Well, here it is... the focus of my final honours year at La Trobe. Am studying the Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae for those scientifically/nerdy inclined).
Pretty spectacular tail (which is what everyone remembers really) but it is a real good mimic. My honours thesis is comparing the accuracy of the lyrebird with the birds that it likes to mimic (in two sites in Victoria). Reality: dawn field work outside of Belgrave in cold, damp, leech-filled conditions...
but it is kinda cool and the birds have been awesome to watch (attenborough stuff all round really). Hopefully, the study will find something conclusive which may be publishable but.... why? (I hear you ask) --> nobody really knows why any birds mimic and there's no real substantial evidence to show that it is to impress the 'ladies'... so this would be a preliminary study for someone with more money who can then compare the success of the best singers with those of the least accurate (i.e. do better singers have more kids?)... then we could start to say mimicry is to work some magic on the females. Who needs nice aftershave when you can do a good kookaburra impression?? I've said too much already and my nerdisms are showing... good day.
