318 MESUKID.E. 



crept down close to a male Lyre-bird, and listened to him at intervals from 4.30 p.m. to 5 p.m. going 

 through his mimicry of different sounds. It chiefly took place, we afterwards found out, on his 

 scratching mound, and as we were standing ten feet above him, and about ten yards away, we 

 heard him to advantage, while I timed him with watch in hand. After repeating his clucking 

 note common to the species as he ran over the leaves, he remained silent for three minutes. 

 Then in the following order he imitated these sounds : — The croaking note of a tree-frog, repeated 

 for ninety seconds, followed for three-quarters of a minute by the notes of Pennant's Parrakeet, 

 then the notes of these species in somewhat rapid succession, the average time for each varying 

 from twelve to fifteen seconds : — Laughing Kingfisher (Dacelo gigasj, Whip-bird (Fsophodes 

 crepitans). Butcher-bird (Qyacticus destructor), Pied Crow-Shrike (Strepera graculina), Black-faced 

 Cuckoo-Shrike (Graucalus melanops), Yellow-breasted Robin (Eopsaltria australis). Yellow-tailed 

 Black Cockatoo (Cnlyptorhynchus fuiwreiis), Harmonious Thrush ( Collyriocincla harmonica), and 

 then was silent for four minutes before again starting his mimicry, save the usual short intermittent 

 clucking note previously referred to. There was no regular order in which the imitations were 

 uttered, and sometimes one or more would be entirely omitted ; in one instance only during our 

 stay did the notes resemble the short yelping bark of a dog. 



Not only do the Lyre-birds imitate the notes of the birds around them, but also any sounds 

 they may hear in the bush, such as the noise made by timber-getters in using an axe or a cross- 

 cut saw. The males are far shyer than the females, their attractive notes and lyre-shaped tails 

 causing them to be more sought after than their less pretentious consorts. As each pair of these birds, 

 if undisturbed, rear but one young one in the year, it is to be hoped that the wholesale destruction 

 of this species in the past will be put a stop to, or it will be only a (juestion of time when the 

 Lyre-bird ceases to exist, except in inaccessible mountain ravines and gullies. Let Australians 

 jealously guard and protect these birds, for not only have they to contend against human enemies, 

 but many of them are killed by dingoes and the acclimatised foxes, especially the females when 

 engaged in the duties of incubation. The Lyre-bird still breeds in the gullies about the head of 

 Middle Harbour. 



Although sometimes inquisitive, usually these birds are excessively shy and wary, but Mr. 

 E. G. W. Palmer, of Lawson, informed me that in very cold winters they have visited his place 

 and mixed among the fowls at feedmg time. I also heard of a similar instance in the lUawarra 

 District. 



The following appeared in a daily newspaper under date 15th .April, 1902 : — " Taming the 

 Lyre-bird : Lawson, Saturday. — Owing most probably to the scarcity of food caused by the 

 long spell of dry weather, and the extensive area of country swept by bush fires, the extremely 

 shy Lyre-bird has been driven from its haunts, and forced to seek food at habitations. Two are 

 located at some stables, another in a garden, and four were lately picked up by the railway 

 duplication men in their camp, all as tame and cjuiet as an ordinary fowl." 



From Mount Victoria, on the Blue Mountains, Mr. W. C. Plummer sends me the following 

 note : — " .Vs illustrating the inquisitive nature of the Lyre-bird, the following incident occurred 

 at Mount \'ictoria about 1896. My friends Mr. Duke Wynter, of Marrickville, the late Mr. 

 Arthur Wicken, of Sydney, and myself had spent the day shooting in Kanimbla Valley, and 

 having bagged a wallaby, were climbing the mountain in the evening, on our homeward way, 

 carrying the wallaby suspended from a pole between us. When we reached the base of the cliffs, 

 feeling tired with our load, we rested a few minutes, and were surprised to see two Lyre-birds, 

 apparently a male and a female, run out from behind a rock, pass close by us, and disappear 

 round another rock. These birds being usually very shy and difficult to approach, made the 

 circumstance appear rather remarkable. Evidently the sight of their friend the wallaby in so 

 unusual a predicament, had keenly excited their curiosity, and they had ventured out to investi- 

 • " Daily Telegraph," 15th April, 1902. 



