Polly Want a Chainsaw? Lyrebird Imitates a Jackhammer, Drill and Other Tools

Bird keepers at the Adelaide Zoo in Australia are eagerly awaiting breeding season to hear what new calls the zoo's resident lyrebird has learned.

Known as Chook, the zoo's lyrebird is an expert mimic and has previously heard and copied construction sounds, including hammers, drills, two-way radios and chainsaws, as well as traffic noises and the clicks of tourist cameras.

In an amazing video, Chook is seen expertly mimicking the kookaburra, an Australian bird known for its laughing call, adding to a repertoire that he hopes will attract a mate.

"Chook is going well and is just starting to display like mad again," bird keeper Brett Backhouse told AOL News of the impending breeding season. "He is always full of surprises."

Chook, whose breed is officially known as a "superb lyrebird," is believed to have learned the unusual sounds after hearing construction noises from a newly built panda enclosure at the zoo.

"It is part of their genetic makeup," said Backhouse, the Adelaide Zoo's senior bird keeper, who has looked after Chook for 10 years. "They are designed to hear these noises, replicate them, and do them in a song and a dance to attract a female.

"He does this to attract a mate or to also threaten off other male lyrebirds. He goes through a whole repertoire of whatever he can think of. He does drills, he does cars starting and he can speak as well.

"I find it strange that a bird would imitate another species like a kookaburra to encourage another lyrebird, but it works for them. It is all part of the game for him to attract a mate."

Sponsored Links

The superb lyrebird is one of two species of lyrebird found in forested areas of southeastern Australia and Tasmania.

An adult bird is approximately the size of a chicken with a fan of rear feathers not unlike, but less colorful than, a peacock.

The feathers give the bird its name as in full display it was thought to resemble the lyre, a musical instrument from ancient Greece.

Although once endangered, the superb lyrebird has regained numbers but its cousin, the Albert's lyrebird, remains officially threatened by the clearing of rain forest.

Make your life more weird! Follow AOL Weird News on Facebook and Twitter.