A Lyrebird is a beautiful bird renowned worldwide for its unusual tail, and is found in Australia. Lyrebirds are shy, wary birds. When seen they are normally just a blur as they run and dodge rapidly through the dense forest underbrush. Their wings aid them in running and jumping up into branches and onto rocks etc and then gliding back down again and though they seldom fly they do roost in low trees at night. The Lyrebirds name comes from the shape of the males tail when displayed which looks like a Lyre (musical harp type instrument). Lyrebird is a very plain looking, chicken size bird but attracts people because of its long usual tail. The birds feed on insects, spiders, worms and sometimes seeds.
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| These birds are terrific mimics. Car noises, chainsaws, dogs and other noises are no problem for this excellent imitator. The mimicry, though used in the mating courtship is heard all year round. The lyrebirds are found along the Eastern seaboard of Australia (east of the Great Dividing range) and also in Tasmania Their preferred habitat is damp forests either Eucalypt, rainforest or wet woodlands, often very rugged and hard to access spots.
The lyrebird is the largest of the singing birds. It has a mellow, liquid note and can imitate 20 other birdcalls. | The female builds a dome-shaped nest on the ground or at the fork in the trunk of a tree. Lyrebirds breed in the middle of winter, when the food is most readily available. The egg takes six weeks to hatch and the chick is in the nest for another six weeks. |
