^H 



A'ESTS AXD EGGS OF AUSTRALIAN BJKDS. 



with curious noises, or with mimic songs and calls of other forest birds 

 both large and small. 



The toil attending the search for Lyre Birds' nests, of all nesting 

 outs, is the most arduous, and must be experienced to be fully realized, 

 because, fii-stly, these ciuious birds, contrary to the general rule, nest 

 in winter, the wettest months of our year, consequently terribly boggy 

 and greasy tracks have to be travelled ; secondly, the physical featiu-es 

 of the country to be scom-ed are of the roughest and wildest description, 

 such as Gippsland alone can produce. You have to thread your way 

 through closely-growing hazel scrub, knee-deep in wet ground fenis, then 

 tear through rank, rasping sword-grass, cutting yoxu' very clothes, not un- 

 frcquently nastily gashing your unprotected hands and face ; next, you 

 may be entangled in a labyrinth of wire grass, holding you at every 

 step and hiding treacherous logs over wliich your equilibrium is fre- 

 quently destroyed, and landing upon your side, you grunt and straggle 

 amongst rank vegetation. To climb the opposite hill you cros,s on 

 " all fours " a wet saturated log which natiu-ally bridges the gully. In 

 accomplishing this awkward task, overhanging fern-trees laden with 

 moisture dash in your face, di'enching you nearly as much as if some 

 one had thrown a pail of water over you. Notwithstanding the 

 chilly weather, there is always an amount of warmth present in these 

 dense forests, which, together with vour wholesome exercise, you are 

 soon perspiring, and gladly you halt now and again for breathing 

 time at the head of some lovely fern gnlly overshadowed by giant timber 

 where you stand in one of the silent picturesque temples of nature. 



And in Thy temple will I, bending, 



The wondrous works of God adore ; 

 Thine is the pow'r, O Lord, extending 



O'er all the world for evermore. 



I said I had shot ten male Lyre Birds. By a strange coincidence, 

 between the years 1884 and 1894, I either found or was present at the 

 taking of ten nests, or an average of one egg a season, an ample and 

 sufficient reward to satisfv any working oologist. 



The dates of the finding were as follow: — August 3rd, 1884, 

 three — two fresh, one half-incubated; July 24th, 1886, one, perfectly 

 fresh; Avigust 8th, 1886, one, half-incubated; August 2nd, 1891, one, 

 slightly incubated; August 12th, 1891, one, addled; October 1st, 1892, 

 one (second egg), fresh; Augu,st 11th, 1894, two — one not fresh, one 

 about half-incubated. 



I shall give a detailed account of the first outing (August, 1884), 

 which may perhaps prove interesting, and also illustrate the class of 

 country and particular spots where the Victoria Lyre Bird nidifies. 



Having arrived at a station on the Gippsland line, I entered a coach 

 for the mountains just as a late winter's sun was disappearing below the 

 horizon. The team of two horses was anything but reassuring, judging 

 from their points, which reminded one of the witty American's horse 

 that possessed such good points that one could hang one's hat on them. 

 However, by dint of much lashing, and the passengers occasionally dis- 

 mounting, the animals were kept on their " pins " till the first change. 



