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I am brendasue of Kates Cabin Bird Sanctuary in Texas. I invite you to come in for a Break where Human Nature Meets Mother Earth Nature and Father Space Nature!! I share my digital images from the Private Bird Sanctuary. In addition we have Field Trips and visit places on the computer in a Fantastic World Tour. It is my intention to inspire You to think about all Life on Earth for the Future of Humanity. It is my Hope that You will discover New Joy!
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Thursday, May 3, 2012
The Lyrebird of Australia (A Down Under Photo Blog)
Superb Lyrebird in courtship display
Hi Everybody! Welcome to the mini nature class!
I remind You there are No Tests, No Homework, No Teachers, No Rules! Come and Go as You desire! Pajamas okay! So come in and see this trip I planned for us tonight. Are You ready? We are going to Australia to see a Lyrebird. For Your pleasure, I have a yacht anchored on Rainbow Creek ready to take us to Australia to find this bird!
All Aboard and Just Push Play> To begin your journey! Enjoy!
Australia's landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi)[131] is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans,[N 4] it is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas, with the Coral Sea lying off the Queensland coast, and the Tasman Sea lying between Australia and New Zealand. The world's smallest continent[132] and sixth largest country by total area,[133] Australia—owing to its size and isolation—is often dubbed the "island continent",[134] and is sometimes considered the world's largest island.[135] Australia has 34,218 kilometres (21,262 mi) of coastline (excluding all offshore islands),[136] and claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,060 sq mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory.[137] ExcludingMacquarie Island, Australia lies between latitudes 9° and 44°S, and longitudes 112° and 154°E.
The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef,[138] lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 2,000 kilometres (1,240 mi). Mount Augustus, claimed to be the world's largest monolith,[139] is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 metres (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland. Even taller are Mawson Peak (at 2,745 metres or 9,006 feet), on the remote Australian territory of Heard Island, and, in the Australian Antarctic Territory, Mount McClintock and Mount Menzies, at 3,492 metres (11,457 ft) and 3,355 metres (11,007 ft) respectively.[140]
Australia's size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, with subtropical rain forests in the north-east, mountain ranges in the south-east, south-west and east areas, and a dry desert in its centre.[141] It is the flattest continent,[142] with the oldest and least fertile soils;[143][144]desert or semi-arid land commonly known as the outback makes up by far the largest portion of land.[145]The driest inhabited continent, only its south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate.[146] The population density, 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, is among the lowest in the world,[147] although a large proportion of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline.[148]
Eastern Australia is marked by the Great Dividing Range that runs parallel to the coast of Queensland, New South Wales, and much of Victoria—although the name is not strictly accurate, as in parts the range consists of low hills and the highlands are typically no more than 1,600 metres (5,249 ft) in height.[149] The coastal uplands and a belt of Brigalow grasslands lie between the coast and the mountains, while inland of the dividing range are large areas of grassland.[149][150] These include the western plains of New South Wales, and the Einasleigh Uplands, Barkly Tableland, and Mulga Lands of inland Queensland. The northern point of the east coast is the tropical rainforested Cape York Peninsula.[151][152][153][154]
The climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including the Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia.[165][166]These factors induce rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical predominantly summer rainfall (monsoon) climate.[167] The southwest corner of the country has a Mediterranean climate.[168] Much of the southeast (including Tasmania) is temperate
Is Everybody having fun? Here is the bird I wanted to show You; the Lyrebird for Your photostudy tonight!
Lyrebird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australianbirds, that form the genus, Menura, and the familyMenuridae. They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral coloured tailfeathers.
Lyrebirds are among Australia's best-known native birds. As well as their extraordinary mimicking ability, lyrebirds are notable because of the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in display; and also because of their courtship display.
The classification of lyrebirds was the subject of much debate after the first specimens reached European scientists after 1798. They were thought to beGalliformes like the broadly similar looking partridge, junglefowl, and pheasants that Europeans were familiar with, and this was reflected in the early names the Superb Lyrebird had, including Native Pheasant. They were also called Peacock-wrens and Australian Birds-of-paradise. The idea that they were related to the pheasants was abandoned when the first chicks, which are altricial, were described. They were not placed with the passerines until a paper was published in 1840, 12 years after they were first placed in their own family, Menuridae. Within that family they are placed in a single genus, Menura.[1]
It is generally accepted that the lyrebird family is most closely related to the scrub-birds (Atrichornithidae) and some authorities combine both in a single family, but evidence that they are also related to the bowerbirds remains controversial.[2]
Lyrebirds are ancient Australian animals: the Australian Museum has fossils of lyrebirds dating back to about 15 million years ago.[3] The prehistoric Menura tyawanoides has been described from Early Miocenefossils found at the famous Riversleigh site
The Lyrebirds are large passerine birds, amongst the largest in the order. They are ground living birds with strong legs and feet and short rounded wings. They are generally poor fliers and rarely take to the air except for periods of downhill gliding.[1] The Superb Lyrebird is the larger of the two species. Females are 74–84 cm long, and the males are a larger 80–98 cm long — making them the third-largest passerine bird after the Thick-billed Raven and the Common Raven. Albert's Lyrebird is slightly smaller at a maximum of 90 cm (male) and 84 cm (female) (around 30-35 inches) They have smaller, less spectacular lyrate feathers than the Superb Lyrebird, but are otherwise similar.
