2j4 cassell's book of birds 



longest feathers in her tail measuring not more than fifteen inches. The male Menura is of a deep 

 brownish grey on the upper part of the body, shaded with red on the rump ; "the throat and upper 

 part of the breast are red; the rest of the under side greyish brown, lightest upon the belly. '1'he 

 secondary quills and outer web of the primaries are reddish brown ; the tail blackish brown on the 

 upper side, and silvery grey beneath. The outer webs of the two lyre-shaped feathers are dark grey, 

 their extremities velvety black, fringed with white, the inner web striped alternately with blackish 

 brown and rust-red ; the two centre tail-feathers are grey, the rest black. The plumage of the female 

 is entirely of a dirty brown, shading into grey on the belly ; the young resemble the mother until 

 after the first moulting season. This remarkable bird, which, together with the Emeu and Kangaroo, 

 form the emblems or heraldic bearings of Australia, has been most carefully observed and described 

 by both Gould and Bennett; we shall, therefore, lay before our readers the interesting results of 

 their labours in the words of those naturalists : — 



"The great stronghold of the Lyre Birds," says Mr. Gould, "is the colony of New South Wales, 

 and, from what I could learn, its range does not extend so far to the eastward as Moreton Bay ; 

 neither have I been able to trace it to the westward of Port Phillip on the southern coast ; but further 

 research only can determine these points. It inhabits equally the bushes on the coast and those that 

 clothe the sides of the mountains in the interior. On the coast it is especially abundant at the 

 Western Port and Illawarra ; in the interior the cedar bushes of the Liverpool range, and, according to 

 Mr. G. Bennett, the mountains of the Tamat country are among the places of which it is a denizen. 

 Of all the birds I have ever met with, the Menura is by far the most shy and difficult to procure. 

 While among the mountains I have been surrounded by these birds, pouring forth their loud and 

 liquid calls for days together, without being able to get a sight of them; and it was only 

 by the most determined perseverance and extreme caution that I was enabled to effect this desir- 

 able object, which was rendered more difficult by their often frequenting the almost inaccessible and 

 precipitous 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 labour attendant on the pursuit of the Menura. Indepen- 

 dently 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 most accessible bushes through which roads 

 have been cut it may frequently be seen, and even closely approached on horseback, the bird 

 evincing less fear of horses 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 exclusively attracted by the dog below barking, it is easily approached and shot. 

 Another successful mode of procedure 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 neighbouring 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 



