Brisbane Times reports:

When Michael Alfa was setting up to photograph wildlife at Woolgoolga’s sewage works near the northern NSW town of Coffs Harbour last year, the avid birdwatcher could hardly believe his senses.

There, among the warbling wattlebirds hanging off a coastal banksia tree, was a lone, critically endangered regent honeyeater, distinctive in its yellow and black plumage. But not its birdsong.

“It was making the exact same song [as the wattlebirds]. If you hadn’t seen it, you wouldn’t know it was a regent honeyeater,” Mr Alfa said. “It was just incredible.”

The species, not known for its mimicry, turns out to be picking up songs of other birds too, including the noisy friarbird, eastern rosella and the spiny-cheeked honeyeater, according to world-first research published on Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of The Royal Society B.

The widespread loss of habitat means the regent honeyeater has been reduced to its last 200-400 individuals spread over 300,000 square kilometres ranging from Queensland to Victoria. The birds are apparently changing their birdsong. In some cases, they are forgetting their song entirely and instead adopting the calls of other species, the researchers found. [Continue reading…]