HABITS OF THE LYRE-BIRD. 195 



or any other noise, however slight, is sufficient to alarm it ; and none but those who have 

 traversed these rugged, hot, and suffocating bushes, can fully understand the anxious labor 

 attendant on the pursuit of the Menura. 



"Independently of climbing over rocks and fallen trunks of trees, the sportsman has 

 to creep and crawl beneath and among the branches with the utmost caution, taking care 

 only to advance while the bird's attention is occupied in singing, or in scratching up the leaves 

 in search of food ; to watch its action it is necessary to remain perfectly motionless, not 

 venturing to move even in the slightest degree, or it vanishes from sight as if by magic. 

 Although I have said so much on the cautiousness of the Menura, it is not always so 

 alert ; in some of the more accessible bushes through which roads have been cut, it may 

 frequently be seen, and on horseback even closely approached, the bird evincing less fear 

 of those animals than of man. 



"At Illawarra it is sometimes successfully pursued by dogs trained to rush suddenly upon 

 it, when it immediately leaps upon the branch of a tree, and its attention being attracted by 

 the dog below barking, it is easily approached and shot. Another successful mode of procur- 

 ing specimens is by wearing the tail of a full-plumaged male in the hat, keeping it constantly 

 in motion, and concealing the person among the bushes, when, the attention of the bird being 

 arrested by the apparent intrusion of another of its own sex, it will be attracted within the 

 range of the gun. If the bird be hidden from view by surrounding objects, any unusual sound, 

 such as a shrill whistle, will generally induce him to show himself for an instant, by causing 

 him to leap with a gay and sprightly air upon some neighboring branch to ascertain the cause 

 of the disturbance ; advantage must be taken of this circumstance immediately, or the next 

 moment it may be half-way down the gully. 



"The Menura seldom, if ever, attempts to escape by flight, but easily eludes pursuit by 

 its extraordinary powers of running. None are so efficient in obtaining specimens as the 

 naked black, whose noiseless and gliding steps enable him to steal upon it unheard or unper- 

 ceived, and with a gun in his hand he rarely allows it to escape, and in many instances he will 

 even kill it with his own weapons. 



" The Lyre-bird is of a wandering disposition, and although it probably keeps to the same 

 bush, it is constantly engaged in traversing it from one end to the other, from the mountain 

 base to the top of the gullies, whose steep and rugged sides present no obstacle to its long 

 legs and powerful, muscular thighs. It is also capable of performing extraordinary leaps, 

 and I have heard it stated that it will spring ten feet perpendicularly from the ground. 

 Ainong its many curious habits, the only one at all approaching to those of the Gallinacese is 

 that of forming small round hillocks, which are constantly visited during the day, and upon 

 which the male is continually tramping, at the same time erecting and spreading out its tail 

 in the most graceful manner, and uttering its various cries, sometimes pouring forth its 

 natural notes, at others imitating those of other birds, and even the howling of the native 

 dog (Dingo). The early morning and the evening are the periods when it is most animated 

 and active. 



"Although upon one occasion I forced this bird to take wing, it was merely for the pur- 

 pose of descending a gulf, and I am led to believe that it seldom exerts this power unless 

 under similar circumstances. It is peculiarly partial to traversing the trunks of fallen trees, 

 and frequently attains a considerable altitude by leaping from branch to branch. Independ- 

 ently of a loud full note, which may be heard reverberating over the gullies for at least a 

 quarter of a mile, it has also an inward warbling song, the lower notes of which can only be 

 heard within about fifteen yards. It remains stationary while singing, fully occupied in 

 pouring forth its animated strain. This it frequently discontinues abruptly, and again 

 commences with a low, inward, snapping noise, ending with an imitation of the loud 

 aud full note of the satin-bird, and always accompanied by a tremulous motion of the 

 tail. 



' ' The food of the Menura appears to consist principally of insects, particularly of centi- 

 pedes and coleoptera. I also found the remains of shelled snails in thegizzard, which is very 

 strong and muscular." 



