Male lyrebirds perform specific dance moves to their songs to attract females.
Lyrebirds, found in Australia, are renowned for their voices. They are
fantastic mimics, combining their own sounds with those of the forest
(even sounds that naturally wouldn't be there, such as chainsaws and
camera shutters). New research has found that superb lyrebirds (Menura
novaehollandiae) have particular choreography for certain songs.
Songs are not always accompanied by dances - males only show off their
moves to four song types, and each has a different dance. Lyrebirds
sometimes mess up and perform the wrong move, a sign that combining
singing and dancing could be challenging for them. Moves include
behaviours such as hopping, flapping their wings, and fanning and
contracting their lyre-shaped tails.
It's been suggested males
learn their dances while they are growing up. Males often perform in
groups, providing juveniles a chance to learn from adults, and maturity
comes at around 7 years of age - likely sufficient time for them to
learn how to dance. It's also not known what exactly the females are
looking for, or whether moves vary over time and between populations.
It's also possible that birds of paradise and manakins have similar
dancing skills, but so far no one carried out a study like this with
them.
To see the video: http://www.eurekalert.org/
To read the paper: http://bit.ly/1bsaOKc
Photo credit: Alex Maisey.
http://www.eurekalert.org/
http://www.newscientist.com/
http://www.wired.com/
http://www.livescience.com/
Male lyrebirds perform specific dance moves to their songs to attract females.
Lyrebirds, found in Australia, are renowned for their voices. They are fantastic mimics, combining their own sounds with those of the forest (even sounds that naturally wouldn't be there, such as chainsaws and camera shutters). New research has found that superb lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae) have particular choreography for certain songs.
Songs are not always accompanied by dances - males only show off their moves to four song types, and each has a different dance. Lyrebirds sometimes mess up and perform the wrong move, a sign that combining singing and dancing could be challenging for them. Moves include behaviours such as hopping, flapping their wings, and fanning and contracting their lyre-shaped tails.
It's been suggested males learn their dances while they are growing up. Males often perform in groups, providing juveniles a chance to learn from adults, and maturity comes at around 7 years of age - likely sufficient time for them to learn how to dance. It's also not known what exactly the females are looking for, or whether moves vary over time and between populations. It's also possible that birds of paradise and manakins have similar dancing skills, but so far no one carried out a study like this with them.
To see the video: http://www.eurekalert.org/
To read the paper: http://bit.ly/1bsaOKc
Photo credit: Alex Maisey.
http://www.eurekalert.org/
http://www.newscientist.com/
http://www.wired.com/
http://www.livescience.com/
Lyrebirds, found in Australia, are renowned for their voices. They are fantastic mimics, combining their own sounds with those of the forest (even sounds that naturally wouldn't be there, such as chainsaws and camera shutters). New research has found that superb lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae) have particular choreography for certain songs.
Songs are not always accompanied by dances - males only show off their moves to four song types, and each has a different dance. Lyrebirds sometimes mess up and perform the wrong move, a sign that combining singing and dancing could be challenging for them. Moves include behaviours such as hopping, flapping their wings, and fanning and contracting their lyre-shaped tails.
It's been suggested males learn their dances while they are growing up. Males often perform in groups, providing juveniles a chance to learn from adults, and maturity comes at around 7 years of age - likely sufficient time for them to learn how to dance. It's also not known what exactly the females are looking for, or whether moves vary over time and between populations. It's also possible that birds of paradise and manakins have similar dancing skills, but so far no one carried out a study like this with them.
To see the video: http://www.eurekalert.org/
To read the paper: http://bit.ly/1bsaOKc
Photo credit: Alex Maisey.
http://www.eurekalert.org/
http://www.newscientist.com/
http://www.wired.com/
http://www.livescience.com/
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