Lyrebirds can perfectly imitate chainsaws, camera shutters, and other noises.

The animal kingdom is full of incredible mimics, but when it comes to imitating sounds, few — if any — are more impressive than the lyrebird. Australia’s male lyrebirds produce astonishingly accurate copies of forest sounds to use in their elaborate courtship songs. They can copy the calls of other birds, whether it’s a kookaburra’s cackling laughter or the whipcrack song of an eastern whipbird, as well as many other noises that occur naturally in their environment. 

But that’s not all: Lyrebirds have also been recorded copying human-made sounds, including camera shutters, chainsaws, car alarms, construction tools, and even crying babies — often causing confusion among humans who hear these “songs.” As the birds age and gain more experience, they improve their courtship songs, which in turn increases their success rate when it comes to impressing potential mates.