Birds Copying Ring Tones

from the no,-this-has-to-be-a-joke,-right? dept

I really am not sure I believe this one. The folks at the Register seemed pretty skeptical, but everyone insists it's true. Apparently, birds in Denmark have been heard copying the various ringtones they hear from cell phones. So, how long until the music industry goes after the birds for copyright infringement?
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  • identicon
    Glenn, 11 May 2001 @ 3:44pm

    an anecdote

    I can vouch that my girlfriend's African Gray parrot immitates her phone all the time... I can also say that it can be a little annoying at times.. .. okay, so it's likely that Denmark doesn't have a flock of parrots hanging out:-)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Rootman, 12 May 2001 @ 12:22pm

    I have heard it too.

    My bro-in-law has had various birds that did this, along with mocking my sis-in-laws tweetering silly laugh, gameshow sounds (anyone want to hear the Wheel of Fortune wheel click for hours on end??), regualer electronic phone rings - which is really hilarious when he hangs the birds cage on the patio and all the neighbors in his condo rush inside to "answer the phone" when the bird starts "ringing".

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Unsurprised, 14 May 2001 @ 3:13am

    Nothing new at all

    This entirely old news. I can remember here birds imitating the BT trimphone ring in the early 70s. And I simply don't believe that a spokesman from RSPB made such an inane comment as this is such an old phenomenon

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Iain C, 6 Dec 2001 @ 6:36am

    Boids

    When a few years ago my mother moved to the Isle of Skye, her new home had an outside ringer extension so she could hear the phone while gardening.

    Over the course of a summer as we did the place up, we were continual deceived by starlings into answering a phone that wasn't ringing; the accuracy with which they mimicked the ringer was amazing.

    It wasn't until we actually unplugged it and it seemed to keep ringing that we figured out what was happening...

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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