THE LYRE BIRD: SOME NESTING NOTES. 

 By JOHN RAMSAY and ALBERT E. KEENE. 



(Plates vn.— VIII.) 

 [The Lyre Bird, Menura novaehollandiae, Latham, is the most attractive subject for the pen and camera 

 of Australian bird lovers ; numerous articles have been written upon it, and many beautiful photo- 

 graphs have been reproduced in ornithological literature. The pages of the " Emu," the organ of 

 the Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union, in particular, contain some striking illustrations of these 

 birds and their nests, the work of Dudley Le Souef, L. G. Chandler, A. E. Kitson, Sidney W. Jackson, 

 and others. 



The accompanying plates, supplied by Mr. John Ramsay, a son of the late Dr. Ramsay, formerly 

 Curator of the Australian Museum, and Mr. Albert E. Keene. of Ashfield and Point Clare, near Gosford, 

 will be welcomed, as illustrating the female Lyre Bird in positions hitherto unrecorded by photographers. 

 They are accompanied by notes containing much that is entirely new in relation to the habits of the 

 bird during the period of incubation of the egg. — A. F. Basset Hull.] 



A Lyre Bird was heard calling on the range at the back of Point Clare, near Gosford, New South 

 Wales, on 26th June, 1916. so a careful search was instituted, with the result that, when least expected, 

 the female bird was flushed from a nest containing a warm egg. The nest was a typical one of the 

 species, placed on a flat rock at the base of a sapling, and surrounded by a wealth of ferns and scrub, 

 on the steep slope of a dry watercourse. On again inspecting the nest on 1st July, the egg was found 

 to be quite cold, and fears were entertained that the nest had been deserted, but a "hiding-tent" 

 was placed in position near the nest and left overnight. At 9.30 a.m. on the 2nd July, the egg was 

 still cold, and there was no sign of the parent bird. About 1.30 p.m. she appeared, looking very 

 anxious and wary. For half-an-hour she made a careful inspection of the tent and surroundings, even 

 peering through the opening at the photographer, Mr. Keene, who, with cramped limbs, hardly dared 

 to breathe for fear of scaring her away again. Satisfied at last she stepped on to the stone below and in 

 front of the nest, paused a moment, and was " snapped." At the click of the shutter she darted away, 

 and after waiting half-an-hour in the hope of her return, the photographer left without seeing her again. 

 On the following Sunday (9th July) the egg was examined and found to be quite cold at 9.30 a.m., 

 and the bird was not heard approaching until 11.30 a.m. She appeared to be feeding on the way, 

 never ceasing to scratch as she gradually approached. She was obviously less timid than on the previous 

 occasion, but made a careful inspection of the tent, as before, putting her head within a foot or two of 

 the entrance and peering through the narrow opening. All being still, she walked again to the stone 

 and leaped lightly and easily on to the nest, a distance of at least three feet. Hardly pausing, she 

 entered the nest, turned round, and settled herself on the egg. 



After leaving her for some little time, the photographer showed himself at the side of the tent, 

 when she slipped out of the nest and ran off, though apparently not greatly frightened. She was 

 heard scratching close by during the next half hour, and then, after the usual inspection, she returned 

 to the nest, and was allowed to remain undisturbed. 



This procedure was maintained until the 30th July. At 9 a.m. each day the egg was found to be 

 cold, and there were no signs of the bird, although the greatest caution was observed in approaching 

 the nest. She would be heard scratching in the vicinity about 11 o'clock, and invariably approached 

 by the same route, from the back and to the right of the nest. (Plate vii.). Each day the tent was 

 thoroughly examined, and she continued to intermittently scratch up to the moment of stepping on 

 the stone, from whence she sprang into the nest, but once settled on the egg, she allowed the photo- 

 grapher to stand in front of the nest without leaving it, and took no- notice of the camera shutter. 



