Plate_Austral English

Lathamus discolor, Swift Lorikeet ... ... 47

Trichoglossus Novae-Hollandiae, Jard. and Selb.,

Swainson's L. ... ... ... ... ... ... 48

T. rubritorquis, Vig. and Horsf., Red-collared L. 49

T. chlorolepidotus, Scaly-breasted L. ... 50

T. versicolor, Vig., Varied L. ... ... 51

T. concinnus, Musky L. ... ... ... ... 52

T. porphyrocephalus, Dict., Porphyry-crowned L. 53

T. pusillus, Little L. ... ... ... ... 54

1890. `The Argus,' June 7, p. 13, col. 4:

"On the hill-sides the converse of the lorikeets as they drain

the honeycups and swing and chatter in low undertones the whole

day long."

<hw>Lory</hw>, n. a bird-name. The word is Malay. (See

`Encyclopaedia Britannica,' vol. xv.) It is often spelt

Lowrie in Australia. The species in Australia are--

Crimson-winged Lory--

Aprosmictus coccineopterus, Gould.

King L.--

A. scapulatus, Bechst.

Red-winged Lory--

A. erythropterus, Gmel.

1848. Gould's `Birds of Australia,' vol. v.:

"Aprosmictus scapulatus, king lory;

erythropturus, red-winged lory."

<hw>Lotus-bird</hw>, n. Parra gallinacea, Temm.;

called also the Jacana (q.v.), and the Parra

(q.v.).

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 22:

"The most striking bird on the lagoon is doubtless the

beautiful Parra gallinacea, which in Australia is called

the lotus-bird. It sits on the leaves that float on the water,

particularly those of the water-lily."

<hw>Lowan</hw>, n. aboriginal birdname for Leipoa

ocellata, Gould. The name is used for the bird in Victoria

and in the south-east district of South Australia. In the

Mallee district, it is called Mallee-bird, Mallee

fowl, Mallee-hen (q.v.); in South Australia,

Native Pheasant (q.v.); and in various parts of

Australia, the Scrub-Turkey. The county called Lowan,

after the bird, is in the Mallee country in the west of

Victoria. See Turkey.

1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 171:

"The Lowan (Mallee-hen, they're mostly called). The Lowan

eggs--beautiful pink thin-shelled ones they are, first-rate

to eat, and one of 'em a man's breakfast."

1890. A. H. S. Lucas, `Handbook of the Australasian

Association for the Advancement of Science,' Melbourne, p. 68:

"To the dry, arid Mallee Scrub of the Western District is a

radical change of scene. There the so-called Mallee hen, or

Native name, Lowan (Leipoa ocellata), loves to dwell."

1896. `The Argus,' Aug. 4, p. 5, col. 2:

"The postmaster at Nhill had drawn the attention of the Deputy

Postmaster-General to the large number of letters which are

received there addressed to `Lowan.' It should be understood

that this is the name of a county containing several postal

districts, and correspondents should be more specific in their

addresses."

<hw>Lowrie</hw>, n. a bird-name. An Australian variant

of Lory (q.v.).

1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 40:

"A great many species of the parrot are found; and of these

the King Parrot is the most beautiful, and that called the

Lowrie is perhaps the most docile."

1890. Lyth, `Golden South,' p. 127:

"The birds are very beautiful--the Blue Mountain and Lowrie

parrots . . .'

<hw>Lubra</hw>, n. aboriginal name for a black woman.

The name comes from Tasmania, appearing first in the form

loubra, in a vocabulary given in the `Voyage de

Decouvertes de l'Astrolabe' (Paris, 1834), vol. vii. p. 9,

and was obtained from a Tasmanian woman, belonging to Port

Dalrymple on the Tamar River. It is probably a compound

of the Tasmanian words loa or lowa, a woman,

and proi (with variants), big. In Victoria, the use

of the word began at the Hopkins River and the vicinity,

having been introduced by settlers from Tasmania, but it was

generally adopted south of the Murray. North of the Murray

the native women were called Gins (q.v.). Both words

are now used indiscriminately.

1855. W. Blandowski, `Transactions of Philosophical Society

of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 73 :

"The young man who wishes to marry has first to look out for a

wife amongst the girls or leubras of some neighbouring

tribe."

1864. H. Simcox, `Outward Bound," p. 87:

"Many lubras so black with their load on their back."

1885. R. M. Praed, `Australian Life," p. 23:

"Certain stout young gins or lubras, set apart for that

purpose, were sacrificed."

