THE LYRE BIRD — THE ALBERT LYRE BIRD. 355 



is, however, to be found in Australia, and is known to the natives 

 by the name ,of Bullen-bullen, and to the Europeans as the 

 Lyre Bird {Menura sujperba). It is/remarkable, by the way, that 

 the genius of the Austi-alian language causes .many words to be 

 doubled, so that the natives speak of a well-known Australian 

 marsupial as the devil-devil, and of a domestic servant as Jacky- 

 Jacky. 



New South Wales is the chosen country of the Lyre Bird, 

 which is rather local, and affects certain defined boundaries. Its 

 native name is derived from its peculiar cry, and the popular 

 European name is given to the bird on accdlint of the shape of 

 its tail feath'ers. The two exterior feathers are curved in such a 

 manner that when the whole tail is spread they exactly resemble 

 the horns of an ancient lyre, the place of the strings being taken 

 by a number of slender decomposed feathers which rise from the 

 centre of the tail. "When the bird is quietly at rest, the tail-feath- 

 ers cross each other at the curves, and present a very elegant ap- 

 pearance, though not in the least resembling a lyre. In general 

 shape the bird bears some resemblance to a small turkey, except 

 that the legs are longer and more slender, and that the feet do not 

 resemble those of a gallinaceous bird. It is rather remarkable 

 that the egg presents as curious a mixture of the insessorial and 

 gallinaceous aspects as the bird itself. 



The nest of this bird is not at all unlike that of the wren, being 

 very much of the same shape, and domed after a similar fashion. 

 The nest is, however, a very rough piece of architecture, composed 

 almost wholly of twigs, roots, and various sticks, which are inter- 

 woven in a very loose, but very ingenious manner, so as to form a 

 structure of tolerable firmness,' which can be lifted and even sub- 

 jected to rough treatment without being broken. At first sight 

 it looks like those heaps of dead twigs which are so common in 

 the birch-tree, but a closer inspection shows that there is a certain 

 regularity in the disposition of the sticl^^nd that the bird is not 

 without method, though that method bef^^t at first apparent. 



So rude a structure as this nest would be unsuitable for the 

 tender young, and therefore the whole of th^ interior is stuffed 

 full of soft feathers. The nest of an allied species, Albert Lyre 

 Bird {Menura Alherti), is made in a, similar manner, except that 

 the materials are almost wholly small and rather long sticks. 

 Specimens of these nests may be seen in the British Museum. 

 Both the birds are very shy, and can not be approached without 



