Superb Lyrebird

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

The Superb Lyrebird is a massive, pheasant-sized terrestrial songbird, reaching 80 to 100 centimetres in length. Its plumage is predominantly dark grey-brown with rufous-tinted wings and a paler grey throat. The male is unmistakable due to his spectacular tail, featuring two broad, S-shaped outer lyrates patterned with chestnut and white, which enclose twelve delicate, silvery filamentary feathers. During display, he flips this tail forward over his head, veiling his body in a shimmering canopy. Females and immatures are similar in body colour but possess shorter, simpler tails. Both sexes have exceptionally strong, dark legs and long claws adapted for raking through deep mulch. Its voice is a masterclass in mimicry; roughly 80 percent of its song consists of near-perfect imitations of other species, such as the Laughing Kookaburra and Crimson Rosella, woven between its own loud whistles and metallic clicks. Singing occurs year-round but is most intense during the winter breeding season when males perform from low, circular mounds of cleared earth. Mainly terrestrial and solitary, the lyrebird is a vigorous forager that scratches through moist leaf litter for invertebrates. Flight is heavy and limited; it typically runs quickly or uses its wings to jump into low branches and glide down to the forest floor. It inhabits rainforests and wet sclerophyll forests across southeastern Australia, from the New South Wales-Queensland border through Victoria, with a thriving introduced population in Tasmania. It is best distinguished from the related Albert’s Lyrebird by the latter’s deeper rufous plumage and the male's lack of broad, patterned lyrate feathers. Unlike the Superb Lyrebird, the Albert's Lyrebird is restricted to a small region in the far subtropics.

Description · BirdUp · CC BY-SA 4.0

1. 01

   Spectacular lyre-shaped tail (male)

   Two large, ornate outer feathers curve outwards, framing numerous silvery, filament-like plumes.

2. 02

   Long, broad, unadorned tail (female/immature)

   Lacks the male's ornate plumes, consisting of simple, broad, dark brown feathers, often held drooping.

3. 03

   Large, fowl-like body

   Pheasant-sized with a predominantly dark brown and grey-brown body.

4. 04

   Brown plumage with reddish-tinged flight feathers

   Upperparts are dark brown; red tinge is noticeable on wings, especially in flight.