The Superb Lyrebird and some birds-of-paradise, due to very long tails or tail coverts, are longer overall.

Most passerine birds develop twelve tail feathers, though the Superb Lyrebird has sixteen.

They were thought to be Galliformes like the broadly similar looking partridge, junglefowl, and pheasants that Europeans were familiar with, and this was reflected in the early names the Superb Lyrebird had, including Native Pheasant.

* Superb Lyrebird ( Menura novaehollandiae ), called " Weringerong ," " Woorail ," and " Bulln-bulln " in Aboriginal languages.

The Superb Lyrebird is the larger of the two species.

Albert's Lyrebird is slightly smaller at a maximum of 90 cm ( male ) and 84 cm ( female ) ( around 30-35 inches ) They have smaller, less spectacular lyrate feathers than the Superb Lyrebird, but are otherwise similar.

Superb Lyrebird in courtship display

Within the male territories the males create or use display platforms, in the case of the Superb Lyrebird it is a mound of bare soil, in the Albert's Lyrebird it is simply a pile of twigs on the forest floor.

The song of the Superb Lyrebird is a mixture of seven elements of its own song and any number of other mimicked songs and noises.

The lyrebird has been featured as a symbol and emblem many times, especially in New South Wales and Victoria ( where the Superb Lyrebird has its natural habitat ) – and in Queensland ( where Albert's Lyrebird has its natural habitat ).

* A male Superb Lyrebird is featured on the reverse of the Australian 10 cent coin.

* A stylised Superb Lyrebird appears in the transparent window of the Australian 100 dollar note.

* A silhouette of a male Superb Lyrebird is the logo of the Australian Film Commission

* An illustration of a male Superb Lyrebird, in courtship display, is the emblem of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service

* The pattern on the curtains of the Victorian State Theatre is the image of a male Superb Lyrebird, in courtship display, as viewed from the front.

* A stylised illustration of part of a male Superb Lyrebird's tail is the logo for the Lyrebird Arts Council of Victoria.

John Gould's early 1800s painting of a Superb Lyrebird specimen at the British Museum

This happened when a Superb Lyrebird specimen ( which had been taken from Australia to England during the early 19th century ) was prepared for display at the British Museum by a taxidermist who had never seen a live lyrebird.

Although very beautiful, the male lyrebird's tail is not held as in John Gould's painting, nor as in the portrayal of the Superb Lyrebird on the 1932 postage stamp ( featured on this page above the photo of John Gould's painting ).

The Superb Lyrebird, once seriously threatened by habitat destruction, is now classified as common.

Birds here include Superb Lyrebird, Pilotbird, Cicadabird, Logrunner, Rose Robin, Golden Whistler, King Parrot, Topknot Pigeon.

An instructive example of this is the population of Superb Lyrebirds in Tasmania, which have retained the calls of species not native to Tasmania in their repertoire, but have also added some local Tasmanian endemic bird noises.

Instead, the male lyrebird's tail is fanned over the lyrebird during courtship display, with the tail completely covering his head and back — as can be seen in the image at the top of this page, where the Superb Lyrebird's tail ( in courtship display ) is portrayed accurately.

The park is part of the South-west Slopes of NSW Important Bird Area ( IBA ), identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for the conservation of Swift Parrots and Superb Parrots.

* Bird House, where guests and birds are separated by piano wire, features birds as varied as Bald Eagle, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Hyacinth Macaw, Burrowing Owl, Toco Toucan, Cape Thick-Knee, Golden Pheasant, Kookaburra, Mariana Fruit-dove, King Vulture, Horned Guan, Superb Starling, Tawny Frogmouth, and the Guam Kingfisher, which is Extinct in the Wild.

The song of fairywrens is pleasant and complex, and at least two species ( Superb and Splendid ) possess, in addition to the alarm calls common to – and universally understood by – most small birds, another vocalization used when confronted by predators.

) Finally, Attenborough introduces the Superb Lyrebird as one of the most versatile performers: it is a skilled mimic, and this particular one imitates not only other species, but also cameras, a car alarm and a chain saw.

