Head to head
Mockingbird vs Lyrebird
Both birds are famous for one thing: copying other sounds. But a mockingbird and a lyrebird are wildly different animals, from opposite sides of the world, using mimicry for different reasons and to very different effect.
| Mockingbird | Lyrebird | |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Mimidae (mockingbirds, thrashers, catbirds) | Menuridae (2 species, Australia) |
| Size | Thrush-sized, ~25 cm | Among the largest songbirds, ~80 to 100 cm with tail |
| Range | The Americas | Forests of eastern Australia |
| Flight | Normal perching-bird flight | Weak; mostly runs and hops on the ground |
| When it mimics | All day and often all night, year-round if unmated | Mainly the winter breeding season, in display |
| Why it mimics | Territory defence and mate attraction by repertoire size | Elaborate courtship display on a mound |
| Accuracy | Recognisable snippets, repeated in phrases | Near-perfect; fools the birds being copied |
| Signature move | Sings from an exposed high perch, wings flashing | Throws the lyre-shaped tail forward over the head |
Mockingbird vs Lyrebird: common questions
Which is the better mimic, a mockingbird or a lyrebird?
The lyrebird, by common consent. A male superb lyrebird reproduces the calls of other birds with such precision that recordings fool experts and, more tellingly, fool the birds themselves, which respond as if to a rival or a mate. It can also weave in mechanical sounds, and captive birds have famously copied chainsaws, camera motordrives, and car alarms, though those particular sounds are rare in wild lyrebirds. A mockingbird is impressive in a different way: its skill is breadth and stamina rather than exactness. It runs through a huge list of species in recognisable but imperfect fragments, repeated two to six times each, and keeps it up for hours. So the mockingbird wins on repertoire and endurance, the lyrebird on sheer fidelity.
Do female mockingbirds and lyrebirds mimic too?
Both mainly get attention for the males, but females of both do vocalise and can mimic. Female mockingbirds sing, more quietly and less often than males, usually in autumn or when defending a winter feeding territory, and they include mimicry. Female lyrebirds, which do all the nest-building and chick-rearing alone, were long assumed to be nearly silent, but research has shown they have their own complex songs and mimicry, used in defending feeding territory and the nest. In neither species is female song just a weak copy of the male version; it appears to serve its own purposes.
Why do these birds copy other sounds at all?
The leading explanation for both is sexual selection: a large, accurate repertoire signals that a male is older, experienced, and has survived long enough to learn a great deal, which makes him attractive to females and intimidating to rivals. For the mockingbird there is good evidence that females prefer males with more song types and that repertoire grows with age. For the lyrebird the mimicry is embedded in a courtship display so extreme, tail and dance included, that it can only be about impressing females. Other ideas, such as mimicry helping to drive off competing species or to confuse predators, have some support but are secondary.