… Lyrebirds roamed the nearby environs of Drouin.
The following is an extract from the Brisbane Telegraph,
25/04/1931 (thanks Judy).
AN ACCOMPLISHED PET.
Here Is Mr A H
Chisholm's account of a pet lyrebird.
A notable case was
that of "Jack" of Drouin, Victoria, a lyrebird that was caught as a
youngster in 1885 and lived about the farm of Mr S McNeilly for twenty years.
It is on record that Jack's plumage gradually improved, and after six years he
developed a magnificent tail. Sometimes he wandered from the farm, but always
he returned.
While work was going
on he was frequently in the way, hence his chief saying "Look out
Jack!" Among his favourite imitations were the noise of a horse and dray
moving slowly, with the play of the wheels in the axle-boxes, chains rattling,
etc; an occasional "Gee up, Bess"; and the sound of a violin, piano, cornet, cross-cut
saw, etc. All the more frequent noises about the farm the bird learnt to
perfection, such as a pig being, killed, a dog howling, a child crying, flocks
of parrots screaming, kookaburras laughing, and many cries of small birds. At
the sight of strangers, the wonderful bird became quiet, but he would follow
them like a dog; once he was found three miles away. His usual answer to the men
saying "Poor Jack!" was "Not poor Jack! fat Jack!" which
the men had taught him.
The Superb Lyrebird is a common bird in the dense wet
gullies of West Gippsland and their distribution down the eastern seaboard
stops at Melbourne.
The mimicry abilities of the Lyrebird are legendary and
every naturalist, amateur and professional, has their own tale to tell, like Mr
Chisholm above. I recall hearing someone cutting wood with an axe inside
Nangara Reserve at Jindivick a few years ago. It took me several minutes for
the ‘penny to drop’.
Although a ground dwelling species, Lyrebirds roost and nest
in trees and tree ferns. They only fly short distances. Only the male has the
spectacular tail plumage.
Lyrebirds are sedentary and do not wander far from their favourite
patch of bush. There are several pairs that occupy various corners of the
reserve at Jindivick.
Mt Worth State Park, Uralla, Bunyip State Park, Nangara and
Glen Nayook are just a few of the nearby localities to catch up with a Lyrebird
and now is the time of year to do so – the males generally begin their
courtship displays mid-Winter.
My grandmother was born in 1892 and lived in Longwarry early in the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteShe used to tell me about a Longwarry lyrebird that had memorised the sound of the steam train approaching Longwarry, with the sounds of it being stoked harder and straining to get up the hill, breaking on approach to the station and the hiss of the brakes all memorised perfectly.
It used to take great delight in running through this entire routine, a few minutes before the actual train was due, and used to get people running through the streets of Longwarry, worried that they'd miss the train on a very regular basis.
Apparently the entire town was after it, as they were sick of being tricked, but it was elusive and kept on at this trick for years. Granny was sure that it had a sense of humour and was doing it for its own entertainment all the while.