Feb 28 2011
The Lyrebird meets Weird Al Yancovic

Last Christmas Eve, we went on a birdwalk in Uralba Nature Reserve with birding expertsAlastair and Mike. Just as we finished, we heard, and then saw, Menura Alberti – the Albert’s Lyrebird.

For birdwatchers such as Alastair and Mike, this is reason to celebrate.

The Albert’s Lyrebird’s habitat is very small, living just in SE Qld and Northern NSW. The Uralba Nature Reserve is the southern most place they have been sighted. Albert’s Lyrebird is classified as ‘Near Threatened’.

Like its cousin, the Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), they are very shy and seldom seen. They also share the family skill of being excellent mimics.

On David Atenborough’s eightieth birthday, there was a popular vote to select the best wildlife footage he had produced. Out of the 150 hours of television he has made over 50 years, the winner was……. his footage of a Superb Lyrebird demonstrating its skills as a mimic – as seen in “Life of Birds”.