Food
Not very well know, but probably insects and their larvae, and other soil-dwelling invertebrates.
Voice
Male, rough but mellow, far-carrying, 'caw-cree-craw-craw-wheat' or similar phrases. A mellow, rising 'wooo' like the howl of a dingo. A very good mimic of other species, including the whirring the the Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) and the 'pik' of the Green Catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris). Female, also a good mimic. A piercing, 'whisk-whisk' is uttered in alarm.
Nest
A bulky structure with an entrance at the side, composed of sticks, twigs, dried fern-leaves and mosses on the outside, and wiry rootlets and bark-fibre, on the inside, lined with downy feathers, usually built on a ledge of rock, in a cavity on top of a tall stump, or at the base of trees, occasionally between the buttressed roots of jungle trees. The downy feathers come from the flanks of the bird.
Eggs (Guide)
1; pale purple-brown blotched and streaked with black; long-oval; about 67 x 43 mm. Incubation: about 42 days; by female.
Young
Fledge in about 40 days. Fed and brooded by female.
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Described subspecies rufa, from southern Queensland considered undiagnosable.
Similar Species
Likely to be confused only with Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) but they are not known to occur in the same area.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet