Where are Lyrebirds found in the world?
There are two species, the Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae ) and the smaller Prince Albert’s Lyrebird (M. Alberti). The first is the largest of the passerines and looks like a pheasant. It lives solitarily in the eucalyptus forests of eastern Australia, where it is rigorously protected. The species is terrestrial and rarely takes wing. The male is plainly clad in grey and refous, but possesses a long tail made up of sixteen plumes, each of the outer pairs curved in the shape of an ‘S’. when the bird displays it spreads the tail feathers fan- wise forward over its body. The inner tail feathers lack barbules and resemble the strings of a lyre stretched between the S-shaped outer pair. The male builds the nest unaided and she broods the single egg while the male remains nearby and sings to her. The single youngster stays with remains nearby and sings to her. The single youngster stays with the parents for upto three years, and as one egg is laid each year it means that a family party may consist of both parents, a young chick, another one year old and a third two years old. It is believed that the birds mate for life. The males are renowned for their powers of mimicry and can imitate the sounds of other birds, the screeching of parrots, and the sounds made by dogs and man. They have even been known to reproduce the sound of a train whistle.
