NOTES ON THE VICTOEIA LYEE BIRD. 869 



was most unwilling to enter the nest and acted like the otiier one 

 when placed therein. On September 10 I again visited the nest Avith 

 a view to photographing it, but, as feared, found it empty. 



Another young one nearly full grow n sat up silently in the nest 

 when found, but when touched it struggled and screeched, using its 

 claws freely. In this case the female bird came rushing up at once, 

 but on seeing me darted back into the scrub and ran round the nest, 

 making meanwhile her " koo-wuk', koo-wuk','' and in addition the 

 "'clungk, clungk," or " buln, buln/' that lyre birds make wdien undis- 

 turbed in the scrub. This nest was within half a mile of Jumbunna 

 townshiji, in an easily penetrable ])atch of scrub, which probably ac- 

 counted for the timidity of the parent bird. 



For the descriptions of nest, egg, etc., reference should be made to 

 Mr. A. J. Campbeirs and Mr. Robert Hall's descriptions in their 

 publications." Nevertheless, I shall give a few^ further personal ob- 

 servations. Nests have been found in various places. The one most 

 favored by the bird in vSouth Gippsland is the side of a deep channel 

 or creek under a slightly overhanging bank, with ferns and leaves 

 about (see plate v). Another favorite one is among the roots of 

 a large fallen tree several feet from the ground wdth vegetation growl- 

 ing out of the contained earth. In the Baw Baw and Walhalla dis- 

 tricts Mr. J. Easton tells me that a large proportion of the nests 

 occurs in tall stumps of trees. All the nests are placed so that the 

 bird can have a clear space through wdiich to fly or float out of sight 

 on the approach of danger. 



It has been stated that once a lyre bird's egg has been touched b}^ 

 human hands the bird deserts the nest. However true this may be in 

 individual cases, it by no means is general. On August 26, 1900, I 

 found a nest in South Gippsland and handled the egg. Between 

 this date and September 13 I handled the egg on six different occa- 

 sions. On the last visit the egg w^as quite cold, and the nest appeared 

 to have been deserted, but on again visiting it on the lath a young 

 one, apparently just hatched, was in it. The young bird was par- 

 tially covered with dowai, as in the cases of those already mentioned. 

 On September 23, 1900, the feathers were just showing through the 

 skin on the top of the Avings and the upper back. Further obser- 

 vations on this I had no opportunity to make, on account of leaving 

 the locality. During this survey several abandoned nests, each with 

 one egg, were found. In these cases I do not think that the nests 

 had been voluntarily abandoned, l)ut that the birds had been killed. 



All the young birds mentioned in this article were sent to the 

 National Museum, Melbourne, where they can be seen in the sceaic 

 case of the lyre birds. 



a A. ,T. Campbell, Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds, pp. 510-523 ; Robert 

 Hall, Tbe Insectivorous Birds of Victoria, pp. 171-17f!. 



