Je 
Data Campbell's No. of 
No. 
5744 
No. in 
A 
Book. 
416 
Eggs. 
I 
THE JACKSONIAN OOLOGICAL COLLECTION. 
once that I had a really good chance of witnessing it, and that was in the Don Dorrigo scrubs of 
N.S.W., in October of 1898, and I enjoyed the privilege to the full, till an incautious movement made 
the Lyre Bird turn his bright black eyes in the direction of my hiding place, and the whole show was 
spoilt in an instant, the performer vanishing like magic. Possibly it is a rite practised chiefly at 
breeding time ; at any rate, it is a matter for observation and conjecture. 
The Menura, I find, is of a wandering disposition, and traverses the scrubs and mountain sides 
from one end to the other, frequently covering several miles ina day ; but always returns to its familiar 
locality to roost. In the rocky and thickly timbered gullies of Port Hacking and Middle Harbour, 
near Sydney, I have often seen them, and also found their nests. One can scarcely imagine it possible 
for these shy birds to frequent localities so near such a large and busy city as Sydney, with its popula- 
tion of over half a million. No doubt the birds are hemmed in and so surrounded by settlement in 
the latter locality, that they cannot move on, and so there they can remain in safety in their natural 
haunts, for many years yet to come. ‘Their breeding season is, in point of distinction, in keeping with 
other facts connected with their unique habits. Unlike the rest of the birds, they mate and nest in the 
winter, though in the colder regions of Mount Kosciusko, southern New South Wales, where heavy 
snow may be expected at midwinter, they will not build till somewhat later; it amounts to the same 
thing, because all the other birds are also proportionately later in assuming the care of a family. As 
the Menura is a non migrant, it is difficult to assign a reason for the choice of the cold season for his 
courtship and housekeeping, save, perhaps, that as his food is procured chiefly from the ground, his 
instinct leads him to arrange that the greatest call for it shall come when the soil and its carpet of dead 
leaves are not only moist with winter rains, but teeming with worms, pupa, and larve. The building 
of the nest is generally commenced about the middle of May, and the laying of the single egg takes 
place in June, July, or August ; consequently, with the long period of incubation, and the still longer 
one during which the young bird remains in the nest, the actual appearance of the latter may not be 
looked for until the end of September or October, and, at that time, he will be quite capable of supplying 
all his own wants. The young soon die if kept in captivity. 
Large as the nest is, the bestowal of a brood parent of the size and shape of the female Menura 
is a matter calling for no little management; the successful watcher will, therefore, note that when 
returning from her feeding the hen enters the nest head first, and then turns to face the aperture, the 
long tail being either disposed of sideways or curled along the back. ‘The eggs of this bird vary con- 
siderably in size, shape and colour ; some I found were of a very light stone, others purplish, reddish- 
brown, and the most remarkable was of a uniform dark metallic blackish-brown, approaching to nearly 
black ; and was the darkest egg I have ever seen. ‘The specimen accompanying this description is of 
the light stone-grey variety, while the former egg (data No. 573) is of the dark purplish-grey 
variety, and somewhat resembles a large ripe passion fruit. The ruthless and senseless destruction of 
the Lyre Bird, for the sake of the tail feathers, has to a certain extent diminished its numbers; it is 
a piece of vandalism only too common, and all lovers of bird and beast should do their best to prevent 
it. Near Stroud, in the Gloucester district, north of Newcastle, N.S.W., a few years ago, a party of 
hunters killed over 400 birds for the sake of securing their tails, which they afterwards put on the 
market in Sydney and elsewhere. The Birds’ Protection Act is absolutely useless when such a thing 
as this is so openly carried on. The action of the trustees of the National Park of New South Wales, in 
preserving the native birds in that beautiful tract of virgin country, cannot be too highly praised, and 
should receive every support from the general public; it is there the various birds needed to brighten 
the suburban districts will have a chance to breed, and amongst them is the Lyre Bird (Menura 
superba), which will add a piquant interest to the beauties of the forest, gully, and stream. 
Clutch of one egg, which is of the dark variety, and was taken by T. Curtis, C. Reid, and myself 
in the scrubs situated between the mountains near Waterfall, some thirty miles south from Sydney, on 
the 15th of August, 1904. Being anxious to make a special study of this species, we three congenial 
souls were drawn into the latter locality, where we prosecuted the one common hobby, and delighted 
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