Many birds mimic the calls of other birds. But there is no bird that has the repertoire of the Lyrebird, renown for being some of the greatest mimics in the avian world. So, what's they're deal? Let's find out.

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Notes:

• Superb Lyrebird: https://ebird.org/species/suplyr1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Albert's Lyrebird: https://ebird.org/species/alblyr1
• 10 cents: https://www.ramint.gov.au/ten-cents
• Lyrebirds are losing their voice: https://westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/lyrebirds_are_losing_their_voice_due_to_continued_habitat_loss
• Bird Life: https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/superb-lyrebird/?srsltid=AfmBOoqwY7ME7qaHqkOv23B2VUUFpxZ_VlL4BIEGim8z85fHyydXH7ax
• World Wildlife Fund: https://wwf.org.au/blogs/the-superb-lyrebird-helping-these-amazing-mimickers-recover-from-the-2019-20-bushfires/

You know what film doesn't get talked about enough? Charlie's Angels (2000). But wait, this show isn't about middling films from two decades ago, it's about amazing birds, so how is that film connected to birds? Well, let's find out. I promise it's ridiculous.

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Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Charlie's Angels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie%27s_Angels_(2000_film)
• The Scene in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-mbJhVl2Xc
• Pygmy Nuthatch: https://ebird.org/species/pygnut
• Venezuelan Troupial: https://ebird.org/species/ventro1
• Troupials are nest pirates: https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Icterus_icterus%20-%20Troupial.pdf
• Fox Sparrow: https://ebird.org/species/foxspa
• Slate's podcast on the issue: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2024/10/how-did-the-big-budget-charlies-angels-movie-get-this-bird-so-wrong

The Kookaburra has to be one of Australia's most famous birds, with a call so iconic and strange that it has been used in a whole swarth of Hollywood films to evoke a feeling of the topics and the exotic, despite the fact that they do not live in that type of environment. But they're a bird of far greater interest than their call alone, so in this episode we'll see what else they have to offer.

To support Bird of the Week and gain access to our second podcast, What's up with that's Bird's Name? click on through to Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdoftheweek

Want birds in your inbox? Drop me a line at weekly.bird@outlook.com and I'll hook you up with a free weekly bird.

Notes:

• Laughing Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/laukoo1
• Blue-Winged Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/blwkoo1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Spangled Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/spakoo1
• Rufous-Bellied Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/rubkoo1
• Shovel-Billed Kookaburra: https://ebird.org/species/shbkoo1
• Kookaburra was Flipper: https://bioacoustics.stackexchange.com/questions/746/is-this-sound-made-by-flipper-dolphin-tv-series-real
• Kookaburra in film: https://soundandthefoley.com/2013/05/30/that-jungle-sound/#:~:text=THE%20KOOKABURRA%20IN%20OTHER%20FILMS,on%20their%20way%20to%20Australia.
• Kookaburra chicks kill their siblings: https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2000/10/23/201846.htm