352 THE LYRE-BIRD. 



only by the most determined perseverance and extreme caution that I 

 was enabled to effect this desirable object, which was rendered more 

 difficult by their often frequenting the almost inaccessible and precip- 

 itous sides of gullies 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 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. 



" 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 procuring 

 specimens is by wearing the tail of a fuU-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 circum- 

 stance immediately, or the next moment he may be halfway 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 unperceived, 

 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 food of the Menura appears to consist principally of insects, 

 particularly of centipedes and coleoptera. I also found the remains 

 of shelled snails in the gizzard, which is very strong and muscular." 



The nest of the Lyre-bird is a large, loosely-built, domed structure, 

 composed of small sticks, roots, and leaves, and is of an oven-like 

 shape, the entrance being in front. The lining is warm and soft, being 

 composed of downy feathers. 



The egg of this singular bird is quite as curious as its general form, 

 and presents the curious anomaly of an egg as large as that of a com- 

 mon fowl, possessing all the characteristics of the insessorial egg. The 

 general color of the egg is a deep chocolate tint, marked with purple 

 more or less deep in different specimens, and its surface is covered with 

 a number of stains and blotches of a darker hue, which are gathered 

 toward the larger end, as is usual in spotted eggs. 



