OF VICTORIA. 171 



Nest — Terrestrial, cup-shaped, and placed in a hollow 

 provided for it by an introduced animal, or in a slight 

 depression beneath a tuft of grass, and made of dry grasses, 

 not always exposed as in the illustration. 



Eggs. — Three to the clutch; brownish-white, with blotches 

 and spots varying in the intensity of brown. Length, 

 0-9 inch ; breadth, 0*6 inch. 



YICTORIA LYRE-BIRD 



(Native Pheasant), 



Meiiura victoria?, Gld. 



Me-nurd vik-to'ri e. 

 Mene, the crescent moon ; oura, a tail ; Victoria, Her Majesty the 



Queen. 



Menura superba, Gould, "Birds of Australia," fol., vol. iii., pi. 14. 



Mejsura victoria, mounted specimens, National Museum, Mel- 

 bourne, 



Geographical Distribution.— Area 4. 



Key to the Species. — Tail feathers of extraordinary length, and 

 lyre-like, many devoid of hooklets ; outer tail feather white 

 below, bars being chestnut ; under tail coverts ashy ; back 

 ashy-brown. Female has a less singular tail. 



Of the many wonderfully-formed animals in our country 

 this is perhaps the most beautiful. Its tail alone would 

 form an emblem worthy of the country. The genus, of 

 which there are three species, confines itself to dense and 

 humid country east of the longitude of Melbourne. One 

 species alone is found in Victoria, a second in New South 

 Wales, and a third, with the second extending its range, 

 in Queensland. While Victoria has two conspicuous 

 classes of country it has two species of so-called " Native 



