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HIS CHARACTERISTIC!:. 
feathers of the hind parts elevated. His steps do not follow one 
another very rapidly ; yet, when he is bent on flight, his swiftness 
is something surprising. He wheels round and round with great 
dexterity, and jumps to a height of four or five feet. His voice is 
indicated syllabically thus, — houh, liouh, houh, pronounced feebly, and 
from the bottom of the throat. This, however, is his mode of express- 
ing pleasure ; when he is irritated, he " puffs," like the cat or owl. 
The most perfect of his senses is his sight ; next comes hearing ; 
but scent seems also tolerably well developed. As for the power of 
taste, our naturalists can tell us nothing about it, and just as much 
about the bird's tactile capacities. There is no reason to believe him 
more intelligent than the other short-winged or struthious birds. If 
he be more wary, he is also more wicked. Every unaccustomed 
object, if it do not excite his alarm, provokes him to anger. Then he 
rushes full upon his adversary, whether man or beast; leaps upon it, 
and endeavours to strike it with his beak or claws. As to his mode 
of feeding, he is, fundamentally, an herbivorous animal. In his native 
forests he is supposed to feed chiefly upon soft vegetable substances 
and succulent fruits ; but in captivity he will eat bread, seeds, apples, 
and even meat. 
THE LYRE-BIRD. 
So much for the cassowary, which we now leave to the enjoyment 
of his wooded solitudes. Before we quit the Australian continent, we 
must glance at yet another of its feathered marvels — one which claims 
consideration on account of his elegance of form and unusual beauty of 
plumage. 
To the unscientific reader there will seem nothing in common 
between the tiny wren which flutters about our English hedges, and 
relieves with his warble the gloom of winter, — between the modest 
wren and the glorious lyre-bird of the Australian bush. Yet both 
belong to the same family, the Certhiidaj. Both are generally seen 
in pairs, and are prone to take up their abode in the low thickets 
of open plains, or on the threshold of sunny woods. Both are insec- 
tivorous. Both are distinguished by the same physical charactei-istics 
— the long slender bill, with sides compressed to the tip; the short 
