Mechanical Device From 1890 Simulates Birdsong

Spotted this on BoingBoing and it absolutely blew me away. Watching and listening to this thing move leaves me in awe, to say nothing of the fact that the device is over 120 years old.

How does one learn to make things like this? Do you begin a watchmaker, get bored, and decide to branch out? Such an amazing, stunning device – I’d love to have the skill to build something like this.

Reminds me of the mechanical bird I spotted, at the Vintage Bazaar show in Pilsen last year.

Related:
The Imaginative Automata of Dug North
Karakuri Ningyo: Tiny, Marvelous Japanese Automata
The Early Bird, by Ted Kooser