Insectivorous Birds of New South Wates. 21 



inch. All the members of this genus are strictly insectivorous, but with the 

 exception of M, cyaneus, M. lamberti, and the present species, they are only 

 met with on the large pastoral areas in the interior of the Colony. The 

 figure represents an adult male. 



71. Menura superba, Davies. Lyre-bird, " Native Pheasant." 



Menura superb a, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Yol. in, pi. 14 (1848) ; 



North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Bds., p. 119, pi. X, fig. 4 (1889). 



Inhabits the brushes of the coast, but is far more freely dispersed 

 throughout the dense undergrowth that clothes the side3 of our mountain 

 ranges, particularly those in the south-eastern portion of the Colony. This 

 bird is of a shy and retiring disposition, and although known by its rich and 

 varied notes to most residents living in the localities which it frequents, it is 

 more often heard than seen. It breeds in June, July, and August, con- 

 structing a large oval-shaped nest of sticks, twig?, ferns, and mosses, having 

 an entrance in the side, and lined with rootlets and the downy feathers from 

 the flanks of the parent bird. The nest is usually placed on or near the 

 ground at the foot of some stump, or between the stems of two small trees 

 growing near one another. Sometimes it is built upon a ledge of rock, and 

 not unfrequently in the thick bushy top of a tree-fern. Only one egg is 

 laid for a sitting, varying in ground colour from slaty-grey to blackish or 

 purplish -brown, and having spots and blotches of a deeper hue distributed 

 over the surface of the shell ; length, 2"45 x 1'65 inch. With the exception 

 of small molluscs and terrestrial Crustacea obtained chiefly under fallen 

 leaves, the food of the Lyre-bird consists of insects. It is, however, too 

 cautious to venture upon cleared lands or into orchards in search of them. 



72. Menura albertt, Gould. Prince Albert's Lyre-bird. 



Menura alberti, Gould, Birds of Austr., suppl., pi. 19 (18G9) ; North, Nests 



and Eggs Austr. Bds., p. 122, pi. X., fig. 4 (1889). 



A rarer species, and the tail feathers not so long as in M. superba, but 

 which it resembles in habits and in its mode of nidification. It frequents 

 the mountain ranges and dense brushes of the northern coastal districts 

 lying between the Clarence and Tweed liivers. The egg is slightly smaller 

 than that of the preceding species. 



73. Amttis stbiatus, Gould. Striated "Wren. 



Amytis striatus, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Vol. in, pi. 29 (1848) ; 



North, Nests and Eggs Austr. Bds., p. 123, pi. IX, fig. X (1889). 



This species is an inhabitant of the mallee scrubs and those large areas 

 covered with a dense growth of Porcupine grass (Triodia irr items) in the 

 central and western portions of the Colony. The nest of the Striated Wren, 

 which is built upon the ground, under the shelter of a bush or in a tuft of 

 grass, is a partially-domed structure composed of bark fibre and the dried 

 blades or spines ot* the Porcupine grass. Eggs, three in number for a sitting, 

 white, thickly freckled and spotted with rich red ; length, 0*85 x 065 inch. 



74. Amttis textilis, Quoy et Gaimard. Eufous-flanked Wren. 

 Amytis textilis, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Yol. in, pi. 2S (1848). 



A common West and Central Australian species, but extremely rare in 

 New South Wales. Gould, who visited Australia in 1838-9, states he found 

 it very abundant on the Lower Namoi ; but I did not meet with it during a 

 collecting-trip made there in November ; 1896. 



