Comments on: Rhnhnnnn rhnn rhnn rhnn!

Rhnhnnnn rhnn rhnn rhnn!

ewagoner — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:10:13 -0800

Sir David Attenborough, naturalist and pioneer of the nature documentary, turned 80 last month. To mark the occasion, Britons were asked to choose their favorite Attenborough moment and of all the memorable scenes, his recording of the lyrebird came out on top. In this clip the bird mimics neighboring birds, several cameras, car alarms, and perhaps most impressively, loggers with chainsaws. (wmv, qt)

By: freebird

freebird — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:16:54 -0800

I came here to fight for one of my favorites, the spot from Mammals where he sings back and forth with the wolves. However, having watched that incredible lyrebird segment, I won't push it. I will point out that the latter is really a lyrebird moment, while the former is about The Man himself.

By: NationalKato

NationalKato — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:20:58 -0800

I always loved watching Attenborough as a child, but never managed to catch that lyrebird clip. Thanks, ewagoner!

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:21:00 -0800

Wow, that is an amazing clip!. Thanks for the links.

By: pwb503

pwb503 — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:24:35 -0800

Wow. They should get that bird for the next Police Academy movie.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:26:17 -0800

Astonishing.

By: The Bellman

The Bellman — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:37:52 -0800

Brilliant. Get the RIAA after that bird.

By: CynicalKnight

CynicalKnight — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:40:46 -0800

Altogether Spectacular. Does it take SD cards?

By: LeeJay

LeeJay — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:46:18 -0800

The lyrebird was amazing. It was the motorized camera shutter that really sealed the deal for me. freebird, do you have any idea where I might be able to see a clip of that wolves moment? It sounds beautiful.

By: freebird

freebird — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:54:58 -0800

I've actually been trying myself, because it is. It's not on the "favorite moments" list from the Wikipedia page, so it may not be so moving for everyone, but having had some similar moments myself I found it profoundly touching. I'll keep trying - IIRC, it's from The World of Mammals. Anyone?

By: interrobang

interrobang — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:56:50 -0800

What a great bird! Thanks!

By: Robot Johnny

Robot Johnny — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:57:55 -0800

That was unbelievable. The Lyrebird is my new favourite bird. After the blue-footed boobie, of course. Heh heh... boobie.

By: pmbuko

pmbuko — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:30:56 -0800

And what of the tufted titmouse?

By: yoink

yoink — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:31:16 -0800

I remember once seeing a little sequence of out-takes from Attenborough's documentaries: animals that kept wandering off just as he told us how remarkably still they would stay even in his presence, bits of hillside that would collapse as he was standing on them, that sort of thing. That, I think, was my favorite "Attenborough" moment because it revealed his unfailing good humour, and patient dedication. Life on Earth was one of the most gripping and impressive TV series I've ever seen. I wish more people made documentaries in that style today--I get so sick of the "arty"lets-throw-together-a-montage-of-images-that-may-or-may-not-have-anything-to-do-with-the-topic approach that seems to rule these days. Grrrr. Get off my lawn and go watch a David Attenborough whispering-head doco!

By: thomas j wise

thomas j wise — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:37:44 -0800

Very cool. I was a fan of the chainsaw imitation, myself.

By: pax digita

pax digita — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:50:05 -0800

Attenborough howling interactively with wolves? Reminds me of going to the zoo and proving to my skeptical wife that I could speak tiger. (What you do to make the sound tigers greet each other with is to alternate quickly back and forth between f and hard th sounds, flicking your tongue forward and back behind your teeth as you exhale through your mouth..."fthfthfthfthfthfthfthfthfth.") Mama Tiger was outside with two cubs, and they perked right up looking for another tiger; the mama softly yowled back at me. I guess it meant, "You're obviously not a real tiger, but howdy anyway."

By: Steven C. Den Beste

Steven C. Den Beste — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:59:02 -0800

Mocking birds will do that, too. One time I was really stunned to hear a mocking bird make the sound of a school fire alarm klaxon. (Just as with the chainsaw, it was recognizable but since it wasn't loud and there wasn't any bass, it didn't actually convince.)