The Superb Fairywren ( Malurus cyaneus ), also known as the Superb Blue-wren or colloquially as the Blue Wren, is a passerine bird of the family Maluridae, common and familiar across southeastern Australia.

Like other fairywrens, the Superb Fairywren is notable for several peculiar behavioural characteristics ; the birds are socially monogamous and sexually promiscuous, meaning that although they form pairs between one male and one female, each partner will mate with other individuals and even assist in raising the young from such pairings.

The Superb Fairywren is one of 12 species of the genus Malurus, commonly known as fairywrens, found in Australia and lowland New Guinea.

Within the genus, the Superb Fairywren's closest relative is the Splendid Fairywren ; these two " Blue wrens " are also related to the Purple-crowned Fairywren of northwestern Australia.

Twelve species are listed as threatened under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 are found in the wilderness area consisting of: five mammals ( Brush-tailed Phascogale, Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby ( Petrogale penicillata ), koala, Squirrel Glider and Tiger Quoll ); four birds Glossy Black Cockatoo ( Calyptorhynchus lathami ), Greater Sooty Owl ( Tyto tenebricosa ), Superb Fruit-dove and Turquoise Parrot ; one reptile Morelia spilota variegata ( Carpet Python ); and two frogs ( Litoria piperata and Litoria subglandulosa ).

The Superb Fairywren can be found in almost any area that has at least a little dense undergrowth for shelter, including grasslands with scattered shrubs, moderately thick forest, woodland, heaths, and domestic gardens.

A field study in Canberra found that Superb Fairywrens that lived in areas frequented by Noisy Miners ( Manorina melanocephala ) recognised miner alarm calls and took flight, and had learnt to ingore their non-alarm calls, while those that live in areas not frequented by Noisy Miners did not respond to miner alarm calls.

A field study in Canberra found that Superb Fairywrens ( Malurus cyaneus ) that lived in areas frequented by Noisy Miners recognised miner alarm calls and took flight, and had learnt to ignore their non-alarm calls, while those that live in areas not frequented by Noisy Miners did not respond to miner alarm calls.

Some of the most common birds found on the promontory include Crimson Rosellas, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos and Superb Fairywrens.

Two interesting birds often encountered in dense scrub or rainforest include the flightless Brush Turkey ( Alectura lathami ) and the noise mimicking Superb Lyre Bird ( Menura novaehollandiae ).

Despite its colourful plumage, the Superb Fruit Dove is well-camouflaged amongst the rainforest foliage.

The Superb Fairywren is common throughout most of the relatively wet and fertile south-eastern corner of the continent, from the south-east of South Australia ( including Kangaroo Island and Adelaide ) and the tip of the Eyre Peninsula, through all of Victoria, Tasmania, coastal and sub-coastal New South Wales and Queensland, through the Brisbane area and extending inland – north to the Dawson River and west to Blackall ; it is a common bird in the suburbs of Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

Birds that frequent this habitat include ; Golden Whistlers ( Pachycephala pectoralis ), Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos ( Calyptorhynchus funereus ), Laughing Kookaburra ( Dacelo novaeguineae ), Eastern Whipbirds ( Psophodes olivaceus ), New Holland Honeyeaters ( Phylidonyris novaehollandiae ), Eastern Spinebill ( Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris ), Rufous Whistlers ( Pachycephala rufiventris ), Willie Wagtails ( Rhipidura leucophrys ), Superb Fairy Wrens ( Malurus cyaneus ), Crimson Rosellas / Mountain Lowry ( Platycercus elegans ), Yellow-rumped Thornbills ( Acanthiza chrysorrhoa ) and White-browed Scrubwrens ( Sericornis frontalis ).

In 2010 James R. Oestreich of The New York Times called Kirkegaard's 1994 Tanglewood Music Center " a major triumph " and called the acoustics of the recently opened Shalin Liu Performance Center " Superb ".

Native to Australasia, the Superb Fruit Dove lives in the rainforests of New Guinea, Australia, Solomon Islands, the Philippines and Sulawesi of Indonesia.

In New South Wales, however, the Superb Fruit Dove is considered vulnerable, meaning it is likely to become endangered.