EEE 
LYRE-BIRD. § 
extends over a month. The young one does not leave the nest until 
it is eight or ten weeks old. When one is standing in front of the 
nest, the egg or the young bird can easily be seen in it. The female 
enters the nest head first, and then turns round and settles herself 
on the egg, with her tail sometimes over her back, but more often 
bent round by her side. Thus in time the tail becomes quite askew. 
The nests are for the most part placed on the darker side of the 
gullies and ravines. They are large, oval, domed structures, with 
the entrance in the front, and are usually placed on the ground at 
the foot of some stump or tree, or by the side of a fallen log. Some- 
times they are placed on a ledge of rock in the face of the cliff at a 
considerable height from the ground. Occasionally a nest is found 
in the end of a log which has been hollowed out by fire and formed 
in the shape of a scoop. ‘They are always built on some solid 
foundation, for the nest being bulky and loosely built could not hold 
together if placed otherwise. Collectors have to exercise great care 
in removing the nests or they would fall to pieces. Three nests, 
that were procured in the Illawarra district from the ravines and 
gullies in the locality near Appin and Wollongong, were obtained 
thus :—One was taken from the hollow end of a log; the second 
from a ledge of rock; and the third was found by the side of a 
fallen tree. The first and third are much the same in appearance 
and size, being large, oval, domed-shaped structures of sticks, twigs, 
and roots, interwoven loosely with pieces of bark and moss, roots of 
ferns and fronds. The inside is lined with rootlets, and, finally, 
the long loose feathers from the flanks and backs of the birds. The 
entrance, which is in the side (or front), is not covered with a hood, 
nor does its upper edge hang over so as to conceal the egg. The 
total length of the nest is 26 inches, height 12 and width 18. The 
entrance is five or six inches in diameter, and its lower edge 44 
inches in thickness. ‘The interior being lined with feathers some- 
what similar in colour to the egg, helps to protect it and hide it 
from view. The second nest referred to above is composed of fine 
roots, with pieces of hypnum, and lined with feathers. This nest is 
much neater, smaller than the others, and looked very beautiful 
while the ferns and moss, which covered the whole of the outside, 
were fresh and green. Occasionally the same nest is used more than 
once after being lined afresh with feathers. The eggs are of three 
varieties at least:—Var. A. The most common is of a light stone 
rey, with darker coloured blotches and spots, and a few jet-black 
Bate) Dimensions: 2.4 x 1.6 inches. Var. B is of a reddish- 
brown colour, with dark blackish-brown spots, and a beautiful blush 
of pinkish purple over the whole surface. Size: 2.38 x 1.6 inches. 
Var. C is a most peculiar looking egg of a uniform dark metallic 
blackish-brown, having obscure spots and blotches of a darker tint, 
almost invisible at a short distance. Size: 2.5 x 1.7 inches. 
Like many of the other specimens, this variety has jet-black lines 
and dots dispersed over the surface.—(P. Z. S., 1868). 
Where found.—The lyre-bird is peculiar to Australia, and is 
chiefly confined to the south-eastern portion of it. It is met with in 
