Menura Novaehollandiae
The superb lyrebird (''Menura novaehollandiae'') is an Australian songbird, one of two species from the family Menuridae. It is one of the world's largest songbirds, and is renowned for its elaborate tail and courtship displays, and its excellent mimicry. The species is endemic to Australia and is found in forest in the southeast of the country. According to David Attenborough, the superb lyrebird displays one of the most sophisticated voice skills within the animal kingdom—"the most elaborate, the most complex, and the most beautiful". Taxonomy The superb lyrebird was first illustrated and described scientifically as ''Menura superba'' by Major-General Thomas Davies on 4 November 1800 to the Linnean Society of London. Superb lyrebirds are passerine birds within the family Menuridae, being one of the two species of lyrebirds forming the genus ''Menura'', with the other being the much rarer Albert's lyrebird. The superb lyrebird can be distinguished from Albert's lyrebird ...
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Flight Feather
Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail are called rectrices (), singular rectrix (). The primary function of the flight feathers is to aid in the generation of both thrust and lift (force), lift, thereby enabling bird flight, flight. The flight feathers of some birds have evolved to perform additional functions, generally associated with territorial displays, courtship rituals or feeding methods. In some species, these feathers have developed into long showy plumes used in visual courtship displays, while in others they create a sound during display flights. Tiny serrations on the leading edge of their remiges help owls to fly silently (and therefore hunt more successfully), while the extra-stiff rectrices of woodpeckers help them to brace against tree trunks as they hammer on ...
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