The Biggest Gamer in the Bird World
A Curl-crested Jay reveals its hidden talent for mimicking cyber sounds.
Listen to this clip and take a guess at what it is:
An old Sega console? A busted computer? R2-D2?
Nope. It鈥檚 a male that鈥檚 just so good at digital sound effects, you鈥檇 think it swallowed a game of Tetris.
The jay鈥檚 intriguing behavior was by a volunteer at the Criadouro 翱苍莽补 Pintada breeding center in Brazil. Although it鈥檚 unclear where this particular bird found its inspiration, wild Curl-crested Jays are known to incorporate the calls of other birds into their repertoire. The birds, which are endemic to the cerrado woodlands in eastern South America, are known mimics鈥攁 behavioural trait that鈥檚 common to all jays.
In an article for , researchers Chris Bird and Ira Federspiel from the University of Cambridge write that jays rip off all kinds of sound bites鈥攅verything from dripping taps to human speech. It鈥檚 probable, the researchers say, that the birds鈥 pliable vocals are engineered for mating. They also write:
鈥淚t has been suggested that mimicked sounds could be an 鈥榟onest signal鈥 to females indicating the quality of the male. Since copying a sound that鈥檚 not part of the species鈥 own repertoire comes at a certain expense, time, and energy expended in mimicking suggest a healthier suitor. Hence vocal repertoire may help females decide which males to mate with.鈥
In other words, the more expansive and unique the archive of sound effects, the more chance there is of winning the attention of a female bird. Unfortunately for this captive Curl-crested Jay, it鈥檚 more likely that its calls are a ; birds that mime in captivity frequently turn to their own tunes for entertainment, or use them to get their owners鈥 attention.
But this lonely jay should know that he isn鈥檛 the only bird with a gaming obsession: The Australian lyrebird offers stiff competition with its impressive take on a Space Invaders laser gun. If these two birds ever met, it鈥檇 surely be an epic showdown.