7432 Birds. 



towards the captor. A shot brought down the poor bird, and with its mother near it 

 the young Meuura was soon silent and quiet. It was taken away and kept at a " mia- 

 mia" erected in the midst of the surrounding forest. The following is as correct a 

 description of the bird as I can give you : Its height was sixteen inches; the body 

 was covered witli a brown down, but the wings and tail were already furnished with 

 feathers of a dark brown colour. The head was thickly covered with a grayish white 

 down of from one to two inches in length ; the eyes were hazel-brown ; the beak 

 blackish and soft ; the legs nearly as large as those of a full-grown specimen, but it 

 walked most awkwardly with the legs bent inwards. It rose with difficulty, the wings 

 assisting, and when on its legs occasionally ran for a short distance, but often fell, 

 apparently from want of strength to move the large and heavy bones of its legs properly. 

 Tt constantly endeavoured to approach the camp fire, and it was a matter of some 

 difficulty to keep it from a dangerous proximity to it. Its cry of " tching-tching 

 was often uttered during the day-time, as if recalling the parent bird, and when this 

 call was answered by its keeper, feigning the note " bullen-bullen,'' the native name 

 for the lyre bird, and which is an imitation of the old bird's cry, it followed the voice 

 at once, and was easily led away by it. It soon became very tame, and was exceedingly 

 voracious, refusing no kind of food, but standing ready with widely gaping bill 

 awaiting the approaching hand which held the food, consisting principally nf worms 

 and the larva of ants, commonly called " ants' eggs," but it did not refuse bits of 

 meat, bread, &c. Occasionally it picked up " ants' eggs " from the ground, but was 

 never able to swallow them, the muscles of the neck not having acquired sufficient 

 power to effect the required jerk and throwing back of the head. It rarely, if ever, par- 

 took of water. It reposed in a nest made of moss and lined with opossum skin, where 

 it appeared to be quite content; while asleep the head was covered by one of the 

 wings. When called " bullen-bullen" it awoke, looked for several seconds at the disturber, 

 soon put its head under the wing again, and took no notice whatever of other sounds 

 or voices. That the young Menura remains for a long time in the nest is proved by 

 the manner in which it disposes of its droppings ; our young captive always went 

 backwards before dropping its dung, as if to avoid soiling the nest. It is probable 

 that it leaves the nest in the day-time, when the warmth of the weather invites it so to 

 do, but that during the night it remains in the nest ; and if the weather should become 

 cold the mother shelters her young, the nest being large enough to contain both. — 

 Ludioig Becker, in ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society,^ 1860, p. 61. 



Mocking Powers of the Lyre Bird. — The Menura Alberti is famous for its most 

 extraordinary mocking capabilities. It is found only on the Brisbane and Tweed 

 rivers and in the neighbourhood of their waters. It inhabits the rushes, and generally 

 choses a sandy soil for its locality. I never saw more than a pair together, male and 

 female. Each male bird has his walk or boundary, and gives battle if another male 

 encroaches on it. He commences singing some time before the dawn of day, being 

 the earliest of the forest birds in tliis respect. His song is much varied, as besides his 

 own peculiar note he imitates the cries of all the birds in the bush, such as the laughing 

 jackass {Dacelo gigas), and even the mournful howl of the owl, and the thrilling scream 

 of the curlew. When singing and playing about he spreads his tail over his back like 

 a peacock. He scratches and picks at the earth when singing, wliich he generally 

 does until about an hour after sunrise. He then becomes silent, and remains so until 

 about an hour before sunset, while he again commences, and continues singing and 

 playing about until it is quite dark. This Wenura feeds entirely upon insects, mostly 



