A lyre bird can make a crowd hear that is not there

A single superb man can produce a sound scene evoking several alarmed birds. Researchers have studied males mimicking the calls of a defensive gathering, which different species sometimes form in front of a predator. The effect goes beyond a song resembling another species: it evokes a whole collective agitation.

The surprise is also in the context. These imitations were detected during sexual interactions, especially when a female was about to leave without mating, or during mating. The male sounded an apparent external alert when he himself was at the origin of this composition. The team described this behavior as an acoustic illusion likely to influence the female.

The hypothesis is that these sounds can hold it by evoking a danger around. Their exact advantage, however, remains to be established, and a possible function proves no conscious intention to deceive. The observation already reveals a remarkable ability: a virtuoso of imitation can reproduce not only a voice, but the sound signs of an entire situation.