By: edgeways

edgeways — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 13:02:55 -0800

Attenborough is great great great

By: Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson

Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 13:17:35 -0800

...and perhaps most impressively, loggers with chainsaws. ~~impressively~~ ~~uncannily~~ ironically

By: foraneagle2

foraneagle2 — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 13:20:41 -0800

awesome post, bird, man, documentaries, world, etc

By: spock

spock — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 13:28:55 -0800

I understand the CIA is now interested in using the lyrebird to infiltrate al-Qa'ida.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 13:32:11 -0800

Incredible. Thanks for the post.

By: NationalKato

NationalKato — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:04:58 -0800

pax digita, I can replicate the distress call of a young alligator with proven perfection, but that tiger greeting has me slobbering all over my keyboard.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:12:19 -0800

aww, David Attenborough is one of my favorite human beings. Love his work, his special voice, that is an alluring combo of old fart Queen's English, scientist, totally curious mischievous schoolboy, poetic wonder. Got his Trials of Life as a birthday present one year from my best friend, awesome. Here's the BBC Attenborough Archive with 10 cool videos, more videos.

By: blendor

blendor — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:14:43 -0800

I always thought the one where he ate the ant butts full of honey was pretty classic.

By: Steven C. Den Beste

Steven C. Den Beste — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:25:29 -0800

What's truly astounding is how long he's been at this kind of thing, and how long he's been iconic. Monty Python did a parody of him in one of the last episodes of the TV series.

By: DakotaPaul

DakotaPaul — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:38:54 -0800

I remember when I first saw Life of Birds and they did the "On the next episode..." thing and showed the lyrebird mimicking the chainsaw and camera shutter. I don't think my jaw ever dropped so far. I thought, "No. Frickin'. Way!" and had to watch the next episode immediately. Best I've heard live is a northern mockingbird imitating part of a car alarm sequence. Oh, and Attenborough is fantastic.

By: johnj

johnj — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:45:14 -0800

Wow. post made my day!

By: docgonzo

docgonzo — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:45:28 -0800

Incredible -- saw it a couple of times and thought it was going to be some sort of April Fool's Day at the end, and it was all a put-on. Literally unbelievable.

By: sidereal

sidereal — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 15:10:09 -0800

Man, I hope that bird gets laid.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 15:11:53 -0800

Steven C. Den Beste, Just thinking about Monty Python taking the mickey of Attenborough makes me want to laugh. Fun skit. The kookaburra makes a raucous laugh.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 15:27:25 -0800

I saw this a few years back... I think it must have gotten voted up due to wide play. Well, of course, plus the "camera with motor drive". hearing that bird make the click-whir sound is totally jaw-dropping.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 15:53:38 -0800

sidereal, LOL!

By: Joakim Ziegler

Joakim Ziegler — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 17:17:57 -0800

This is awesome, as is most of Attenborough's stuff. When I started reading the FPP, I was afraid he'd died, as it had the sort of intro an obituary had. I remember seeing a program about him and his work a while back, where he talked about his experiences. It was aso quite fascinating, and as a bonus, it included his response to religious people who wanted to talk to him about the beauty of nature; something about a worm burrowing out of an infant's eye, I think, and that's why he didn't believe in a benevolent creator god. Is there a definitive Attenborough DVD box set? It's the sort of thing I'd love to own, and that I think should be obligatory for parents to show to their kids.

By: UseyurBrain

UseyurBrain — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 17:28:41 -0800

I love birds and have a parrot for a pet and am always amazed at the sound she will mimic. Laughing, the background noise of the TV, childrens voices and one we couldn't figure out for a couple of weeks (turned out to be the squeaky back gate opening and shutting in the wind). Of course, the Lyrebird puts anything my parrot does to shame.

By: Serial Killer Slumber Party

Serial Killer Slumber Party — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 18:27:33 -0800

I am so full of patriotic pride right now. Although I was actually really impressed by his series on insects. That said, I love me a good bug doco.

By: Serial Killer Slumber Party

Serial Killer Slumber Party — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 18:48:25 -0800

nickyskye: I should also point out that David was responsible for Monty Python's existance, with his gig on BBC2.

