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(Cracked) Amusing Five birds with abilities that put superheroes to shame   (cracked.com) divider line 80
More: Amusing, Daredevil, satellite dish, construction equipment, Wikimedia Commons, car alarms  
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22374 clicks; posted to Main » on 22 Oct 2011 at 10:23 PM   |  Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook   more»   |    Get this fabulous T-Shirt and impress the methane out of your friends! shirt it!



80 Comments   (+0 »)
   

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2011-10-22 08:45:17 PM
Ok, a Cracked list finally had some value for showing me a lyrebird. That's cool.
 
2011-10-22 09:28:59 PM
I was expecting the peregrine falcon on there
 
2011-10-22 09:38:20 PM
This article mentions nothing about their ongoing battle with the green pigs
 
2011-10-22 09:52:36 PM
That lyrebird was cool. It made camera sounds, a car alarm sound, and chainsaw sounds. Wait, why would it be hearing car alarms out in the middle of the jungle?
 
2011-10-22 09:54:49 PM
Walker: That lyrebird was cool. It made camera sounds, a car alarm sound, and chainsaw sounds. Wait, why would it be hearing car alarms out in the middle of the jungle?

It might not be that far from a road area. Or even just car alarms from the loggers could have done it.
 
2011-10-22 10:05:06 PM
I'm still not entirely convinced that the lyrebird isn't real, but rather just an elaborate BBC hoax.
 
2011-10-22 10:27:50 PM
The Harpy Eagle Can and Will Crush You

But it looks so sad!
 
2011-10-22 10:30:18 PM
I'm glad this wasn't a link to angry birds.
 
2011-10-22 10:31:35 PM
i love the dancing abilities of the riflebird of paradise.

i would think that hummingbirds would get some love too. awesome to watch.
 
2011-10-22 10:31:48 PM
That lyrebird is farking awesome. I want one
 
2011-10-22 10:31:49 PM
I'm sad this wasn't a link to angry birds.
 
2011-10-22 10:32:43 PM
www.angrybirds-game-online.com
 
2011-10-22 10:37:34 PM
I am pretty sure with that kind of talon strength, a Harpy Eagle could snap a mans forearm.
 
2011-10-22 10:40:32 PM
VictoryCabal: I'm still not entirely convinced that the lyrebird isn't real, but rather just an elaborate BBC hoax.

Adelaide Zoo lyrebird imitating construction work.

But yeah, my first reaction to was 'no way, I call bullshiat.'
 
2011-10-22 10:41:58 PM
www.raven-armoury.co.uk

Yikes!
 
2011-10-22 10:42:32 PM
Owls are the bomb.

Eyes of the night! (That is the motto of my ANG unit - I felt the need to bellow it)
 
2011-10-22 10:42:33 PM
GAT_00: VictoryCabal: I'm still not entirely convinced that the lyrebird isn't real, but rather just an elaborate BBC hoax.

Adelaide Zoo lyrebird imitating construction work.

But yeah, my first reaction to was 'no way, I call bullshiat.'


Dude, it's name is Chook.
 
2011-10-22 10:44:01 PM
VictoryCabal: I'm still not entirely convinced that the lyrebird isn't real, but rather just an elaborate BBC hoax.

/?
 
2011-10-22 10:45:32 PM
Holy shiat, my only question is where can I buy a lyrebird? I'll pay fifty dollars for one!
 
2011-10-22 10:50:36 PM
The one without the gannet!

The one without the gannet-!!! They've ALL got the gannet!! It's a Standard British Bird, the gannet, it's in all the books!!!

Well, I don't like them...they wet their nests.
 
2011-10-22 10:54:52 PM
Tanukis_Parachute: i love the dancing abilities of the riflebird of paradise.

i would think that hummingbirds would get some love too. awesome to watch.


hummingbirds are real cool. most folks dont know what kind of warriors they are. when they find a feeder,they will try to run off every bird in the area,attacking other birds much larger then them selves.
 
2011-10-22 10:57:56 PM
VictoryCabal: I'm still not entirely convinced that the lyrebird isn't real, but rather just an elaborate BBC hoax.

It is real, just intelligently designed.
 
