112 



AN AUSTRALIAN BIRD BOOK. 



ORDER XX. — AIENUKIFORIMES, l^YRE-BIRDS. 



F. 104. MENURIDAE (3), LYRE-BIRDS, 3 sp. A. (South- 



Eastern A.). 

 3 237 Victoria Lyre-Bird, Pheasant (e), Menura victoriae, 

 3 V. Stat. r. dense scrul)s, m., 36; f.. 



Beautiful lyre tail; f., sooty-brown; all tail feathers fully 

 webbed. Insects, centipedes, snails. 



27 



Its tail is large, and often spread out fanwise, thus giving a 

 majestic appearance to the bird. Its call is not pleasing, as it is 

 described by Gould as a "frightful scream," and again as con- 

 sisting of "awful notes." It lays its eggs sometimes in the nest 

 of a SpaiTowhawk (not Kestrel), or in the nest of a Magpie, Bell- 

 Magpie (Strepera) , or even of a Crow. It appears with the 

 first flood-waters, and follows the rivers from the Gulf of Car- 

 pentaria watershed down to Cooper's Creek and Lake Eyre. 



One large Australian Cuckoo builds its own nest, and rears its 

 own young. This bird, however, does not visit Southern Aus- 

 tralia. 



In addition to the interest of their habits and life history, 

 Cuckoos are amongst the most valuable of insectivorous birds. 

 Few birds will eat the vine caterpillar or hairy caterpillar. The 

 Cuckoos, however, are very fond of these, and so should be 

 encouraged. They do no harm to anything we need. 



One of the most interesting birds in the world is the Lyre Bird, 

 whose beautiful tail, alas, often brings early death to its rightful 



