Part 3

MENURA SUPERBA, _Davies_. Lyre-Bird.

_Menura superba_, Davies in Linn. Trans., vol. vii. p. 207. pi. 22.—Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lxi.—Collins, New South Wales, vol. ii. pl. in p. 93.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. xiv. p. 313.

_Le Parkinson_, Vieill. (Ois. Dor.) Ois. de Parad., pls. 14, 15, 16.

_Megapodius menura_, Wagl. Sys. Av., sp. 1.

_Menura Lyra_, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 577.—Vieill. Gal. des Ois., pl. 192.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, p. 71.

_Menura Novæ-Hollandiæ_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lxi.—Temm. Man., tom. 1. p. lvii.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 478. pl. 88.

_Parkinsonius mirabilis_, Bechst.

_Menura vulgaris_, Flem.

_Menura paradisea_, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 351.

_Superb Menura_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 271.—Ib. Gen. Hist., vol. viii. p. 159. pl. cxxiv.

_Pheasant_ of the Colonists.—Beleck, Beleck and Balangara of the Aborigines.

Were I requested to suggest an emblem for Australia among its birds, I should without the slightest hesitation select the _Menura_ as the most appropriate, being not only strictly peculiar to Australia, but, as far as is yet known, to the colony of New South Wales.

Perhaps no bird has more divided the opinion of ornithologists, as to the situation it should occupy in the natural system, than the one here represented; and although more than fifty years have now elapsed since the bird was first discovered, little or no information has been hitherto published respecting its economy and habits, as ornithologists have had only its external structure to guide them in their opinions. Aware of this fact, I paid considerable attention to the subject while in Australia; and after a minute observation of the bird in a state of nature, I am decidedly of opinion, that it has not, as has been very generally considered, the most remote relationship to the _Gallinaceæ_; but that it forms, with the American genera _Pteroptochos_, _Scytalopus_, and their allied groups, a family of the Insessorial Order, to which _Troglodytes_, _Amytis_, _Stipiturus_, _Malurus_, _Dasyornis_ and _Psophodes_ closely assimilate in their habits, and of which they will in all probability be hereafter found to form a part. Notwithstanding the great size of _Menura_ and the extraordinary form of its tail, in almost every other point it presents a striking resemblance to its minute congeners: like them, it possesses the bristles at the base of the bill, but to a less extent, the same unusual mass of loose, flowing, hair-like feathers on the back and rump, the same extraordinary power of running, the like feebleness of flight; all which will, I trust, render it evident that there are sufficient grounds for the opinion I have here expressed. Many intervening genera will, doubtless, yet be discovered to complete the series of affinities: at all events, if, as I am informed is the case, the young of _Menura_ are helpless and blind when hatched, it cannot with propriety be placed with the _Gallinaceæ_.

In the structure of its feet, in its lengthened claws, and in its whole contour, the Lyre-bird presents the greatest similarity to the _Pteroptochos megapodius_ of Kittlitz. Another singular circumstance by which their alliance is rendered still more evident, is the fact that _Pteroptochos_ differs from the other families of the Insessorial Order in having fourteen feathers in its tail, and that _Menura_ also differs in the same particular in possessing sixteen. The immense feet and claws of these two birds admirably adapt them for the peculiar localities they are destined to inhabit; and the same beautiful modification of structure is observable in the other genera, equally adapting them for the situations they are intended to fulfil. Thus _Menura_ passes with ease over the loose stones and the sides of rocky gullies and ravines, while the _Maluri_ trip over the more open and even ground, and the _Dasyorni_ with equal facility thread the dense scrubs and reed-beds.