2011-10-22 10:58:29 PM
TheyCallMeSirr2: VictoryCabal: I'm still not entirely convinced that the lyrebird isn't real, but rather just an elaborate BBC hoax.

/?


Haha, so you fell for the Spaghetti Tree hoax?
 
2011-10-22 11:04:57 PM
Came for superfast peregrine falcons, leaving disappointed.

/Altho their choices are also fun.
 
2011-10-22 11:09:04 PM
Was this a clip from Police Academy 7: Cleaning Up the Tweets?
 
2011-10-22 11:09:28 PM
freetomato: Owls are the bomb.

Eyes of the night! (That is the motto of my ANG unit - I felt the need to bellow it)


My brother has one in his back yard. Know what's not in his back yard? Rodents.
 
2011-10-22 11:09:36 PM
The linked video about owls is great. Serious cameraman dedication.
 
2011-10-22 11:11:57 PM
So... velociraptors are still around, only they can now fly, and they've been renamed 'harpy eagles'. Good to know.

*whimper*
 
2011-10-22 11:14:06 PM
Do the chickens have large talons?
 
2011-10-22 11:25:03 PM
About 2 months ago, I attended a military conference at Calloway Gardens, GA (Near Columbus/Ft Benning). A storm blew through and knocked out the power, so my "free pass to Calloway!" was kind of shiat. I drove through anyway. I hit the "Birds of Prey" exhibit hoping for whatever my free day pass would give me. The bird handler came into the lobby and gave me a one on one bird meeting since he couldn't do his show. Pretty cool and much better, more intimate, questions and answers and such, than the big show would have been, I think.

a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net

a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net
 
2011-10-22 11:31:17 PM
I am up for the Harpy Eagle v. Honey Badger showdown.
 
2011-10-22 11:34:32 PM
No african swallow?
 
2011-10-22 11:36:25 PM
There are some who call me Tim: No african swallow?

Is carrying coconuts a super power?
 
2011-10-22 11:37:42 PM
Walker: That lyrebird was cool. It made camera sounds, a car alarm sound, and chainsaw sounds. Wait, why would it be hearing car alarms out in the middle of the jungle?

How else are you supposed to protect new spinners on a rhesus monkey?
 
2011-10-22 11:41:49 PM
nekom
Holy shiat, my only question is where can I buy a lyrebird? I'll pay fifty dollars for one!

You can get one for ten cents Australian.
 
2011-10-22 11:43:23 PM
Here are a few of the more amusing lyrebird clips:
Link
Link
Link
 
2011-10-22 11:45:07 PM
fat boy: Well, I don't like them...they wet their nests.

Alright, I'll remove them.

Any other birds you don't like?
 
2011-10-22 11:46:42 PM
Richard Roma: So... velociraptors are still around, only they can now fly, and they've been renamed 'harpy eagles'. Good to know.

*whimper*


Good thing Haast's Eagle (new window) is extinct. You think the Harpy and Ostrich were badass? Imagine an eagle like the Harpy, only big enough to kill a bird that was twice the size of the Ostrich. That's right, the Haast's Eagle ate Moas (new window). When the Maori first arrived in New Zealand they discovered a flying top predator that was pre-adapted to killing large bipedal animals.

Think about that.

/went extinct because their main prey, the moa, were hunted to extinction
//so humans are still better predators
 
2011-10-22 11:48:45 PM
fat boy: The one without the gannet!

The one without the gannet-!!! They've ALL got the gannet!! It's a Standard British Bird, the gannet, it's in all the books!!!

Well, I don't like them...they wet their nests.


Ah, thanks! I was trying to remember where I've heard about gannets.
 
2011-10-22 11:51:58 PM
American Decency Association: VictoryCabal: I'm still not entirely convinced that the lyrebird isn't real, but rather just an elaborate BBC hoax.

it's incredible isn't it

heres another clip ... Lyrebird imitating construction work - Adelaide Zoo ^


Used to live in the foothills of the Dandenongs in Melbourne - we had one male lyrebird that did the neighbour's phone ring as part of its repertoire, actually learned to stop the call two rings after the neighbour went inside to answer it, just as would happen if it was actually ringing. Moved away not longer after - I assume the neighbour ended up going insane.
 
