One might think this video is just another witty flick made by some media artist. It is not. This is a real bird living in Southern Australia. In order to attract females, the Superb Lyrebird (aka the copypaste bird) sings and mimics all the calls of other birds as well as other sounds he hears in the forest -even chainsaws and camera shutters!
For me the Lyrebird is not only amazingly peculiar, but also very inspiring; it learns us that simulation and imitation are a natural phenomena in life. This bird forces us to look differently at our mediated society. Since I've met the Lyrebird, I perceive Disney castles, video games, breast implants, online shopping carts and indoor beaches differently.
I wonder if the famous French hyperreality philosopher Jean Baudrillard knew about the Lyrebird?
See also: Walking Leaf, Simulacra for Dummies.
Koert.com
Actually the forest, the bird in the video lived in, was at that moment taken down by the chainsaws it was imitating... so sadly enough this lyrebird was singing of its own doom.
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Hendrik-Jan Grievink
OMG. Even I thought this was a clever piece of sound editing vs. CGI or something, but it is REAL? But to be honest, I still don't believe it, even with the wikipedia lemma. I mean, a girl that mimics other birds or animals, okay I can live with that. But car alarms and chainsaws? The poor lil' thing is a very rare species, how did it come to hear the sounds it mimics? I like to believe, but am still a skeptic.
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