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Superb Lyrebird

Menura alberti

Family: Menuridae (Lyrebirds, 2 species in Australia)
Size: M 80-90 cm, F 74-84 cm
Distribution: Within about 200 km of the coasts of NSW, a few in TAS
Status: Moderately Common
Habitat: Forest areas, not too dry
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest

The Superb Lyrebird is famous for its ability to mimic a huge variety of other Australian birds. It appears on the Australian 10 cent coin.

Superb Lyrebird - Menura alberti
Photo: Katoomba, Blue Mountains NSW

Superb Lyrebird - Menura alberti
Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.

Some Birdwatching Resources

Photographic Field Guide Birds of Australia: Second Edition, Jim Flegg. This field guide to Australian birds is different to most in that it has photographs of each bird, rather than drawings or paintings. If you would prefer to see actual photographs of the birds, this is your guide. Most people prefer a field guide with drawings though, since the drawings are specially done to look like a generic representation of the bird, and also to point out details that can be used to tell one species from another very similar species. Photographs, especially of the more rare birds, do not always show the birds looking like they will when you see them in the wild. However, sometimes it is nice to see a real photo rather than a drawing.

Click here to purchase from Australia $30.99 AUD

The Kamana Naturalist Training Program.The Kamana program by Jon Young, founder of Wilderness Awareness School, is an awesome correspondence course teaching naturalist knowledge of your area including birds and bird language. If you want to learn the birds and other animals so that you really feel that you know them, I highly recommend this course, which I am studying myself.