TNSESSORES. 299 



mense feet and claws of this bird admirably adapt it for the 

 peculiar localities it is destined to inhabit. 



The principal habitat of the Menura siipcrba is New South 

 Wales, and, from what I could learn, its range does not 

 extend so far to the eastward as Moreton Bay, nor have 

 I been able to trace it to the westward of Port Philip * ; 

 but further research can alone determine these points. It 

 appears to inhabit alike the brushes on the coast and 

 those that clothe the sides of the mountains in the interior ; 

 on the coast it was especially abundant at Western Port and 

 Illawarra when I visited the colony in 1838. In the interior 

 the cedar-brushes of the Liverpool range, and, according to 

 Dr. Bennett, the mountains of the Tumat country, are among 

 the places of its resort. Of all the birds I have ever met 

 with, the Menura is by far the most shy and difficult to 

 procure. While among the brushes I have been surrounded 

 by these birds, pouring forth their loud and liquid calls, for 

 days together, without being able to get a sight of them ; and 

 it was only by the most determined perseverance that I was 

 enabled to effect this to me desirable object, which was ren- 

 dered the more difficult by their often frequenting the almost 

 inaccessible and precipitous sides of gulHes and ravines, 

 covered with tangled masses of creepers and umbrageous 

 trees : the cracking of a stick, the rolling down of a small 

 stone, or any other noise, however slight, is sufficient to alarm 

 them; and none but those who have traversed the rugged, 

 hot, and suffocating brushes can fully understand the excessive 

 labour attendant on the pui'suit of the Menura. Those who 

 wish even to sight it must only advance when the bird's atten- 

 tion is occupied in singing, or in scratching up the leaves in 

 search of food. To watch its actions, it is necessary to remain 



* It will be seen that I consider the Menura from this part of the 

 country to be different from the bird inhabiting Xcw South Wales, and 

 that, under this impression, I have named it M. victorice in honour of our 

 gracious Sovereign. 



