THE LYRE-BIRD. 177 



lieatliery hills in Somersetshire, and the romantic glens of North Wales, he is 

 still to be seen. But nowhere is he so abundant as in the north of Scotland, 

 where grouse shooting has become a yearly custom with the sportsman. 



The nest of the hen bird is in the shelter of some low bush or among the 

 grass. It is made of withered grass, and sometimes of twigs ; and the eggs are 

 of an oval shape, spotted and dotted with brownish red. The bird places her 

 nest in such a low situation, that in very wet seasons it is apt to be filled with 

 water. The hen performs the duty of rearing the young without any assist- 

 ance from her mate. 



THE LYRE-BIRD. 



In the beginning of the present century, a party of rather turbulent Irishmen 

 were sent on a voyage of discovery to the interior of New South Wales. The 

 governor hardly knew what to do with them, and he thought the hardships of 

 travelling in an unknown country Avould cure their restlessness. When they 

 returned, they brought with them a bird which they called a pheasant. Its 

 size was that of a common hen, of a reddish black colour, and with strong 

 black legs. It had a crest on its head, but its tail was the most extraordinary 

 part of it. It spread out in the shape of a lyre, and was composed of several 

 feathers of a light brown colour, inclining to orange, and shading into silver. 

 The end of each feather was black. The feathers were, as you see in the 

 picture, of a different texture, alternately thin and thick. 



In the mother bird the tail has not the lyre shape, and is more like that 

 of the peacock. Nor has she the crest of her mate. Nothing can exceed the 

 beauty of this extraordinary bird, and it is of all others the most shy. 



The tail has not the dazzling splendour of the peacock, but it surpasses it 

 in beauty of shape. There are, as you see, two large curved feathers, of black 

 and brown striped, that curve into the form of a lyre, and between them are a 

 number of finer and gauze-like feathers that fill up the space and give them 

 a most elegant appearance. Nothing so striking or graceful had been ever 

 imagined, and yet it had been hidden in the wild bushes of Australia from 

 time immemorial. 



Of all the birds the lyre-bird is the most difficult to catch sight of, much 



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