Echo the lyrebird perfects a human baby cry at the Taronga zoo in Sydney, Australia
(Picture: Photo courtesy of @tarongazoo/Twitter)Move over, comedians. Because now birds can also do amazing impersonations of people.
A lyrebird at a zoo gave people the “wake-up call of a lifetime” — by mimicking a crying baby,
On Monday, the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia posted a video that has received over 501,700 views at the time of writing showing its lyrebird Echo’s astonishing ability to sound like an infant.
Bet you weren't expecting this wake-up call! You're not hearing things, our resident lyrebird Echo has the AMAZING ability to replicate a variety of calls - including a baby's cry!
— Taronga Zoo (@tarongazoo) August 30, 2021
📽️ via keeper Sam #forthewild #tarongatv #animalantics pic.twitter.com/RyU4XpABos
People took to the comments to express their surprise at how cool this was – but also how bizarre the sound was.
“That’s so cool (and at the same time a nightmare), but - I wonder how many crying babies this bird has heard to mimic it p e r f e c t l y,” someone wrote.
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Others compared Echo’s cry to the “sounds of lockdown.”
“The sounds of lockdown: I can hear the bird in the jacaranda tree on the other side of the house that is mimicking the sound of a car alarm. weioh weioh weioh,” someone else added.
Someone who was in a bad mood was prompted to cracked a smile and wrote, “WOW! I’m in a bad mood today, but this made me smile. WOW! just WOW! How????”
Check out some other responses below.
not the, "I'm hot, hungry, and tired!!!!!!!!!" baby scream-cry 😭 https://t.co/zHA2VQiE7s
— 🧃𝕁𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕖🌿 (@sjelli3) September 2, 2021
this is a hilarious video but I do hope it's not nocturnal https://t.co/bsgFZ4swuZ
— ◯ 𝔅𝔞𝔪𝔟𝔦 ✷ (@bambibaebe) September 2, 2021
I wouldn't have it in my apartment😆 https://t.co/BbeXYebRMK
— 🇵🇷EVE NATALIE🇵🇷 (@TAINA525) September 3, 2021
Amazing but also please stop https://t.co/581UWCUUTy
— Tory Shepherd (@ToryShepherd) September 1, 2021
My lockdown mood right now https://t.co/vEG8Db8fQB
— Prime Minister of Lobsters 🦞 (@iwantmynbn) September 2, 2021
Lyrebirds are native to Australia and have an unlimited range of sounds they make. Whether that’s chainsaws, car alarms, lasers, video games, beaten nails, and human diction – you name it, they can do it.
Males are also identifiable with their lush feathers shaped like a lyre (a string instrument), which is where the name comes from, to attract mates.
It’s also not entirely uncommon for them to make their courting calls for up to six hours.
Well, that’s a lot of breathwork!