As I have before stated, the great stronghold of the Lyre-bird is the colony of New South Wales, and from what I could learn, its range does not extend so far to the eastward as Moreton Bay; neither have I been able to trace it to the westward of Port Philip on the southern coast; but further research can alone determine these points. It inhabits equally the brushes on the coast, and those that clothe the sides of the mountains in the interior; on the coast it is especially abundant at Western Port and Illawarra, and in all probability over a great portion of the unexplored intervening country: in the interior the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range, and according to Mr. George Bennett, the Mountains of the Tumat country are among the places of which it is a denizen. Of all the birds I have ever met with, the _Menura_ is by far the most shy and difficult to procure. While among the brushes I have been surrounded by these birds, pouring forth their loud and liquid calls, for days together, without being able to get a sight of them; and it was only by the most determined perseverance and extreme caution that I was enabled to effect this desirable object, which was rendered the more difficult by their often frequenting the almost inaccessible and precipitous sides of gullies and ravines, covered with tangled masses of creepers and umbrageous trees: the cracking of a stick, the rolling down of a small stone, or any other noise, however slight, is sufficient to alarm it; and none but those who have traversed these rugged, hot and suffocating brushes, can fully understand the excessive labour attendant on the pursuit of the _Menura_. Independently of climbing over rocks and fallen trunks of trees, the sportsman has to creep and crawl beneath and among the branches with the utmost caution, taking care only to advance when the bird’s attention is occupied in singing, or in scratching up the leaves in search of food; to watch its actions it is necessary to remain perfectly motionless, not venturing to move even in the slightest degree, or it vanishes from sight as if by magic. Although I have said thus much on the cautiousness of the _Menura_, it is not always so alert: in some of the more accessible brushes through which roads have been cut it may frequently be seen, and even on horseback closely approached, the bird apparently evincing less fear of those animals than of man. At Illawarra it is sometimes successfully pursued by dogs trained to rush suddenly upon it, when it immediately leaps upon the branch of a tree, and its attention being attracted by the dog which stands barking below, it is easily approached and shot. Another successful mode of procuring specimens, is by wearing a tail of a full-plumaged male in the hat, keeping it constantly in motion, and concealing the person among the bushes, when the attention of the bird being arrested by the apparent intrusion of another of its own sex, it will be attracted within the range of the gun: if the bird be hidden from view by the surrounding objects, any unusual sound, as a shrill whistle, will generally induce him to show himself for an instant, by causing him to leap with a gay and sprightly air upon some neighbouring branch to ascertain the cause of the disturbance: advantage must be taken of this circumstance immediately, or the next moment it may be half-way down the gully. So totally different is the shooting of this bird to anything practised in Europe, that the most expert shot would have but little chance until well experienced in the peculiar nature of the country and the habits of the bird. The _Menura_ seldom, if ever, attempts to escape by flight, but easily eludes pursuit by its extraordinary power of running. None are so efficient in obtaining specimens as the naked black, whose noiseless and gliding steps enable him to steal upon it unheard and unperceived, and with a gun in his hand he rarely allows it to escape, and in many instances he will even kill it with his own weapons.

The Lyre-bird is of a wandering disposition, and although it probably keeps to the same brush, it is constantly engaged in traversing it from one end to the other, from mountain-top to the bottom of the gullies, whose steep and rugged sides present no obstacle to its long legs and powerful muscular thighs; it is also capable of performing extraordinary leaps; and I have heard it stated that it will spring ten feet perpendicularly from the ground. It appears to be of solitary habits, as I have never seen more than a pair together, and these only in a single instance; they were both males, and were chasing each other round and round with extreme rapidity, apparently in play, pausing every now and then to utter their loud shrill calls: while thus employed they carried the tail horizontally, as they always do when running quickly through the bush, that being the only position in which this great organ could be conveniently borne at such times. Among its many curious habits, the only one at all approaching to those of the _Gallinaceæ_ is that of forming small round hillocks, which are constantly visited during the day, and upon which the male is continually trampling, at the same time erecting and spreading out its tail in the most graceful manner and uttering his various cries, sometimes pouring forth his natural notes, at others mocking those of other birds, and even the howling of the native dog or Dingo. The early morning and the evening are the periods when it is most animated and active.

It may truly be said that all the beauty of this bird lies in the plumage of his tail, the new feathers of which appear in February or March, but do not attain their full beauty and perfection until June; during this and the four succeeding months it is in its finest state; after this the feathers are gradually shed, to be resumed again at the period above stated. I am led to believe that they are all assumed simultaneously, by the fact of a native having brought to my camp a specimen with a tail not more than six inches long, the feathers of which were in embryo, and all of the same length. Upon reference to my journal I find the following notes upon the subject:—“Mar. 14, Liverpool range. Several _Menuras_ killed to-day: their tails not so fine as they will be.” “Oct. 25.—I find this bird is now losing its tail-feathers; and, judging from appearances, they will be all shed in a fortnight.”

Although upon one occasion I forced this bird to take wing, it was merely for the purpose of descending a gully, and I am led to believe that it seldom exerts this power unless under similar circumstances. It is particularly partial to traversing the trunks of fallen trees, and frequently attains a considerable altitude by leaping from branch to branch. Independently of its loud full call, which may be heard reverberating over the gullies to the distance of at least a quarter of a mile, it possesses an inward and varied song, the lower notes of which can only be heard when you have successfully approached to within a few yards of the bird during the time it is singing. This animated strain is frequently discontinued abruptly, and again commenced with a low, inward, snapping noise, ending with an imitation of the loud and full note of the Satin Bird, and always accompanied with a tremulous motion of the tail.