1891. `The Argus,' Nov. 7, p. 13, col. 4:

"A few old lubras sufficiently dirty and unprepossessing."

1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 28:

"Naked, and not ashamed, the old men grey-bearded and eyes

bright, watched the cooking of the fish, and the younger, with

the lubras, did the honours of reception."

<hw>Lucerne, Native</hw>, or <hw>Paddy</hw>, n. i.q.

Queensland Hemp. See Hemp.

1895. A. B. Paterson, `Man from Snowy River,' p. 95:

"And now lies wandering fat and sleek,

On the Lucerne flats by the Homestead Creek."

<hw>Luderick</hw>, or <hw>Ludrick</hw>, n. an aboriginal

Gippsland name for a local variety of the fish Girella

simplex, Richards., the Black-fish (q.v.).

<hw>Lugg</hw>, n. a fish not identified.

"Lug, a kind of fish." (`Walker,' 1827)

1802. Flemming, `Journal of the Exploration of C. Grimes'

(at Port Phillip), ed. by J. J. Shillinglaw, Melbourne, 1897,

p. 27:

"Many swans, ducks and luggs."

<hw>Lyonsia</hw>, n. a Tasmanian plant. See Devil's

guts.

<hw>Lyre-bird</hw>, n. an Australian bird, originally

called the Bird of Paradise of New South Wales; then

called a Native Pheasant, or Mountain Pheasant,

and still generally called a Pheasant by the Gippsland

bushmen. The name Lyre-bird apparently began between 1828 and

1834. It is not used by Cunningham, `Two Years in New South

Wales' (1828), vol. i. p. 303. See Menura.

The species are--

The Lyre-bird--

Menura superba, Davies.

Albert L.-b.--

M. alberti, Gould.

Victoria L.-b.--

M. victoriae, Gould.

Since 1888 the Lyre-bird has been the design on the

eight-penny postage-stamp of New South Wales.

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' p. 435:

"The Bird of Paradise of New South Wales [with picture]. This

elegant bird, which by some is called the Bird of Paradise, and

by others the Maenura Superba, has a straight bill, with the

nostrils in the centre of the beak."

1802. D. Collins, `History of English Colony of New South

Wales,' vol. ii. p. 335:

"Menura superba." [But not the name lyre-bird].

1834. Geo. Bennett, `Wanderings in New South Wales, etc.,'

/vol./ i. p. 277:

"The `Native or Wood-pheasant,' or `Lyre bird' of the

colonists, the `Menura superba' of naturalists, and the

`Beleck, beleck,' and `Balaugara' of the aboriginal tribes,

is abundant about the mountain ranges, in all parts of the

colony."

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,'

p. 132:

"Numerous pheasants (Menura superba). These birds are

the mocking-birds of Australia, imitating all the sounds that

are heard in the bush in great perfection. They are about the

size of a barn-door fowl, and are not remarkable for any beauty

either in the shape or colour, being of a dirty brown,

approaching to black in some parts; their greatest attraction

consists in the graceful tail of the cock bird, which assumes

something the appearance of a lyre, for which reason some

naturalists have called them lyre-birds."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. iii. pl. 14:

"Menura superba, Davies, Lyre-bird; Pheasant of the

Colonists. Were I requested to suggest an emblem for Australia

amongst its birds, I should without the slightest hesitation

select the Menura as the most appropriate, being

strictly peculiar to Australia."

1864. J. S. Moore, `Spring-Life Lyrics;' p. 92:

"Shy as the lyre-bird, hidden away,

A glittering waif in the wild."

1867. G. G. McCrae, `Balladeadro,' p. 30:

"There the proud lyre-bird spreads his tail,

And mocks the notes of hill and dale

Whether the wild dog's plaintive howl

Or cry of piping water-fowl."

1872. A. McFarland, `Illawarra Manaro,' p. 54:

"The Lyre-bird may yet be seen--more frequently heard--amongst

the gullies and ravines. It has the power of imitating every

other bird, and nearly every sound it hears in the bush-even

that of a cross-cut saw."

1886. J. A. Fronde, `Oceana,' p. 146:

"Here, too, for the first time, we saw a lyre-bird, which some

one had just shot, the body being like a coot's, and about the

same size, the tail long as the tail of a bird of paradise,

beautifully marked in bright brown, with the two chief feathers

curved into the shape of a Greek lyre, from which it takes its

name."

