Albert’s Lyrebird is a member of a family of only two species, the other being the Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) both endemic to Australia. Gosh! Both species are considered passerines, you know a perching bird like a sparrow but spend most of their time ground-dwelling in rainforest habitat with the occasional perching on branches. In fact, Lyrebirds are among the largest passerines in the world.
The plumage of Albert’s Lyrebird is dark brown to chestnut upperparts with rust or rufous colour and buff underparts. Albert’s Lyrebird plumage has warmer tones than those of the Superb Lyrebird which appear greyer. The most notable feature of Albert’s Lyrebird are long tail feathers of the male used for display and reminiscent of the shape of the ancient Greek lyre. Females have a simpler tail feather configuration with drooping tip.
With large strong feet and long legs Albert’s Lyrebird is perfectly adapted to life on the floor of the sub-tropical rainforest. The short wings of the bird enable only brief flight to a nearby perch.
Besides the appearance of Albert’s Lyrebird, the birds are renowned for their mimicry interspersed with their own repetitious calls. They will mimic calls of other birds, flocks of birds, human made noises such as car engines, babies crying, musical instruments and chainsaws to name but a few.
Albert’s Lyrebird as a ground dweller will search the leaf litter for earthworms, insects, molluscs and even frogs. The bird’s strong feet and claws scratch away at the leaf litter to find food similar to a Brushturkey.
During courtship the maleAlbert’s Lyrebird will make an elevated platform just above the ground of twigs, branches or vines for display. The male will raise his tail, dance and sing when a female appears after which mating may take place. Several “platforms” are distributed about the male’s territory.
A Large domed nest is constructed by the females normally on the ground made of ferns, twigs and leaf litter. There is a side entrance, and one egg is laid.
The geological distribution of Albert’s Lyrebird is limited. The birds occur above 300 metres in areas of high rainfall. Restricted to suitable rainforest habitat in Northern New South Wales; Nightcap, McPherson and Richmond Ranges and along the Tweed River. In Queensland, their distribution is from Mount Mistake to Main Range and the Lamington National Park with an isolated population at Tambourine Mountain. The birds prefer wet sclerophyll forest with Antarctic Beech and a dense under storey of rainforest plants. Albert’s Lyrebirds do not occur in dry sclerophyll forest or vine forest with high nutrient soils.
Albert’s Lyrebird conservation status is Least Concern. No evidence of decline is apparent as they occur in managed conservation areas (National Parks etc). However, future prolonged dry periods and risk of uncontrolled fire, limited range, and climate change should be carefully watched.
My wife and I were lucky enough to see Albert’s Lyrebird during a visit to O’Reilly’s in Lamington National Park. We spotted the bird on consecutive days in the dimly lit under storey near the campground (see photos).
The imperial connections of Albert’s Lyrebird are impeccable having been named after Prince Albert, Prince consort of Queen Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom and Empire back in the day.
Bibliography
- The Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight Field Guide to the Birds of Australia
- The Australian Bird Guide– CSIRO
- The Compact Australian Bird Guide– CSIRO
- The New Atlas of Australian Birds– Birds Australia (1998-2002)
- Albert’s Lyrebird-Wikipedia
- Birdlife International- Website.
- The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2020 Editors: S.T. Garnett, G.B.Baker.