2011-10-22 11:59:03 PM
platedlizard: Richard Roma: So... velociraptors are still around, only they can now fly, and they've been renamed 'harpy eagles'. Good to know.

*whimper*

Good thing Haast's Eagle (new window) is extinct. You think the Harpy and Ostrich were badass? Imagine an eagle like the Harpy, only big enough to kill a bird that was twice the size of the Ostrich. That's right, the Haast's Eagle ate Moas (new window). When the Maori first arrived in New Zealand they discovered a flying top predator that was pre-adapted to killing large bipedal animals.

Think about that.

/went extinct because their main prey, the moa, were hunted to extinction
//so humans are still better predators


Damn I betcha those moa were tasty.
 
2011-10-22 11:59:20 PM
Lyrebirds are the shiznit. I've seen one in the Blue Mountains when I was camping. It was incredible the sounds that little guy could make! He, too, could imitate a chainsaw, sadly. :-( And they learn the car alarms because there is a big parking lot at the top of the valley they live in, so the sound carries down below sometimes.
 
2011-10-23 12:01:42 AM
GAT_00: VictoryCabal: I'm still not entirely convinced that the lyrebird isn't real, but rather just an elaborate BBC hoax.

Adelaide Zoo lyrebird imitating construction work.

But yeah, my first reaction to was 'no way, I call bullshiat.'


That's cool. And it's name is chook!
 
2011-10-23 12:05:32 AM
LaughingRadish: Here are a few of the more amusing lyrebird clips:

Good stuff! That bird has so much comic potential in the right environment (stripclub? I keed). I am puzzled as to what survival benefit such mimicry may confer.
 
FNG [TotalFark]
2011-10-23 12:21:05 AM
I don't read Cracked lists, but I'll say hummingbirds are awesome. The girl and I were sitting outside this summer and two, presumably a couple, came investigating our tomato plants. It was awesome, had never seen one up close before, let alone two together.

Owls are pretty awesome too, but we don't have them where I live. I'm sure they are somewhere, but not here.
 
2011-10-23 12:21:29 AM
How about a bird moonwalking? (new window)
 
2011-10-23 12:21:51 AM
berylman: LaughingRadish: Here are a few of the more amusing lyrebird clips:

Good stuff! That bird has so much comic potential in the right environment (stripclub? I keed). I am puzzled as to what survival benefit such mimicry may confer.


It's part of their "mating display" to attract a female. As with most things that evolve as behaviour to attract the opposite sex, it doesn't make a helluva lot of sense... ;-) As a side note, I believe that they have found fossils of lyrebirds dating back to about 15 million years ago...
 
2011-10-23 12:25:11 AM
Lyrebirds really are that awesome, I heard a couple males competing in a zoo in Australia, when I first heard them I thought there was construction in the zoo, apparently they had picked up the sounds of hammers and power tools when their exhibit had been rebuilt a few years before.
 
2011-10-23 12:26:39 AM
Bondith: nekom
Holy shiat, my only question is where can I buy a lyrebird? I'll pay fifty dollars for one!

You can get one for ten cents Australian.


Awesome! I have that!

img545.imageshack.us

And enough change to buy a digeriedoo.

/has an Aussie pen pal
//will definitely ask her about this bird.
///NZ money on the right but that works too right?
 
2011-10-23 12:27:34 AM
berylman: I am puzzled as to what survival benefit such mimicry may confer.

Making the call of a bird of prey at the right time could easily frighten competitors of another species away from a food source. But, that in itself is kind of limited.

If you watch the videos, it seems there is a lot of tail feather display going on while making sounds. It could be part of the mating ritual, in which case, sexual selection may be the answer. For some reason, at some point in their history, females preferred mimics (perhaps for the reason I just listed about securing food sources) and had more sex with better mimics. Over time, this kind of selection would easily make them the amazing mimics they are today.

Sexual selection is extremely powerful, able to select for traits that would otherwise be a survival disadvantage, such as the tails of peacocks and birds of paradise and such.

If a trait has both some survival advantage and sexual selection favoring it, it will be strongly selected for.

/however, that's just a general answer... I don't know the specifics of this bird, as this is the first time I've ever heard of them
 
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