By: dgaicun

dgaicun — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 19:04:56 -0800

I'm humbled by the fact that bird is a better artist than me. I wonder if he'll start imitating whispering British nature show hosts next fuck season.

By: peacay

peacay — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 19:31:37 -0800

Beautiful and astonishing. Thanks very much. [I've seen a total of 1 lyrebird in the wild but was not priviliged to see their display] Like Joakim Ziegler my heart skipped a beat at first when I saw Sir David's name on the Mefi front page. He must be one of the most universally liked and admired characters this world has seen. I read his autobiography a couple of years ago which was a great read but sad also - he was filming 'Life of Birds' in New Zealand when his wife collapsed back in the UK. I'm pretty sure from memory that despite jumping on a plane and being home in 24hrs, he didn't get to say goodbye.

"Q: If you had another 80 years, would you ever get bored making wildlife programmes? A: Not in 800 years! There'll always be people who've never seen a duck-billed platypus"

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 20:59:41 -0800

More mini-clips of his best moments. If you click on the "CLICK HERE TO VOTE" another image comes up with clip selections.

By: TheDonF

TheDonF — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 23:46:39 -0800

Sir David Attenborough is one of the finest broadcasters to have ever lived. He has brought so much knowledge and understanding to so many people and he is still utterly fascinated by what we have on the planet. If I had the money and the spare time, I'd buy up everything he's done on DVD and watch it over and over again.

By: slixtream

slixtream — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 00:08:16 -0800

Joakim Ziegler - yes. Not sure about rules plugging stuff here but as I don't work for the BBC do a web search for the BBC Shop and there's an Attenborough LIFE DVD series that is just simply awesome.

By: bap98189

bap98189 — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 03:39:29 -0800

I'm very surprised that the clip with the gorillas wasn't the favourite. That clip was one of the iconic bits of TV footage from the 80's. I remember watching awestruck as he was able over time to get the gorillas to accept his presence and eventually allow him into their pack and start to groom his hair. Remember these were wild creatures that had had no previous human contact and could have ripped him apart at any moment.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 09:51:02 -0800

Serial Killer Slumber Party, No way!? You said: David was responsible for Monty Python's existance, with his gig on BBC2. Can you tell me a little more about that? bap98189, Yes, the gorilla scenes were marvelous and endearing. His love of life comes through radiantly. Impossible to pick THE best moment in his astonishing opus. Attenborough is a delightful character to have as a psychic companion, savoring being fascinated by anything in nature.

By: TheDonF

TheDonF — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 12:11:51 -0800

nickyskye - before Attenborough was quite high up in the BBC's hierarchy before he went in front of the camera. Wikipedia has more (although doesn't mention Python, which I'd not heard of before either - not that that's a guarantee of anything)

By: milovoo

milovoo — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 14:06:38 -0800

Attenborough's best moments often involve birds. The one that sticks out in my mind (as I was rolling on the floor laughing) was him flinging a handful of dirt onto a mound-building megapode's nest, only to have the bird fling it right back at him. And him being chased by a big old capercalie, was quite funny as well. He just doesn't relate to insects in the same way (although I am glad they finally got around to the bugs).

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 14:25:17 -0800

TheDonF, Thanks for trying to answer my question. I did some Googling and this is what I found: "In the 1960s-'70s, Attenborough moved into senior management positions at BBC, presiding over the introduction of color television in the UK, giving the go-ahead to air Monty Python's Flying Circus, and helping bring many historical, cultural and scientific documentaries to television. " milovoo, There's something especially hilarious about the meeting of Attenborough's genteel seriousness and the critters doing their spontaneous thing.

By: KirkJobSluder

KirkJobSluder — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 16:54:07 -0800

I have Life of Mammals on my netflix queue right now and one of the things that impresses me is the way that he's so hands-off in working with most of his subjects. Many other nature programs would make a point of netting the subject in order to point out unique anatomical features. I think for me one of the most awesome scenes is Attenborough sitting under a bridge surrounded by bats.