Do you know the story of the lyrebird's name? -- Well, when the first specimens of the bird were sent to England in the early 1800s, they were prepared for display by a taxidermist who had never seen a live lyrebird, so the taxidermist mistakenly arranged the tail feathers in the same manner as a peacock's train during courtship display; fanned-out flat and behind the bird, so as to resemble a lyre; a musical instrument. -- In actual fact, lyrebirds bring their 16 tail feathers over the top of themselves and give them a little shake and they are never fanned-out like the unrelated peacock's. -- So, while Lyrebirds DO have two tail feathers that are zoologically termed as lyrate, their tails, during courtship do not resemble a lyre at all, and should probably have been called a Robotbird because of their robotic calls that mimic other birds...but they didn't have robots in the 1800s. -- Moral of the story? See your birds in real life before arranging them and especially before naming them. -- #lyrebird #lyre #bird #feather #taxidermy #illustration #aviary #aviarybook #blacklines #naturalhistory #ink #birdsofaustralia #anaviandiary https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn42QlMhZxX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=as2yqumyfwtq