Lyrebirds are shy and difficult to approach, particularly the Albert's Lyrebird, which means that there is little information about its behaviour. When lyrebirds detect potential danger they will pause and scan their surroundings, then give an alarm call. Having done so, they will either flee the vicinity on foot, or seek cover and freeze.[1] Also, firefighters sheltering in mine shafts during bushfires have been joined by lyrebirds.[6]
Lyrebirds feed on the ground and as individuals. A range of invetebrate prey is taken, including insects such as cockroaches, beetles (both adults and larvae), earwigs, fly larvae, and the adults and larvae of moths. Other prey taken includes centipedes, spiders, earthworms. Less commonly taken prey includes stick insects, bugs, amphipods, lizards, frogs and occasionally, seeds. They find food by scratching with their feet through the leaf-litter.
Breeding
The breeding cycle of the lyrebirds is long, and lyrebirds are long-lived birds, capable of living for up to thirty years. They also start breeding later in life than other passerine birds. Female Superb Lyrebirds start breeding at the age of five or six, and males at the age of six to eight. Males defend territories from other males, and these territories may contain the breeding territories of up to eight females. Within the male territories the males create or use display platforms, in the case of the Superb Lyrebird it is a mound of bare soil, in the Albert's Lyrebird it is simply a pile of twigs on the forest floor.[1]
Male lyrebirds call mostly during winter, when they construct and maintain an open arena-mound in dense bush, on which they sing and dance in courtship, to display to potential mates, of which the male lyrebird has several. The female builds an untidy nest, usually low to the ground in a moist gully, where she lays a single egg. She is the sole parent who incubates the egg over 50 days until it hatches, and she is also the sole carer of the lyrebird chick.
A lyrebird's song is one of the more distinctive aspects of its behavioural biology. Lyrebirds sing throughout the year, but the peak of the breeding season, from June to August, is when they sing with the most intensity. During this peak they may sing for four hours of the day, almost half the hours of daylight. The song of the Superb Lyrebird is a mixture of seven elements of its own song and any number of other mimicked songs and noises. The lyrebird's syrinx is the most complexly-muscled of the Passerines (songbirds), giving the lyrebird extraordinary ability, unmatched in vocal repertoire and mimicry. Lyrebirds render with great fidelity the individual songs of other birds and the chatter of flocks of birds, and also mimic other animals such as koalas and dingos.[1] The lyrebird is capable of imitating almost any sound and they have been recorded mimicking human caused sounds such as a mill whistle to a cross-cut saw, chainsaws,[7]car engines and car alarms, fire alarms, rifle-shots, camera shutters, dogs barking, crying babies, and even the human voice. However while the mimicry of human noises is widely reported the extent to which it happens is exaggerated, and the phenomenon is quite unusual.[1]
The Superb Lyrebird's mimicked calls are learned from the local environment, including from other Superb Lyrebirds. An instructive example of this is the population of Superb Lyrebirds in Tasmania, which have retained the calls of species not native to Tasmania in their repertoire, but have also added some local Tasmanian endemic bird noises. It takes young birds about a year to perfect their mimicked repertoire. The female lyrebirds of both species are also mimics, and will sing on occasion but the females do so with less skill than the males.[1]
One researcher, Sydney Curtis, has recorded flute-like lyrebird calls in the vicinity of the New England National Park. Similarly, in 1969, a park ranger, Neville Fenton, recorded a lyrebird song which resembled flute sounds in the New England National Park, near Dorrigo in northern coastal New South Wales. After much detective work by Fenton, it was discovered that in the 1930s, a flute player living on a farm adjoining the park used to play tunes near his pet lyrebird. The lyrebird adopted the tunes into his repertoire, and retained them after release into the park. Neville Fenton forwarded a tape of his recording to Norman Robinson. Because a lyrebird is able to carry two tunes at the same time, Robinson filtered out one of the tunes and put it on the phonograph for the purposes of analysis. The song represents a modified version of two popular tunes in the 1930s: "The Keel Row" and "Mosquito's Dance". Musicologist David Rothenberg has endorsed this information
Just Push Play>
When: Lyrebirds call from June through to August
Where: There are two species of lyrebird. The superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) live along the east coast of Australia from Stanthorpe in Queensland to as far south as Melbourne. They have also been introduced into Tasmania.
