52 Stray Feathers. [..f'juiy 



Lyre-Birds' Habits. — In our district most of the farmers have 

 reserved a little patch of native scrub, generally in a corner of a 

 river or creek, which is nearly always occupied by a Victoria Lyre- 

 Bird or two {Menura victories), and it is painfully noticeable that 

 the male birds always disappear first. This, of course, may be 

 accounted for in many ways. It is open to doubt whether the 

 majority of rabbit trappers would release a male bird in full 

 plumage found in a trap (for birds are sometimes caught), and, 

 again, the male makes its presence known by its mimicry, 

 which attracts the man with the gun, who seeks such spots for 

 rabbits. It is particularly interesting to note the life the female 

 birds lead when deprived of their consorts, and I have known, and 

 still know of, many such cases. Every year the females construct 

 their nests, lay, and sit till assured that they are only wasting time, 

 when they desert ; this is repeated while the females live. I have 

 known a female Lye-Bird, when surprised in the bush, to take 

 refuge in a hollow log where the hole was too small for most dogs 

 to follow, and future investigation showed that the bird had emerged 

 safely. A young bird was found dead in its nest and still warm 

 immediately after a violent burst of thunder. Mr. A. H. Edwards, 

 of Glen Alvie, has a female Lyre-Bird, which, apparently having 

 lost her mates, has taken up her abode with the domestic hens, and 

 causes much amusement by her mimicry (for the females can also 

 mimic creditably even for a Lyre-Bird, which is saying much). 

 The bird was still alive and thriving when last I saw Mr. Edwards. 

 — L. C. Cook. Poowong (Vic), 13/5/15. 



Notes from Poowong (Vic.) — A pair of Tawny Frogmouths 

 (Podargus strigoides) has nested for live consecutive years in the 

 same nest, just below our house. Just before the young leave, both 

 the parent birds sit together on the nest for a week or ten days. 

 In warm weather they appear to be very uncomfortable sitting as 

 best they can on their frail stiiicture, with the fluffy nestling 

 bunched in between them. Possibly this is due to impetuosity on 

 the part of the male bird, who has been kept away for so long. 

 This has happened four years out of the five. The first year I 

 removed a young bird, and my sister reared it. Each season, 

 when mating, Frogmouths are much in evidence at night time, 

 and it has become a custom with them to sit on a fence a few 

 feet from my bedroom window and repeat again and again their 

 monotonous " Too-roo, too-roo." They start this call veiy faintly, 

 swell it as they proceed, then allow the sound to die away again, 

 till finally it ends as faintly as it began. At a very short distance 

 the call sounds like " Oom-oom-oom," but "Too-roo, too-roo" is 

 the best way I can describe it. The call was made by both the 

 birds that we had in captivity. They repeat this call as many as 

 45 times, at all events in the nesting season. A few weeks ago 

 when on a visit to what we call the open country, between Nyora 



