Sometimes birds use mimicking to deter an attack, making a sound that frightens off a potential attacker. Consider the brown thornbill found in Australia, a tiny bird that has been dubbed the second dullest bird in the country by one observer, exceeded in dullness only by the mountain thornbill.
The brown thornbill is described as “boringly brown,” but the little bird does have a saving grace — it has distinctive songs that carry for great distances. What’s more, thornbills get extremely worked up when protecting their nest.
They scream and scold attackers and also employ a secret weapon. Like our northern mockingbird, the thornbill can mimic the calls of other birds.
It calls out especially loud at the approach of a dreaded enemy, the brown goshawk. It does not mimic the call of the hawk, but it does mimic the frantic calls of the New Holland honeyeater. Honeyeaters are a reliable sentinel bird that often warns of aerial attacks, so their call gets prompt attention and birds scurry to avoid the hawk.
Birds will steal songs to repel competitors or rivals. For example, Regent honeycreepers mimic the calls of large wattlebirds to scare away rival birds that compete for food.
Burrowing owls in California rattle like an agitated rattlesnake to scare off ground squirrels wishing to take over the owl’s burrow.
Both northern mockingbirds and lyrebirds will mimic sounds to scare off potential avian invaders.
All in all, birds may come up with some strange vocalizations and a real talent for mimicry.
It’s all part of making sure they met their primary goal – to stay alive.
