Male lyrebirds cheat their mates with "ventriloquist" during mating

When birds see a predator among them, a defensive strategy is to shout loudly to attract other birds of the same or different species to do the same.

Anastasia Dalziell of Cornell University's Ornithology Laboratory said: "Our research shows that male lyrebirds often produce the illusion of a flock of birds, which creates a complex and powerful suggestion that there is a hidden predator.

"Surprisingly, males mimic the sound of bird groups only in two situations: when a potential mate tries to leave the male being shown without mating, or when they leave during mating.

The male lyrebird is famous for its ability to imitate the complex sounds made by humans (such as the sound of a chainsaw).

Dalziell and colleagues did not initially study the vocal behavior of such social animals.

The second surprise is the observation and recording of a male lyrebird mimicking this sound during mating, although it is difficult to observe the mating behavior of the lyrebird.

Dalziell said: "This seems remarkable, and indeed absurd.

She said that it is unclear how male lyrebirds benefit from their superb singing behavior.

"Biologists have clearly pointed out that there are three'protagonists' involved in effect sound: imitators, signal receivers and models.

The research results also show that these painstaking bird calls are not always a signal of honesty.

Of course, there are many other problems.

Related paper information: http://dx.