SOME Australian ducks appear to be able to mimic human speech and other sounds, including that of doors slamming, a study has concluded. In a bizarre audio clip, Ripper — a musk duck raised at the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, south of Canberra — can be heard seemingly repeating the phrase “you bloody fool.” Researchers from Leiden University and Australia believe that the vocal waterfowl was mimicking a phrase he heard one of his caretakers utter at some point. Another recording reveals that Ripper can imitate the sound of the door to his aviary being opened and closed. Both imitations were made during his mating displays. The findings indicate that musk ducks have comparable vocal learning abilities to other mimics like parrots, European starlings, mynah birds and budgerigars. The study is not the only one to highlight clever Australian birds in recent weeks — with cockatoos in Sydney having been recorded copying each other’s tricks. The study was conducted by biologists Carel Cate of Leiden University in the Netherlands and Peter Fullagar, formerly of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. “Acquiring vocalizations by learning them from other individuals is only known from a limited number of animal groups,” the duo wrote in their paper. (SD-Agencies) | 