Photo: getty
Australian musk ducks just joined the — which includes parrots, dolphins, elephants, whales, and more — of animals that can learn to talk, thanks to a 1987 recording.
During a recent review of birds capable of vocal learning, researcher Carel ten Cate of the Netherlands' Institute of Biology Leiden of Leiden University found recorded audio of an Australian musk duck saying, “You body fool!”
“The male waterbird, named Ripper, was also heard imitating the sound of a door slamming,” ten Cate shared ina Leiden University article on Monday.
Now-retired Australian scientist Peter J. Fullagar received the audio in 1987 from an Australian birder, ten Cate discovered.
He added, “The man, Peter Fullagar, told me that the duck was hand-reared and would have had heard the sound as a duckling.”
Ten Cate also found recordings of musk ducks imitating noises “such as a snorting pony, the cough of a caretaker and a squeaking door,” per the Leiden University article.
Speaking to theNewScientist, the researcher said, “Vocal learning is a rare and special trait, so that makes this duck particularly special.”
Fullagar also obtained a recording of another male musk duck in 2000 mimicking quack sounds “like common park ducks,” ten Cate found, he toldNew Scientist.
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“When I first heard these stories, I thought, ‘Oh, this must be a really good joke,'” the researcher told the outlet of rumored speculation that the Australian ducks could talk. “But actually, they come from respected scientists and birdkeepers, and the reports are very reliable. Apparently, these ducks are learning something about vocalizations starting at a very young age.”
In the Leiden University article, ten Cate added, “It is not yet clear why this particular species is capable of vocal learning.”
source: people.com
