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Male lyrebirds groove to their own beat

Dark lyrebird

At this stage the researchers don't know what aspects of the display impress the female the most (Source: Alex Maisey/ANU)

Avian choreography The Australian male lyrebird puts on a sophisticated song and dance spectacular to attract the ladies, according to new research.

The finding, published in the journal Current Biology, is the first description of the unusually complex song and choreography routine used by lyrebirds to attract a mate.

Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) and Melbourne's LaTrobe University, used video recordings of 12 males performing their displays in the Dandenong Ranges, east of Melbourne.

"During the breeding season, which occurs in a short six-week period in the middle of winter, males build a series of display mounds each one being a circular patch of dirt on the forest floor," says lead researcher Anastasia Dalziell from the ANU.

The female lyrebirds then visit the mounds looking for a mate.

When a male sees an approaching female, "he will run to one of these display mounds and then he'll throw his tail over his head and perform a song and dance display," she says.

The researchers identified four different song and dance routines.

It's just a jump to the left

"Their opening song sounds like a 1980's video arcade game. During this song their tail is over their head, resembling a veil and the lyrebird will walk sideways -- a bit like the 'grapevine step'," says Dalziell.

"The second song is the loudest sound. It is painfully loud … more than 90 decibels at seven metres." During this song the bird's tail is narrowed and he hardly moves.

This is followed by a softer song during which the male lyrebird's tail is held still over its head to resemble a mohawk hairstyle.

"With this one he flaps his wings and jumps or bobs several times," says Dalziell.

The bird then alternates between the second and third routines several times, before repeating their first routine and finishing with a repetitive buzzing sound with their tail wide open and the legs and wings still.

"If she likes him the mating will happen on the display mound immediately after the display," Dalziell says.


"It's one of the unanswered questions, and hopefully we'll be able to answer in the future," says Dalziell.

She says the displays are probably "cognitively and physically demanding" and the female lyrebirds are "very picky".

According to Dalziell, further research into the mating rituals of the lyrebird will also investigate how they learn their songs and dance movements, and how they co-ordinate the two together.

Tags: birds