lyrebird

1 8.6

An Australian bird with very long tail feathers that copies many natural and human sounds

noun
/ˈlaɪərˌbɜrd/

Australian

: pájaro lira

Examples

But of course, that first one you saw, the animal that could imitate the lyrebird could imitate anything.
He can reproduce any sound that he hears, just like a modern day Lyrebird.

Dinosaur Island (2014)
He sold his stuffed tanagers, his lyrebird, his Quetzal; sold his six hawkbill tortoise shells, the pearl in the shape of a pig, the skull of a wistiti.

Fiction book (1998)
The male lyrebird performs a stunning display of song and dance to attract a mate.
In the forest, the lyrebird can mimic the sounds of other birds and even human-made noises.
Watching the lyrebird imitate car alarms is one of the highlights of visiting Australia.

How Mimicking

lyrebird

Australian

1 8.6

myna

1 7.7

starling

20 3.9

pigeon

247 1.0

thrush

4 3.6

Surface Forms

lyrebird singular

lyrebirds plural

Morphology

lyrebird = lyre + bird (transparent) = lyre + bird

A straightforward compound of 'lyre' + 'bird' denoting a bird with lyre-shaped tail feathers; the species-specific behaviors are extra information not implied by morphology.

Etymology

Lyrebird gets its name from the long tail that looks like a lyre, a 'small harp', and bird just means bird. The male shows this lyre-shaped tail and can imitate many sounds, so the name links the tail's musical shape to the bird's showy, musical behaviour.