Albert's lyrebird (Menura alberti) is restricted to the extreme south-east corner of Queensland and north-east tip of NSW.
Suberb finery: The superb lyrebird is the most common and known for its tail shaped like an ancient Greek lyre. (Source: Alex Maisey)
Anastasia Dalziell is just finishing her PhD on lyrebird communication at the Australian National University. She was torn between pursuing music or science, and so studying lyrebird song seemed the perfect solution.
"Studying lyrebirds is almost like the Holy Grail of songbirds, because they have such a complex, intricate vocal display. It's overwhelming but really fun," she says.
One song is good enough for most birds, but for lyrebirds, it's just a start. They are choosy about which birds they imitate, and favourites include the yellow-tailed black cockatoo, grey shrike-thrush, whipbirds and rosellas.
"Kookaburras are also a great favourite — a lyrebird can do two kookaburras calling at the same time."
So why go to all the trouble of impersonating multiple birds?
"Males sing during the time when the females are fertile, so singing is related to gaining a mate," says Dalziell.
"But it also has a lot to do with the fact that male and female lyrebirds have very different reproductive roles.
"The females do all the parental care — she builds the nest, cares for the chick, and defends her own territory.
"That means she doesn't need the male to be a good father — all she needs is for him to be beautiful and spectacular. The song is very flamboyant, very loud, very complex, and over the top, and so the female is probably choosing between males on the basis of how beautiful they are and how well they sing and dance.
"When it comes down to it, he can put all his effort into his performance, rather than being a dad."
Song secrets
Sole carer: the female lyrebird incubates a single egg for 50 days until it hatches, then looks after the chick. (Source: Anastasia Dalziell)
While their impersonations are impressive, Dalziell wanted to test if lyrebirds were good enough to fool other birds.
One of the birds that lyrebirds really like to imitate is the musical call of the grey shrike-thrush. Dalziell made recordings of both real shrike-thrushes, and also lyrebirds imitating shrike-thrushes. She played the two recordings to a shrike-thrush to see how it would react (measured by how close the shrike-thrush approached the speakers).
Dalziell says the shrike-thrush was totally fooled by the lyrebird impersonation, showing as much interest in that recording as in a real shrike-thrush call.
The astonishing ability of lyrebirds to mimic is partly explained by their unusual throat structure.
Most songbirds, including the lyrebird, have a vocal organ called a syrinx, located at the base of the trachea. Because it is located where the trachea forks into the bronchii that lead to the lungs, birds can produce more than one sound at the same time — one sound in each of the two bronchii.
Dalziell says the syrinx of the lyrebird is unlike most other songbirds, with fewer muscles and probably greater flexibility, perhaps explaining why lyrebirds can produce such a diverse range of sounds.
Fads, fashion and ferals
Fight or flight: Lyrebirds take refuge in trees when they feel threatened by predators. (Source: Alex Maisey)
In the late 19th and early 20th century, the spectacular tail feathers of lyrebirds were perched on many fashionable ladies' hats, and birds were hunted in large numbers. Their ground-dwelling nature also made adults, chicks and eggs vulnerable to introduced predators such as foxes and cats.
How then are superb lyrebirds still relatively widespread and easy to find in the bush?
"They are real survivors," says Dalziell. Evolving alongside predators such as quolls and Tasmanian devils, lyrebirds can take refuge in trees. They also have excellent hearing and can let out a deafening scream, startling even the boldest hunter.
Lyrebirds also cope well with bushfires. There are extraordinary stories, says Dalziell, of someone fleeing a fire and taking refuge under a blanket in a creek, only to find a lyrebird suddenly pop up under the blanket with them. They have also been known to seek refuge from fire down wombat holes and in caves.
One thing they may not survive, though, is climate change, says Dalziell. Lyrebirds live in moist forests and rely on damp habitats to supply the earthworms and other ground-dwelling invertebrates that make up most of their diet.
"They can cope with many things, but I suspect they will have problems with climate change: their habitat could dry out."
EVEN after 50 years the Sherbrooke Lyrebird Survey Group continues to do a superb job protecting and studying native lyrebirds. This month the group celebrates 50 years of helping Parks Victoria to monitor superb lyrebird numbers in Dandenong Ranges National Park.
