car alarms are very popular with them. I had a captive lyrebird -- presumably hand-

reared

and imprinted on bearded men -- sit on my arm and give a full display, including the

sounds

of motor-driven cameras. This bird was a resident in the Healsville Sanctuary (in Victoria,

Australia) and was frequently photographed. He didn't make chainsaw noises presumably

because there was no forestry going on nearby, but he did car alarms (several types)

expertly.