1890. `Victorian Statutes'--Game Act, Third Schedule:

[Close Season.] "Lyre Birds. The whole year."

1893. `The Age,' Aug. 7, p. vi, col. 9:

"There are more reasons than one why the lyre-bird should be

preserved. From a purely utilitarian point of view it is of

value, for it is insectivorous and preys upon insects which are

apt to prefer orchard fruit to their natural bush food. But

the bird has as well a national and sentimental value. Next to

the emu it is the most typical Australian bird. It is peculiar

to Australia, for in no other country is it to be seen.

Comparatively speaking it is a rara avis even in

Australia itself, for it is only to be found in the most

secluded parts of two colonies--Victoria and New South Wales.

It is the native pheasant. The aborigines call it

`Beleck-Beleck,' and whites call it the `lyre-bird' from the

shape of its tail; the ornithologists have named it

Menura. There are three species--the Victoriae

of this colony, and the Alberta and superba of

New South Wales. The general plumage is glossy brown, shaded

with black and silver grey, and the ornate tail of the male

bird is brown with black bars. They live in the densest

recesses of the fern gullies of the Dividing Range with the

yellow-breasted robin, the satin-bird, and the bell-bird as

their neighbours. They are the most shy of birds, and are

oftener heard than seen. Their notes, too, are heard more

frequently than they are recognized, for they are consummate

mimics and ventriloquists. They imitate to perfection the

notes of all other birds, the united voicing of a flock of

paraquetts [sic], the barking of dogs, the sawing of timber,

and the clink of the woodman's axe. Thus it is that the

menura has earned for itself the title of the Australian

mocking-bird. Parrots and magpies are taught to speak; as a

mimic the lyre-bird requires no teacher."

1893. `Sydney Morning Herald,' Aug. 9. p. 9, col. 1:

"If the creature was lovely its beauty was marketable and

fatal--and the lyre-bird was pursued to its last retreats and

inveigled to death, so that its feathers might be peddled in

our streets."

<hw>Mackerel</hw>, n. In Australia, Scomber

antarcticus, Castln., said to be identical with Scomber

pneumatophorus, De la Roche, the European mackerel; but

rare. In New Zealand, Scomber australasicus, Cuv. and

Val.

<hw>Macquarie Harbour Grape</hw>, or <hw>Macquarie Harbour

Vine</hw>, n. the Tasmanian name for Muhlenbeckia

adpressa, Meissn. N.O. Polygonaceae; called

Native Ivy in Australia. See Ivy and

Grape.

1831. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 265:

"That valuable plant called the Macquarie harbour grape.

It was so named by Mr. Lempriere, late of the Commissariat at

that station, who first brought it into notice as a desirable

acquisition in our gardens."

1834. Ross, `Van Diemen's Land Annual,' p. 133:

"Polygonum adpressum. The Macquarie harbour vine,

either as an insignificant trailing plant, or as a magnificent

climber, according to the soil and situation, is found on the

coast of various parts of Van Diemen's Land, and also as far

inland as within about four miles of New Norfolk. This plant

has a small but sweet fruit, formed of the thickened divisions

of the calyx of the flower, inclosing a triangular seed of

unpleasant flavour."

<hw>Macquarie Pine</hw>, n. See Pine.

<hw>Macropus</hw>, n. the scientific name for the

typical genus of Macropodidae, established by Shaw in

1800. From the Greek makropous, long-footed. It

includes the Kangaroo (q.v.) and Wallaby (q.v.).

M. giganteus, Zimm., is the Giant Kangaroo, or

Forester (q.v.).

<hw>Mado</hw>, n. a Sydney fish, Therapon

cuvieri, Bleek; called also Trumpeter-Perch.

Atypus strigatus, Gunth., is also called Mado

by the Sydney fishermen, who confound it with the first species.

The name is probably aboriginal.

<hw>Magpie</hw>, n. a black-and-white Crow-Shrike,

present all over Australia. He resembles the English Magpie in

general appearance, but has not the long tail of that bird,

though he shares with him his kleptomania. He is often called

the Bush-magpie (q.v.) by townsfolk, to distinguish him

from the tamed specimens kept in many gardens, or in cages,

which are easily taught to talk. The species are--

Black-backed Magpie--

Gymnorhina tibicen, Lath.; called also

Flute-Bird (q.v.).

Long-billed M.--

G. dorsalis, Campbell.

White, or Organ M.--

G. organicum, Gould; called also Organ-bird

(q.v.).

White-backed M.--

G. leuconota, Gould.