96 TREGELLAS, Notes on the Ly-e-Bird. K^oT 



welcome. This day was also remarkable because we found a 

 dead male Lyre-?.ird in the gully. This was the first time in 

 all my wanderings that I had come across a dead bird. He had 

 evidently not been killed by a fox or other carnivorous animal, 

 as he lay where he had fallen, on a wombat or wallaby pad, with 

 his legs and tail out behind him, and not a bone broken. Close 

 at hand a tall mountain ash had fallen, and I surmised that the 

 tree in falling had caused his death. This made things unequal 

 in the gully, as there was now an odd female. It set me won- 

 dering how Nature would preserve her balance. Once before 

 we saw the same thing when a companion and I watched a male 

 and two females ; one female endea\ ouring to drive away the 

 other. The male appeared quite indifferent as to how it ended. 

 He knew that the victor would be his mate. 



After finding the dead bird, we heard a male calling up the 

 hill, and search revealed a nest jiartly built. It was raised slightly 

 above the creek, in a fine position for photographing. On July 

 16th I found that the nest contained an egg, its coldness show- 

 ing that as yet it had not been sat upon. The male was calling 

 splendidly, not far away, in an elifort to entice me away from 

 the nest. Another nest was also found, half built, close to the 

 water on the edge of the creek. I had a most interesting quarter 

 of an hour's interview with a splendid male perched on a fallen 

 limb about six feet from the ground. He never once elevated 

 his tail during the interview, but allowed it to hang down in the 

 manner of a pheasant. I took out a whistle, and mocked his 

 calling, but he did not acknowledge it. Then he jun^ped down, 

 and fed past \vhere I was hidden, zvitli Jiis tail partly erect, and 

 started at my call as he passed. Three males, within a sj^ace of 

 200 yards, were calling here at the same time. This was courting 

 disaster, as overlapping of territory is not permittted in these 

 mountain gullies. 



I narrowly missed witnessing, some years ago, a terrible fight 

 between rival males on a mound in one of these lonelv i»laces. 

 Hearing sounds betokening battle, I hurried across to a well-used 

 mound previously located, but as I neared the spot the turmoil 

 ceased. In spite of my care, the birds must have heard me 

 through the din and arranged an armistice for the day. The 

 .soil of the mound was torn uj) and scattered, the surrounding 

 bracken was broken and covered with feather fragments, and 

 the whole locality showed that a battle royal had been fought. 



On the morning of July 17th, I awoke to find a white world 

 outside. The \Vhii)-Hirds were calling vociferously, and so were 

 the Lyre-Birds, but a search failed to reveal anything new in the 

 way of nests. About mid-day, however, I had an interview with a 

 male bird. He called continuously, and, as in the previous case, 

 did not once elevate his tail while calling. It hung straight down 

 all the time, the feathers even clinging together, .\gain I whistled, 

 to no puri)ose, and it was only when I called and shouted 

 loudly that he deigned to notice. He then jumped from his 

 perch. 