The food of the _Menura_ appears to consist principally of insects, particularly centipedes and coleoptera; I also found the remains of shelled snails in the gizzard, which is very strong and muscular.

I regret that circumstances did not admit of my acquiring a perfect knowledge of the nidification of this very singular bird; I never found the nest but once, and this unfortunately was after the breeding-season was over; but all those of whom I made inquiries respecting it, agreed in assuring me that it is either placed on the ledge of a projecting rock, at the base of a tree, or on the top of a stump, but always near the ground; and a cedar cutter whom I met in the brushes informed me that he had once found a nest, which, to use his own expression, was “built like that of a magpie,” adding that it contained but one egg, and that upon his visiting the nest again some time afterwards he found in it a newly-hatched young, which was helpless and destitute of the power of vision. The natives state that the eggs are two in number, of a light colour, freckled with spots of red. The nest seen by myself, and to which my attention was drawn by my black companion Natty, was placed on the prominent point of a rock, in a situation quite secluded from observation behind, but affording the bird a commanding view and easy retreat in front; it was deep and shaped like a basin, and had the appearance of having been roofed; was of a large size, formed outwardly of sticks, and lined with the inner bark of trees and fibrous roots.

General plumage brown; the secondary wing-feathers nearest the body, and the outer webs of the remainder rich rufous brown; upper tail-coverts tinged with rufous; chin and front of the throat rufous, much richer during the breeding-season; all the under surface brownish ash-colour, becoming paler on the vent; upper surface of the tail blackish brown; under surface silvery grey, becoming very dark on the external web of the outer feather; the inner webs of these feathers fine rufous, crossed by numerous bands, which at first appear of a darker tint, but on close inspection prove to be perfectly transparent; the margin of the inner web and tips black; bill and nostrils black; irides blackish brown; bare space round the eye blackish lead-colour; legs and feet black, the scales mealy.

The female differs in wanting the singularly formed tail, and in having the bare space round the eye less extensive and less brilliantly coloured.

The Plate represents the two sexes, about half the natural size.

PSOPHODES CREPITANS, _Vig. & Horsf._ Coach-whip Bird.

_Muscicapa crepitans_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. li.

_Coach-whip Flycatcher_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 222.

_Coach-whip Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 187.

_Psophodes crepitans_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 329.

_Djou_, Aborigines of New South Wales.

This bird, so renowned for the singularity of its note, is very abundant in many parts of New South Wales, to which portion of the Australian continent it appears to be confined, as I have never met with it in collections from any other part of the country. It is to be found only in dense brushes, such as those at Maitland, Manning, Illawarra, and the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range; in fact, the localities that are suitable to the _Menura_ and the Wattled Talegalla, are congenial to the habits of the Coach-whip Bird, which in some degree assimilate to those of the former; and the loud full note of this bird, ending sharply like the cracking of a whip, with which the woods are constantly reverberating, appeared to me, although very dissimilar, to be analogous to the peculiar call of the _Menura_; and I would further remark that a great resemblance is observable in the structure of the two birds.

The Coach-whip Bird is a shy and recluse species, for although its full notes indicate its presence, it rarely exposes itself to view, but generally keeps in the midst of the densest foliage and among the thickest climbing plants, frequenting alike those that have intertwined themselves with the branches of the tallest shrubs, and those that form almost impenetrable masses near the ground, and through which it threads its way with the utmost ease. In these arboreal habits it less resembles _Menura_ than in other parts of its economy. It is extremely animated and sprightly in all its actions, raising its crest and spreading its tail in the most elegant manner, generally carrying this organ slightly raised, but never elevating it in the grotesque style of the Blue Wrens (_Maluri_). These actions become even more animated during the spring, when the males may often be seen chasing each other, frequently stopping to pour out their notes with great volubility, making the brushes ring for a considerable distance around them, and displaying themselves to the greatest advantage.

The food consists of insects of various kinds, obtained almost entirely from the ground, and sought for by scratching up the leaves and turning over the small stones, precisely after the manner of the _Menura_.

Independently of its peculiar whistle, which must be heard to be understood, as it is impossible to convey an idea of it by words, it possesses a low inward song of considerable melody.

The rounded form of the wings and graduated tail, as well as the softness of the feathers of the back, have induced some authors to consider it to be allied to the Bush Shrikes of America (_Thamnophili_); but the structure of its bill, which is so essentially different, being totally devoid of the notch on both the mandibles, must have been overlooked, and in no one of its habits or actions does it assimilate to those birds.

The sexes are much alike in colour, but may be readily distinguished by the more obscure plumage, and lesser size of the female. The young of the first year are of a much browner hue, a character of plumage that soon gives place to the adult livery. Of its nidification I regret to say I know nothing, although I paid great attention to the subject myself, and offered rewards for its nest and eggs, and for any information respecting them.

