Regarding amazing mimicry, how many of us have seen Sir David Attenborough's "The Life of Birds?"  

In one of the DVDs, a Superb Lyrebird does perfect imitations of (1) a old (film) camera's camera shutter, and automatic winding sound, (2) a Kookaburra, (3) a car alarm, and most amazingly (4) a chain saw cutting down trees, it's very home.

Here is the Youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y

Tom Grahame


On May 18, 2012, at 5:37 AM,  wrote:

> Once when I was walking across a parking lot in downtown San Diego, I heard a car alarm go off above me. I looked up and saw a Mockingbird doing a perfect rendition of one, including the 4 or 5 variations of a typical car alarm.
> 
> Russ Ruffing
> 
> 
> On 05/17/12, Joan Cwi wrote:
> 
> My mocker's only claim to fame is imitating perfectly the squeaky 
> fence gate, which makes constantly go check to see who came in...
> 
> Joan
> 
> 
> On May 17, 2012, at 11:44 AM, Marcia Watson wrote:
> 
>> One of my favorite backyard mockers at my former
>> home in Elkton could do a perfect Black-whiskered
>> Vireo. It led me to wonder where and for how long
>> the mockingbird was exposed to the Vireo song.
>> 
>> Marcia
>> 
>> _________________________
>> Marcia Watson
>> Bowie, MD
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Marcia
>> 
>> _________________________
>> Marcia Watson
>> Bowie, MD
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ---- Original message ----
>> 
>> Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 11:24:20 -0400
>> From: Janet Millenson <>
>> Subject: Re: There oughta be a law ...
>> To: 
>>> I'd like to append a question to Leo's: How long
>> does a particular
>>> imitation stay in the mockingbird's repertoire?
>> In other words, if (as
>>> in Leo's example of the towhee) the mocker
>> doesn't regularly hear a
>>> particular birdsong or other sound, will that
>> imitation fade from its
>>> repertoire in a year or two? Or does the
>> mockingbird keep adding new
>>> tunes without dropping the old ones?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 5/17/2012 10:34 AM, Leo Weigant wrote:
>>>> Nancy, I share your . . . frustration.
>>>> 
>>>> Which prompts me to report that this spring I
>> seem to
>>>> have a virtuoso mocker in my neighborhood who
>> will
>>>> sit in a bush and and run through a repertoire
>> of nearly
>>>> a dozen species one after another, including
>> towhees
>>>> (not a neighborhood bird).
>>>> Only other tieme I heard such a concert was
>> once, years
>>>> ago, in Texas when Mark Garland ID'd 14 species
>> calls
>>>> from a mocker atop the motel where we stopped
>> on an old
>>>> ANS "Foray" trip.
>>>> 
>>>> I suppose I should know, but don't ~ do they do
>> this sort of
>>>> showing off just during spring mating season?
>>>> 
>>>> Leo Weigant
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On May 17, 2012, at 9:38 AM, Nancy Magnusson
>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> ... against mockingbirds doing thrashers.
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> -Janet Millenson
>>> Potomac, MD (Montgomery County)
>>> 
>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>>> "Look at the birds!" -- Pascal the parrot
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