Superb Lyrebird (Birds)

ORDER

Passeriformes

FAMILY

Menuridae

GENUS & SPECIES

Menura novaehollandiae
Superb Lyrebird

key features

• Pheasant-sized, it’s one of the largest and most remarkable of all perching birds
• The male is an outstanding singer and also has an unrivaled capacity for mimicking the sounds of other birds and animals
• The male’s long, lacy, ornamental tail feathers form a spectacular veil that covers its body during courtship displays

where in the world?

Found in southeastern Australia (southeastern Queensland to southern Victoria); in 1934, the species was introduced to central and southeast Tasmania, where its numbers are slowly increasing
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LIFECYCLE

The sweet-voiced lyrebird, named after the lyre (a harplike musical instrument with a shape resembling the erect arch of the male’s tail) is among nature’s showiest performers.

HABITAT

The lyrebird lives in a variety of habitats from sea level to above mountain snowlines in both tropical and subtropical regions of eastern Australia.
In the southeast of its range, the lyrebird inhabits wet and lush eucalyptus forests and rainforests, favoring damp, fern-filled gullies as its home base. Toward the northern limits of its range (along the New South Wales-Queensland border), it’s found in rugged, open country where dead vegetation litters the ground and outcrops of granite punctuate the landscape. Superb lyrebirds sometimes venture into new forest plantations or gardens next to forests, as they are attracted to newly turned soil.
A Fern gully Some lyrebirds live at the bottom of dark gullies.
A Fern gully
Some lyrebirds live at the bottom of dark gullies.
Young lyrebirds learn their song from local adults; each group of males has a distinct “dialect” from the area in which it lives.
Because the lyrebird’s voice box is simpler than other songbirds’, with only three muscles controlling the sounds it produces, its complex song may be the result of learning rather than its sound-producing apparatus.

BREEDING

During the breeding season, males defend display mounds that they build from soil. Perched on top, they sing and perform courtship displays to attract females. Each male usually mates with several females. After mating, however; a male takes no further interest in the females or the care of their young.
The female builds a large, domed nest from sticks, bark, ferns and moss. Sites are hidden in vegetation on the ground, a bank or even in a tree.The female incubates her single egg for much longer than most perching birds — about 42 days.This allows her to spend 3-6 hours off the nest each morning looking for food. Once the chick hatches, it’s brooded by its mother for 10 days. The chick isn’t fledged until it’s 6 weeks old and is partly dependent on its mother for food for up to 8 months.

SHOWING OFF

Build
Build…
A male rakes a mound of soil from which to advertise his presence to females.The mound is about 3-/ across and 6 high.
 Display
Display…
He builds several mounds and visits them in turn to pour out a torrent of song and to display, spreading his lacy tail up and over his head.

FOOD & FEEDING

The superb lyrebird spends much of the day searching for food. It rakes leaf litter of forest floors with its strong feet and long claws for insects, worms and other invertebrates, like a chicken scratching for farmyard food. As it strides, it sweeps one foot sideways to the right and then the other to the left, sending the surface material flying to the side.
The lyrebird’s diet includes beetle and fly larvae, spiders and millipedes. Its powerful feet and claws are capable of upturning stones and other large objects, or ripping bark from rotting logs or fallen branches, to reveal prey that may lie in hiding beneath them.
Dig deep The lyrebird probes soil for worms and other prey.
Dig deep The lyrebird probes soil for worms and other prey.
tmp8B104_thumbAttract
Attract…
Three females approach, attracted by his performance.The male bends his tail forward, creating a veil that hides his head, body and wings.
 Mate
Mate
After prancing on his mound and uttering a quieter song, the male chooses one of the females, making clicking calls, and mates.
Scratch and rake
Leaf litter on forest floors often hides invertebrate food, which the lyrebird reveals using its long legs.
 Scratch and rake Leaf litter on forest floors often hides invertebrate food, which the lyrebird reveals using its long legs.

BEHAVIOR

During the breeding season (autumn and winter), a mature male lyrebird defends a territory by singing and chasing intruding males. Several females may take up separate breeding territories near a male. After mating, a female devotes her time to rearing her young alone. By summer, the birds often live in loose feeding groups of females and males.
Lyrebirds are secretive.They are rarely seen; during the day they often hide in vegetation or in the trees, while at night they roost high in the forest canopy. Lyrebirds prefer to run rather than fly and often escape predators by running rapidly through the undergrowth; they may also flee by making flying bounds across the ground or rising into the trees.
The male bird’s unmatched repertoire of songs and its ability to mimic make it stand out. The song is a loud medley of rich, mellow notes, rasps, clicks and superbly mimicked sounds. The lyrebird is capable of imitating up to 16 bird species and can even mimic humans. Females occasionally utter bursts of song, but they are weaker than those of males.
A Sing a song The lyrebird's song can be heard half a mile away.
A Sing a song The lyrebird’s song can be heard half a mile away.

CONSERVATION

Over much of its limited range, the superb lyrebird is fairly common and fully protected by law.The chief threat to this bird is the increasing clearance of wet forests that are its stronghold. Destruction of native forests has been implicated as a major factor in the decline of over half of Australia’s species of songbirds. Ultimately, the survival of this and other bird species depends on reversing forest clearance, along with the establishment of even more reserves.

PROFILE

Superb Lyrebird

The male superb lyrebird flaunts his beautiful train of filmy, shimmering tail feathers and pours out his elaborate song to advertise for mates.
Superb Lyrebird

CREATURE COMPARISONS

No relation of the superb lyrebird, the Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), a member of the grouse family found in coniferous forests of northern Eurasia, also has a courtship display involving spreading of tail feathers and an extraordinary song. With the capercaillie, though, the song is hardly melodious; it’s often described as a succession of accelerating “plops,” followed by a loud pop and ending with a wheezing gurgle. The turkeylike Western capercaillie is stockier than the superb lyrebird, but like the lyrebird, has short, rounded and weak wings.
Western capercaillie
Western capercaillie
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vital statistics
Weight Male 1-2.5 lbs.; female 1-3 lbs.
Length 2.5-3′
Wingspan Unknown
Sexual Maturity Male 3-8 years; female 2 years
Breeding Season May-October
Number of Eggs
Incubation
PERIOD
1
About 6 weeks
Fledging Period About 6 weeks
Typical Diet Insects and their larvae, worms and other invertebrates
Lifespan Up to 20 years

Related species

• There are two superb lyrebird subspecies: the southeastern superb lyrebird, Menura n. novaehollandiae, and northern superb lyrebird, M. n. edwardi (occurs along northern margins of its range). Albert’s lyrebird, M. alberti, (below) is also in the area.
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