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Male Superb Lyre-Bird

The lyre-bird is extremely shy and normally next to impossible to see.

Lives in dense wet temperate rainforest in South East Australia - famous for its amazing mimicry of just about any sound it hears!

Lyrebirds are capable of imitating almost any sound. Mixed in with their own calls, clicks and song, you will usually hear them mimicking loud clear sounds made by other birds and mammals – including humans. They have been heard to mimic the sounds of chainsaws, horns, alarms and even trains. They sing throughout the year, and scientists think that the mimicry helps them to vocally set out their territory and defend it from other lyrebirds.

The superb lyrebird lives in forests east of the Great Dividing Range.

Lyrebirds feed mainly on ground-dwelling insects, spiders, frogs, and other small invertebrates that they find by scratching among the leaf litter. They have powerful legs with long toes and claws, which are ideal for raking over dead leaves and soil.

 

Healesville Sanctuary, Healesville, Victoria, Australia

 

Part of the Royal Melbourne Zoo complex

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Uploaded on June 4, 2007
Taken on June 2, 2007