Le Ménure superbe : l’oiseau-vacarme

The Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) is a pheasant-sized songbird, approximately 100 cm long, with brown upper body plumage, grayish-brown below, rounded wings and strong legs. It is the longest and third heaviest of all songbirds. Its most significant feature is the long tail shaped much like a lyre with two principal feathers coloured black and rufous. The tail is normally held horizontal as here but when the male is making his nuptial display it is held cocked over its head.
It is distributed in south-east Australia from the extreme south-east of Queensland to just east of Melbourne. It is found in in wet forests where it feeds on insects and small animals.
The male of the Superb Lyrebird uses a fantastic variety of song including imitations of other birds and other forest sounds as it displays and attracts females.
Bruno Delaroche sent us an humoristic text about this incredible bird.