The Lyrebird’s Song

This video apparently made the rounds on the internet several months ago, but it is so wonderful that we feel compelled to pass it along for those who might not have seen it yet. Earlier this year, to celebrate David Attenborough’s 80th birthday, the public was asked to vote on a favorite moment from his countless TV documentaries. This clip of the Australian lyrebird was voted the most popular. We won’t spoil it by trying to describe it.
We’d also like to call your attention to this extraordinary story about lyrebird:
One researcher, Sydney Curtis, has recorded flute-like lyrebird calls in the vicinity of the New England National Park. Similarly, in 1969, a park ranger, Neville Fenton, recorded a lyrebird song, which resembled flute sounds, in the New England National Park, near Dorrigo in northern coastal New South Wales. After much detective work by Fenton, it was discovered that in the 1930’s, a flute player living on a farm adjoining the park used to play tunes near his pet lyrebird. The lyrebird adopted the tunes into his repertoire, and retained them after release into the park. Neville Fenton forwarded a tape of his recording to Norman Robinson. Because a lyrebird is able to carry two tunes at the same time, Robinson filtered out one of the tunes and put it on the phonograph for the purposes of analysis. The song represents a modified version of two popular tunes in the 1930’s: “The Keel Row” and “Mosquito’s Dance”. Musicologist David Rothenberg has endorsed this information.
Recordings of the New England National Park lyrebird flautist are available here.
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