Lyrebird: the Siren of Australia

What is a lyrebird?

Living exclusively in the rainforests of eastern Australia, lyrebirds belong to either of 2 ground-dwelling species: the superb lyrebird or Albert’s lyrebird. The first lyrebird was discovered in 1798 by European scientists, but it was not determined to be a superb lyrebird until 1800 by Major-General Thomas Davies. While the superb lyrebird is safely in the “least concerned” conservation status, Albert’s lyrebirds are “near threatened” with only 3,500 breeding birds. The two birds can also be distinguished from each other by the superb’s slightly larger size, less reddish color, and more ornate tail feathers.

The sounds they make, which are far more varied than those of most other birds, are produced by their syrinx, a highly developed vocal organ. With this organ, the birds can mimic natural sounds from their environment, they can also produce sounds similar to those made by humans or other species. During the courtship ritual, the male superb lyrebird combines its song with feather movements to seduce females. Other notes and specific whistles are used to mark their presence within a territory or warn others of danger. At times, lyrebird songs can even last for several hours.

How to protect them

BirdLife Australia is a wildlife conservation group whose main objective is to rescue Australian birds from dipping in conservation status. Many birds lost more than a third of their habitat to the tragic fires of November 2019. The organization relies on donations to send out emergency survey teams to find threatened birds, translocate threatened birds, protect refuges from predators, install nesting boxes, and support general recovery. Also, the Australian Conservation Foundation is a community that prioritizes forests, rivers, and wildlife. Hopefully, with their combined efforts, Albert’s lyrebirds will move back to least concerned.

Brut.