The Message of the Lyrebird, a new one-hour bird mimicry movie is a journey deep into the native forests of Australia, where a scientist, a study group, a lyrebird sound recordist, a lyrebird keeper, an activist and a Knowledge-Holder descended from the People of the Lyrebird help us understand not only the lyrebird’s sophisticated artwork, but what its message may be for humanity.
Film director, Mark Pearce says the documentary [which is a unique blend of stunning wildlife cinematography and poetic storytelling] is a reminder that ‘what you do echoes.’
“The film showcases the intelligence of the lyrebird to help see ourselves as part of the forest. We are not seperate. What we do [to the forest] is sung back to us,” Pearce says.
“The lyrebird holds the history of the forest in its song… and so this type of record- keeping has become a living echo, or remembrance, woven into the story of our landscape.”
“The film doesn’t tell people what the future will be – but rather reminds them that the forest is listening, and it asks: What new song will you add?”
Behavioural Ecologist and key cast member, Dr Anastasia Dalziell, maintains that knowledge of the lyrebird has proved elusive for both science and the arts. “The film is an astonishing achievement,” she says.
“It combines a deep understanding of the lyrebird’s natural history with deft storytelling and the film is, in my view, a critically important work.”
Cinematographer Nick Hayward captured the lyrebird’s famous chainsaw mimicry at Healesville Sanctuary for The Life Of Birds (BBC). In The Message of the Lyrebird, he captured the bird in over 20 natural environments to understand if sounds of human origin were occurring in the wild. Locations like Sherbrooke forest were used to also capture some of the human relationships with lyrebirds.
Ecologist Alex Maisey grew up monitoring the birds in his backyard with The Sherbrooke Lyrebird Study Group. He says there’s so much more to the bird than just its song and dance.
“No other land animal on the planet turns over more litter and soil than the lyrebird,” he declares in the film. “Lyrebirds are 'ecosystem engineers' because they modify the environment, essentially becoming natural compost creators. The birds also shape fire behaviour because they effectively remove surface fuels, which is a critical process for post-fire recovery,” Maisey says.
The documentary digs into philosophies of human cultures co-existing with wildlife. This extends to the Original Knowledges of the Lyrebird. Frances Bodkin [Aunty Fran] is a descendant of the Bidigal clan of the D’harawal Peoples with ancestral and spiritual links to Wiritjiribin - the First Lyrebird. In the film, Aunty Fran helps audiences understand that Original Australian Knowledges are also scientific and can be used to help us live on the land sustainably.
The thought-provoking wildlife film is a call to conserve and restore Australia’s native forests. More than 40% of lyrebird habitat was impacted by the 2019/20 megafires, and the bulldozing and logging of forests still continue in various regions of the country.
The Wilderness Society echoes the sentiment of the film’s message and has partnered with the film’s producers at Balangara Films. Together, they’re teaming up with other organisations, grassroots groups, businesses and education institutions for community impact screenings to hatch solutions for the next generation.
A future vision of the Wilderness Society is for the establishment of the Great Forest National Park, 70kms east of Melbourne – a proposal for a new multi-use park which would connect existing national conservation areas and add 355,000 hectares of new protected lyrebird habitat.
“The Great Forest National Park is an opportunity for Victoria to create a sanctuary for wildlife, water, and communities just an hour from Melbourne,” Victorian Campaigns Manager for the Wilderness Society, Jo Hopkins says.
“It would connect existing reserves and add 355,000 hectares of protected habitat for lyrebirds and other threatened species. With so much of our forest and bushland already destroyed, this is our best chance to secure a safe, healthy future for these special forests and the people who depend on them.”
BirdLife Shoalhaven, Kirribilli Partners, and Progressive Cinema have also partnered with the film’s social impact campaign to strengthen support for land and wildlife groups and to help conservation efforts of native forest habitats in Australia.
So, is the future of the forests being foretold? Well, for Australian audiences you can now stream the film for free at SBS On Demand to find out. There’s also an invitation for the likes of cultural organisations, educational institutions, nature groups and ecology businesses to #EchoTheCall and connect with the producers to host a screening of the film.
Watch the film
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/movie/the-message-of-the-lyrebird/2474793027803
Host a Lyrebird screening: https://www.themessageofthelyrebird.com/host-a-screening