Albert's Lyrebird

At this time of the year, we like to head up to Lamington National Park and O'Reilly's to participate in their Spring Bird Week. One of the highlights of this area is the chance to see an Albert's Lyrebird. 

The Albert's Lyrebird prefers gully areas in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forests

 The male is well known for its courtship display usually seen and heard in the autumn and winter months. The male is a superb mimic and uses its own calls as well as copying the call of other birds. It will spend hours each day during the peak winter season.  

They tend to live a solitary life and apart from the courtship display little is known about their mating system. The female looks after the young and occasionally you will see her with a juvenile. I was fortunate to come across such a pair, feeding by scratching the leaf litter and exposing insects, larvae and worms along with other invertebrates.

Since European settlement, much of their rainforest and wet sclerophyll habitat has been cleared and so they are now restricted to a few mountain top areas in South-East Queensland and Northern New South Wales. This makes them vulnerable and they are listed as vulnerable in New South Wales and near threatened in Queensland. Apart from habitat loss these wonderful birds are threatened by introduced predators such as foxes, wild dogs and feral cats. 

They really are worth seeing and if you get the chance, go and see them in the winter months and marvel at the males vocal displays whilst the female tends to the youngster.

Nests are placed on the ground and are often associated with ferns, buttress roots of fig trees or creek banks