Kii 



cS KiTsoN, Nolcs on the Vicluria Lyre-Bird. I md'oci 



have been suitable for Lyre- Birds, but on the portions between 

 Wandong and Macedon the want of sufficient moisture and scrub is 

 perhaps the reason of their absence. The birds seem to have 

 spread over south-eastern Australia from New Guinea by following 

 through Queensland and New South Wales the mountains that 

 form the watershed between the Darling-Murrumbidgee basin and 

 the Pacific Ocean ; and this within comparatively recent time, 

 considered from a geological point of view. 



It is a matter for wonder that in suitable country Lyre-Birds 

 have existed in such numbers as they have done. The native 

 carnivorous fauna destructive to them comprise the dingo or wild 

 dog {Canis dingo), the "tiger cat" {Dasyuriis maadatus), and 

 the "native cat" {D. viverriniis). These animals, especially the 

 two first — which are much less numerous than the "native cats" — 

 frequent Lyre-Bird country. These birds build their nests in spots 

 usually accessible to dingoes, and easily so to the climbing "cats." 

 They have almost invariably only one young one a year, and yet 

 in most of Gippsland and the North-Eastern District Lyre-Birds 

 exist in much greater numbers than many of the other larger birds, 

 which nest in much less dangerous situations, such as the 

 Grey Magpie, King Lory, Wonga-Wonga and Bronze-winged 

 Pigeons, Laughing Jackass, and Black Cockatoo. The Lyre-Bird 

 is a day bird, and roosts in trees at night, so, except at 

 nesting time, it is practically safe from attack. It is a strong, 

 active bird, and could, even if attacked by a " cat " in a tree, 

 either free itself or drag the " cat " to the ground in its first 

 struggle. But it is comparatively helpless when in the nest, and 

 certainly the young are completely so. One fact, however, aids 

 in its protection. The nest is usually not easily seen, especially 

 if the female bird is inside with her tail raised over her head, as 

 is her wont, thus nearly filling up the entrance and breaking the 

 noticeable black cavity of the empty nest. 



Near the source of the King River I have seen the birds going 

 to roost in tall green trees. They cannot fly upwards like an 

 ordinary bird, but rather partially jump upwards in a slanting 

 direction, with their outspread wings aiding them by soaring, not 

 flapping. To get into these tall young trees, ranging up to 

 nearly loo feet in height, they went up by stages, taking advantage 

 of short and long tree ferns and the branches of smaller trees. 



Destiny of the Lyre-Bird. 



But the days of the Lyre-Bird are numbered, unless it develop 

 the habit of nesting in trees* or spots inaccessible to its far more 

 dangerous enemy, an introduced one, the European fox. Scattered 

 feathers and occasional feet are frequently met with in some parts 

 of the country, and attest the depredations of the fox, which has 

 now spread over nearly the whole, if not the whole, of the State, 



* Reference to I'lale VI. will sliow thai I. y re- Birds occasionally build in trees. — 

 Eds. 



