lyrebird

English

(superb) lyrebird

Etymology

From lyre +‎ bird.

Pronunciation

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Noun

lyrebird (plural lyrebirds)

1. Either of two large ground-dwelling Australian songbirds, of the genus Menura, named because of the beautiful tail feathers of the male of one species, the superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), which can be erected to look like a lyre, and notable for their extraordinary ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment.
   • 1983, Helen Garner, Yellow Notebook: Diaries Volume I, Text Publishing, published 2022, page 66:

     A lyrebird strolled past me on its large feet, among the granite boulders.

Derived terms

• Albert's lyrebird, Menura alberti
• superb lyrebird, Menura novaehollandiae

Translations

Australian songbirds of the genus Menura

• Armenian: քնարահավ (hy) (kʿnarahav)
• Bulgarian: птица-лира f (ptica-lira)
• Finnish: lyyralintu
• German: Leierschwanz m
• Ido: liro (io)
• Irish: liréan m
• Polish: lirogon (pl) m
• Russian: лирохво́ст (ru) m (liroxvóst)
• Spanish: ave lira f
• Swedish: lyrfåfel c
• Tamil: யாழ் பறவை (yāḻ paṟavai)
• Volapük: menur