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Musk oars only live in Australia.
A representative of this type is now causing a scientific stir.
Photo: Martin Pelanek / iStockphoto / Getty Images
The Australian musk duck "Ripper" is a special bird.
Because it is obviously able to learn and imitate human vocalizations.
Showing a new study in the journal
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
has been published.
And this is also shown by this recording:
In the clip that
New Scientist
magazine published
on its YouTube channel, you can hear the duck imitating various sounds: the sound of the door to the aviary and the scolding of a keeper.
From second 28 you can hear “You bloody fool”, in German something like “Du damned idiot”.
The sounds come from the duck's beak.
Different birds can learn sounds
This is not only curious, but also scientifically interesting.
"The acquisition of vocal expressions through learning from other individuals is only known from a limited number of animal groups," the study says.
But: So far, it has been known of some songbird species, parrots and hummingbirds that they have this ability.
Now »Ripper« provides the first proof that Australian musk ducks (
Biziura lobata
) are also able to learn sounds.
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The study was published by the biologist Carel ten Cate, professor of behavioral biology at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. According to the
New Scientist's
account
, Ten Cate was intrigued to hear of a talking duck in Australia. He tracked down the now retired Australian scientist Peter J. Fullagar, who first observed the phenomenon more than 30 years ago. Because: Fullagar had reared the duck "Ripper" by hand. And during this time he had recorded the utterance of his pupil.
Musk ouders, also known as lobsters, are only found in Australia.
Usually the waterfowl learn how to whistle from their older schoolmates.
"Ripper" hatched in a rescue center in an Australian nature reserve in 1983 and was reared by hand.
It was only four years later that he came into the company of other conspecifics.
And in those four years the duck evidently learned sounds and words from its familiar surroundings.
A rather complex "duck vocalization"
The observations demonstrated "the presence of advanced vocal acquisition at a level comparable to that of songbirds and parrots," the study says.
And: "The structure of the duck vocalizations indicates a very sophisticated and flexible control of the vowel production mechanism."
"Ripper" curses also supported the hypothesis that vowel learning in birds developed independently in several groups.
The Australian representative is not the only musk oar duck that imitates strange noises.
According to the investigation, other cases are known - for example two musk ducks from the United Kingdom, which can either sound like a snorting pony or like a coughing groom.
Because the ducks tend to be more aggressive, they are rarely kept in captivity.
And her talent for languages has only now been noticed.
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