OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA. 185 



QUEEN VICTORIA LYRE-BIRD 



(Native Pheasant), 



Menura victoriae, Old. 



Me-nurcl vik-tor'i-e. 

 Mene, the crescent moon ; oura, a tail ; Victoria, a proper name. 

 Menura superba, Gould, "Birds of Australia," fol., vol. iii., pi. 14. 

 Menura victoria, mounted specimens, States' Museums. 

 Geographical Distribution. — Area 4. 



Key to the Species. — Tail feathers of extraordinary length, and 

 lyre-like, many devoid of hooklets : outer tail feather white below, 

 bars being chestnut; under tail coverts ashy; back ashy-brown. 

 Female has a less singular tail. 



Of the many wonderfully -formed animals in our country this 

 is perhaps the most beautiful. Its tail alone would form an 

 emblem worthy of the country. The genus, of which there 

 are three species, confines itself to dense and humid country 

 of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. One species 

 alone is found in Victoria, a second in New South Wales, and 

 a third, with the second extending its range, in Queensland. 

 While Victoria has two conspicuous classes of country it has 

 two species of so-called " Native Pheasants," one the " Mallee 

 Pheasant," and the other the " Gippsland Pheasant." Neither 

 belongs to the true pheasants, being known as such in the 

 vernacular only. The difficulty of observation of Lyre-birds 

 is particularly great. One needs to travel comfortably to the 

 confines of the heavy, boggy, and thoroughly wet timber, and 

 then, to study the natural economy, the labour begins. The 

 forcing through matted vegetation and sHmy logs has to be 

 done noiselessly, as the bird is seldom, if ever, pleased with 

 any trespass on its haunts. So shy is its disposition that 

 when you have accidentally broken a twig, after treading 