Formed in 1958, it is the oldest volunteer group on Parks Victoria records. Secretary Jan Incoll has been a member for nine years and is one of only four secretaries in 50 years. She loves the uniqueness and beauty of the lyrebirds, but also the companionship of the group.
Ms Incoll, like other members, is so dedicated to the job she is out in the Sherbrooke Forest helping the cause almost every day. The group’s size has remained constant at about 12.
Its first meeting was in September 1958, with founding members Ralph Kenyon, Dr L. H. Smith and Ina Watson aiming to understand the lifecycle and habitat preferences of the lyrebird in Sherbrooke Forest Park.
Now annual dawn surveys, which started in the 1970s, are held every June and July small groups of surveyors standing at designated points in the forest taking compass bearings of calling male lyrebirds.
Male lyrebird territories in the national park have increased from 25 in the year 2000 to 43 in 2006.
Ms Incoll said members also helped research students with studies in disease, analysis of calls and diet.
The group seeks more signs on the roads around the forest warning of lyrebirds crossing, with seven killed by vehicles in the past nine months.
Holy Grail of songbirds: Anastasia Dalziell is finishing her
By Abbie Thomas In bushland along the east coast of Australia, male lyrebirds are putting on a song and dance show all in the name of love.
If you're out bushwalking at this time of the year, don't be surprised if you hear an especially piercing bird call, followed by a wave of more familiar songs.
It's probably a lyrebird going through his repertoire, looking for love.
Winter is the time when female superb lyrebirds are fertile, and males sing and dance their hearts out trying to attract a female mate.
For about six weeks, males sing intensely from dawn to dusk. You might hear them at other times of the year, especially if it's raining, but winter is when their vocal chords get a real workout.
The males build several mounds on the ground, and use these as a stage to put on their extraordinary vocal and visual displays.
There are two species of lyrebird. The superb lyrebird is the most common and widespread and is best known for the spectacular tail shaped like an ancient Greek lyre (harp).
Albert's lyrebird is a smaller, less gaudy species, which is restricted to just a few reserves in the far north-east corner of New South Wales and south-east corner of Queensland.
The lyrebird is so called because the male bird has a spectacular tail consisting of 16 highly modifiedfeathers (two long slender lyrates at the centre of the plume, two broader medians on the outside edges and twelve filamentaries arrayed between them), which was originally thought to resemble a lyre. This happened when a Superb Lyrebird specimen (which had been taken from Australia to England during the early 19th century) was prepared for display at the British Museum by a taxidermist who had never seen a live lyrebird. The taxidermist mistakenly thought that the tail would resemble a lyre, and that the tail would be held in a similar way to that of a peacock during courtship display, and so he arranged the feathers in this way. Later, John Gould (who had also never seen a live lyrebird), painted the lyrebird from the British Museum specimen.
Although very beautiful, the male lyrebird's tail is not held as in John Gould's painting, nor as in the portrayal of the Superb Lyrebird on the 1932 postage stamp (featured on this page above the photo of John Gould's painting). Instead, the male lyrebird's tail is fanned over the lyrebird during courtship display, with the tail completely covering his head and back — as can be seen in the image at the top of this page, where the Superb Lyrebird's tail (in courtship display) is portrayed accurately.
As I was looking for Australian Birds, I came across the work of this wonderful woman: Professional Wildlife Photographer: Marie Read. Below is her web page and link. The next You Tube Video below is her work. Spectacular! http://www.marieread.com/cpg/index.php
I thought some of You might like a short walk in the rain forest of Australia! Just Push Play>
How about a quick fly over tour of the Outback?
Just Push Play>
....this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek. See You next time!
Of Course, one more Great Performance! Now go relax in the hammock on this Australian Beach and chill out with this great new music I just found tonight. Goodnight and Sweet Dreams!
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/08/04/3284076.htm Hey ladies: Males sing during the time when the females are fertile. (Source: Alex Maisey) Suberb finery: The superb lyrebird is the most common and known for its tail shaped like an ancient Greek lyre. (Alex Maisey) Fashion item: lyrebirds were hunted in large numbers for their feathers to adorn ladies' hats. (Alex Maisey) Fight or flight: Lyrebirds take refuge in trees when they feel threatened by predators. (Alex Maisey) Holy Grail of songbirds: Anastasia Dalziell is finishing her PhD on lyrebird communication. (Alex Maisey) http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/08/04/3284076.htm
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Now available in stock are the following live parrots and birds for sale. We also have chicks from 1 day old up to 60 days old available in stock. Our parrots are free from the bird flu and vet checked. They are tamed and hand raised. They can serve as good pets and companions.
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