328 THE LYRE BIRD. 
liberal offer could not induce the possessor to part with it to 
send to England. 
Another letter from Melbourne, Australia, written to Gould, 
informs us that the nestling bird is extraordinarily helpless ; 
when taken forcibly from the nest, it walked most awk- 
wardly, with its legs bent inwards, frequently falling, appa- 
rently from want of strength to move the large and heavy 
bones of its legs properly, and this at a time when its height 
was sixteen inches, and when its wings and tail were already 
furnished with feathers, although the body was still clothed 
with down, which, as well as the feathers, was of a dar 
brown color. When taken from the nest, the bird screamed 
` loudly, and the mother, notwithstanding the proverbial shy- 
ness of the species, actuated by her maternal fondness, tried 
in various ways to deliver the captive. A shot was the re- 
ward of her devotion, and with its mother near it, the young 
Menura soon became silent and quiet. Afterward its cries 
for its natural protector being answered by an imitation of 
` the mother's voice, it was easily led by the sound and soon 
became very tame. It was exceedingly voracious, but ate 
wholly in the manner of the Passeres, the nestlings of which 
hold the open beak in a vertical position, requiring food to 
be dropped therein. It was sustained principally by worms 
and the larve of ants, and when occasionally it picked up 
the latter for itself it never was able to swallow them, the 
muscles of the neck not having gained sufficient power to 
effect the required jerk and throwing back of the head. 
Remaining for an unusually long time in the nest, the young 
Menura, like the passerine birds in general, possesses the 
instinct of cleanliness. 
The habits of Menura Albertii are very similar to those of 
its better known relative; the former, like the latter, being 
famous for its most extraordinary mocking capabilities. 
Commencing his song before the dawn of day, in fact being 
the earliest of song-birds, he continues till about an hour 
after sunrise, besides his own peculiar note imitating the 
