Comments on: Incredible Lyre Bird Does Jackhammer

By: Rockeyracoon

Rockeyracoon — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:17:13 +0000

Wait! I recognized the workers whistle..I think it is a shame the bird had to learn one of the most annoying sounds of all time, instead of nice natural sounding sounds..just saying.

By: Greg Allen

Greg Allen — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:22:32 +0000

A friend of mine kept a bird (parrot?) by a squeaky sliding glass door. The bird learned to make that sound.

So, about a hundred times a day, it sounded like some one was entering the house!

By: smartalix

smartalix — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:13:57 +0000

12,

Actually, many of the birds in teh city mimic car alarms.

By: SB

SB — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:57:55 +0000

John, this is what you do with your spare time? lol

By: PcMaster

PcMaster — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:35:12 +0000

10 min later…
OK, I saw what Wikipedia says but who can trust it? Then I saw David Attenborough legitimize it. He wouldn’t lie would he?

By: PcMaster

PcMaster — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:24:04 +0000

Yeah!
Give me some good stock footage of a Robin in your back yard and in no time I can make him sound like an intersection in downtown New York.
Not that I want to be cynical but it just seems hokey and unbelievable to me.

By: PcMaster

PcMaster — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:07:02 +0000

By: laxdude

laxdude — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:40:12 +0000

It was not a pneumatic jackhammer, but I have heard electric ones that sound pretty damn close to the bird.

By: Luke

Luke — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:34:03 +0000

That’s my local zoo!

By: AdmFubar

AdmFubar — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:12:29 +0000

sound more like he was near a construction site. no jackhammer, but a saws, drills, hammering, workers whistling, seems to be in his repertoire.

By: right

right — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:00:59 +0000

Very cool!

By: Hyperkinetic

Hyperkinetic — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:00:32 +0000

Not to pick nits, but that’s not a jackhammer, it’s a masonry drill in hammer mode. The birds in Lake Havasu make noises like automotive belts slipping, engines starting, and car alarms. No doubt these sounds will be carried on long after we’re gone.

By: amurmann

amurmann — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:36:49 +0000

I saw one in China that imitated honking cars, which I thought was really funny. But this one…!

By: deowll

deowll — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:34:34 +0000

Actually this thing imitated a lot of animal sounds including the human voice. It did electric hedge clippers, saws, hammering, lawn mower, electric drill, and I lost count.

By: Shubee

Shubee — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:56:32 +0000

Those are the most unmusical birds I have ever heard. I prefer Beethoven’s wood-wren and Mozart’s starling. See http://pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/0304/01.html at 3:30 minutes to 5:00 minutes.