'Solitary' lyrebirds band together to save themselves from bushfire threat

Dear ATS Readers, Writers,

A "happy ending" news story out of Australia in the aftermath of some of the bush fires.

Lyrebirds are quite amazing birds.... they are the ultimate copy cats... for their mating songs. In some areas they have even been
recorded repeating running machinery noises, for example.

They are also extremely territorial. They stake out their own territories in the forest that cover a large area.

Some incredible photos at the link folks... like ELEVEN Lyrebirds huddled together, escaping the bush fire.

This has NEVER been seen in nature or photographed before.

Survival instincts over ride natural fears and instincts when danger is present.

'Solitary' lyrebirds band together to save themselves in 'incredible' show of unity under bushfire threat

PJ Wallis, nervous and filled with adrenaline, was preparing to defend her friend's home from a raging bushfire when she saw something remarkable.

Key points:

Lyrebirds are generally solitary and territorial animals
One resident captured 11 of them crowding together around a dam to escape bushfires and says there were closer to 20 birds there at one point
One expert says that he has never seen more than six or seven of the birds together at once and says the photograph is 'unique' and 'remarkable'

"We were waiting for this fire to hit and then all these lyrebirds kept coming down and drinking water out of the dam," she said.

"It was almost like any lyrebird in this huge radius knew that that was the safest place to be."
Ms Wallis was in a valley near Wollombi, New South Wales, on the edge of the Yengo National Park.

She managed to get a series of photographs of 11 birds, but said there were closer to 20 birds in the dam at one point.

So glad to see the lyrebirds made it out alive in her area.

They key will be finding food after the fire; and undergrowth for breeding and nesting for future generations.
In the past, lyrebird populations struggled for a long time after bush fires due to habitat loss.

Pravdaseeker

So eleven birds go to their watering hole to wait out the fire.

Where else would they go.

After a fire they are thirsty ... so ... water.

P