Illustration of lyrebird
lyrebird
noun
lyre·bird
ˈlī(-ə)r-ˌbərd 
: either of two Australian passerine birds (genus Menura) distinguished in the male by very long tail feathers displayed in the shape of a lyre during courtship
Examples of lyrebird in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There’s a sad irony here: the radiant plumage of the male lyrebird – evolved to increase its mating opportunities with female lyrebirds – nearly led to its demise due to demand from humans who wanted to use it for more or less the same evolutionary reason.
—
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
What makes the lyrebird especially compelling is that its beauty isn’t just visual.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
Future studies may also explore whether other highly skilled vocal mimics, such as lyrebirds, share similar neural structures, offering further clues into the evolution of speech.
—Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2025
The mating call of the male Albert’s lyrebird was differentiated into loud gronking and rhythmic gronking, and it was posited that the males’ shaking of stick piles or vine tangles may trick females into thinking predators are nearby.
—Emily Harnett, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
For example, the start of winter in her local area in northern New South Wales is indicated by male lyrebirds singing.
—Aarti Betigeri, Time, 14 Jan. 2020
The team noticed that species with particularly ancient lineages, such as lyrebirds, scrub-birds and New Zealand wrens, still build roofed structures—suggesting that ancestral passerine nests were domed.
—Kat Long, Scientific American, 1 May 2017
Briefly, another fascinating surprise was the propensity of ravens to mimic human sounds, much like parrots or lyrebirds do.
—James Floyd Kelly, WIRED, 12 July 2012
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Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
What makes the lyrebird especially compelling is that its beauty isn’t just visual.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
Future studies may also explore whether other highly skilled vocal mimics, such as lyrebirds, share similar neural structures, offering further clues into the evolution of speech.
—Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2025
The mating call of the male Albert’s lyrebird was differentiated into loud gronking and rhythmic gronking, and it was posited that the males’ shaking of stick piles or vine tangles may trick females into thinking predators are nearby.
—Emily Harnett, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
For example, the start of winter in her local area in northern New South Wales is indicated by male lyrebirds singing.
—Aarti Betigeri, Time, 14 Jan. 2020
The team noticed that species with particularly ancient lineages, such as lyrebirds, scrub-birds and New Zealand wrens, still build roofed structures—suggesting that ancestral passerine nests were domed.
—Kat Long, Scientific American, 1 May 2017
Briefly, another fascinating surprise was the propensity of ravens to mimic human sounds, much like parrots or lyrebirds do.
—James Floyd Kelly, WIRED, 12 July 2012
Cite this Entry
“Lyrebird.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lyrebird. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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lyrebird
noun
lyre·bird
-ˌbərd
: either of two Australian birds of which the males have very long tail feathers displayed during courtship in the shape of a lyre
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