Video shows a bird in an Australian zoo that has learned to perfectly mimic a human baby's crying

A lyrebird in New South Wales, Australia. Not the one in the article.

Jouan Rius/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

• Echo the lyrebird appears to have learned how to perfectly replicate the sound of a wailing baby.
• The bird, who lives in a Sydney zoo, can also mimic a fire alarm and power drill, a zoo official said.
• The official told The Guardian that Echo had been "working on his craft" during the zoo's lockdown.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

A lyrebird named Echo has picked up a peculiar song during his zoo's COVID-19 lockdown: The wailing of a crying baby.

Keepers at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, tweeted a video of Echo, a seven-year-old male, making the sound on Tuesday. Watch him here:

-Taronga Zoo (@tarongazoo) August 30, 2021

Leanne Golebiowski, the bird unit supervisor at Taronga Zoo, told The Guardian that Echo started using snippets of the stirring sound a year ago but has been "working on his craft" during Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown.

"I can only assume that he picked it up from our guests," Golebiowski said, joking: "I thought the zoo was a happy place for families to visit!"

Golebiowski told The Guardian that Echo has also picked up two other not-so-pleasant sounds.

One is of a power drill, Golebiowski said, adding: "The second is our fire alarm. He even has the 'evacuate now' announcement down pat."

Lyrebirds are made up of two ground-dwelling species living in Australia. The males, who sport stunning long tail feathers that they fan during courtship, are known for their mimicking ability, from car alarms to toy guns, as can be seen in the video below:

The more diverse the mating sound, the more likely they are to attract females, as Insider previously reported.

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