The Amazing Lyrebird

About this video

You sing like a chainsaw.

David Attenborough introduces the amazing Lyrebird, which like many birds relies on its song to impress and attract a mate. Instead of composing a song of its own though, this clever little bird borrows from those around it, compiling a 'greatest-hits' of the sounds present in its local environment.

However, the Lyrebird doesn't discriminate between natural sounds and man-made noises. What emerges is a rather unsettling reflection of man's intrusion upon the natural environment as Attenborough listens to the bird mimicing the sounds of cameras and chainsaws.