Adaptations
Structural AdaptationA structural adaptation is that they have long legs for swiftly running away from predators and so that they are able to jump over logs and branches. They also have four claws on their toes that enable them to scavenge for food in leaves to help them survive as if they didn’t have these claws, they would find it a lot more difficult to look for food as they would not be able to forage through the leaves and ground. These adaptations are innate as they are born with these features.
Behavioural adaptations
A behavioural adaptation is that superb lyrebirds are able to spread their tales out into a fan shape to scare away predators as it makes them look bigger and more intimidating. Males also do this to attract a female partner for breeding which is necessary for them to reproduce and keep their species alive. This is a type of visual communication between the animals.
Another behavioural adaptation is that lyrebirds are known for being extremely shy animals, so much so that it makes them hard or predators to stalk as they will not venture out from their territory and will hide in foliage a lot. This helps them to evade danger and predators, increasing their chances at survival. |
Physiological AdaptationA physiological adaptation is that they have a strong sense of smell, which allows them to distinguish, where food is or whether something is poisonous. This is very important as the birds could easily die from eating poisonous insects and spiders.
Another physiological adaptation is that they are able to mimic many different sounds of both other birds and humans. This can be used to scare away predators as they can make sounds that indicate threats, keeping them safe from danger. These calls can also be meant for mating to aid in attracting a female lyrebird. This is a type of acoustic communication between the animals. These adaptations are also innate. Image taken from: https://research.jcu.edu.au/ctbcc/our-people/staff-profile-pages/Dalzielletal_Selectedcoverimage.jpg/view
Copy and paste this link to hear the many sounds that a lyrebird can imitate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA0tP-p7m40
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