The male has the head, ear-coverts, chin and breast black; a large patch of white on each side of the neck, all the upper surface, wings, flanks, and base of the tail-feathers olive-green; the remaining portion of the tail-feathers black, the three lateral feathers on each side tipped with white; under surface olive-brown, some of the feathers on the centre of the abdomen tipped with white, and forming a conspicuous irregular patch; irides brownish red; bill, inside and out, and base of the tongue black; feet reddish brown.

The Plate represents the male and female of the natural size, on the branch of a plant growing abundantly in the brushes of the Hunter, with the scientific name of which I am not acquainted, but which is called the Cherry by the colonists.

PSOPHODES NIGROGULARIS, _Gould_. Black-throated Psophodes.

_Psophodes nigrogularis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., January 23, 1844.

The addition of a second species to the genus _Psophodes_ will be hailed with pleasure by every one who makes the science of ornithology a matter of study; nor will its discovery be a subject of surprise to us, as it is only another illustration of that beautiful law of representation which is conspicuously carried out in Australia. The habitat of the present bird will doubtless be hereafter found to be as strictly confined to the western part of the continent as that of the _P. crepitans_ is to the eastern. As yet only a single example has reached me, and in all probability no other specimen has ever fallen by the gun of any individual. It is to Mr. Gilbert’s perseverance that science is indebted for the knowledge of this new bird, and his notes which accompanied the specimen (a male) I here transcribe:—“Inhabits thickets of a small species of _Leptospermum_ growing among the sand hills which run parallel with and adjacent to the beach. It utters a peculiar harsh and grating song which it is quite impossible to describe, and which is so different from that of every other bird I ever heard or am acquainted with, that I shall have no difficulty in recognizing it again wherever I may hear it. I heard it for the first time, together with the notes of many other birds equally strange to me, in the vicinity of the Wongan Hills a few weeks back, but could not then obtain a sight of the bird, although I knew from its singular and never to be mistaken note that it was only a few yards from me.”

Plumage of the upper surface olive; under surface ashy, passing into brown on the flanks and white on the centre of the abdomen; primaries brown; tail light olive-brown, the four lateral feathers crossed near the extremity with a hand of black, and tipped with white; throat deep black, with a stripe of white from the angle of the lower mandible, just within the black; bill dark horn-colour; irides dark brown; feet dark horn-colour.

The figures are of the natural size.

SPHENOSTOMA CRISTATUM, _Gould_. Crested Wedge-bill.

_Sphenostoma cristatum_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 150.—Ib. Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

Several years have now elapsed since I published the characters of this bird in the “Zoological Proceedings,” and a figure of the head in my “Synopsis.” I had little or nothing to communicate respecting its history at that time, and I regret to say that the interval has not added to my knowledge of the subject. The specimen from which my description and figure were originally taken was a female; and although the male differs but little in its outward appearance, still the rather more produced form of the bill supplies a key as to what tribe of birds it appears to be most nearly allied, that of _Psophodes_; at the same time it must be admitted, that the affinity is somewhat remote, and it may be that my conclusions are not well-founded: a knowledge of its habits will materially assist in clearing up this point.

It is an inhabitant of the low scrubby trees and _Polygonum_, bushes which stud the hot plains of the interior of Australia, particularly those on the borders of the Lachlan and Darling: Mr. Charles Coxen has also killed it on the Lower Namoi, but could tell me nothing of its habits. Whether it has any kind of loud sharp whistle analogous to that of the Coach-whip-bird (_Psophodes crepitans_), or if it has the same shy disposition, it would be interesting to ascertain; and to these points, as well as to all other details connected with its history, I would call the attention of those who may visit the interior, or may otherwise be favourably situated for observing them. The sombre tints of the bird are very like the colour of the earth of the plains it inhabits; and when the nature of its food shall have been ascertained, its wedge-shaped bill will doubtless be found admirably adapted for procuring it.

General plumage brown, lighter beneath; chin and centre of the abdomen greyish white; wings dark brown, edged with pale brown, the fourth and fifth primaries conspicuously margined with white; four centre tail-feathers dark brown, indistinctly barred with a still darker hue; the remainder brownish black, largely tipped with white; bill blackish brown; feet lead-colour.

The figures are of the natural size.

MALURUS CYANEUS, _Vieill._ Blue Wren.

_Sylvia cyanea_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 545.

_Motacilla cyanea_, Gmel. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 991.

—— _superba_, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 10.

_Superb Warbler_, Shaw in White’s Voy., pl. in p. 256, upp. fig.—Ib. Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 754. pl. 58.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 117, but not the plate.