The Victorian branch has a very large body of members, about 40,000 certificates having already been issued to adults and children. Tasmania has a branch in full operation. In South Australia bird clubs are doing excellent work, especially amongst the young people, and Queensland and New South Wales bird-lovers have taken active steps to develop the movement in their States. A Bird Day, by order of the Minister of Education, Hon. A. A. Billson, and the Director, Mr. F. Tate, was observed in Victorian schools in 1909 and 1910, with gratifying results. Bird-nesting, for the collection of eggs, has practically wholly disappeared from our schools, while at most country schools native birds can be seen nesting on the school grounds, the children keeping observation notes of nesting and feeding habits of the birds as part of their work in Nature-study. What study is of greater economic importance to this wealthy, though occasionally insect-troubled, land? ==== [Page 112] [Illustration: [237]] ORDER XX.--MENURIFORMES, LYRE-BIRDS. F. 104. MENURIDAE (3), LYRE-BIRDS, 3 sp. A. (South-Eastern A.). 3 3 =237 Victoria Lyre-Bird=, Pheasant (e), _Menura victoriae_, V. Stat. r. _dense scrubs_, m., 36; f., 27 Beautiful lyre tail; f., sooty-brown; all tail feathers fully webbed. Insects, centipedes, snails. ==== Order XXI.--Perching-Birds--contains 11,500 species, more than three-fifths of the world's 19,000 birds. As Perching-Birds (_Passeres_) are still undergoing evolution, connecting links still live, so that it is very difficult to divide the Perching Birds into well-defined families. Sharpe has divided them into sixty-one families, but, for several of these, no exact characters that exclude other birds can be assigned, so that some of these, at least, are "not worthy of family rank." However, Sharpe's classification represents the latest thought of scientists on this difficult matter, so it must be adopted here. This large order of birds is divided into two sub-orders:-- 1. Songless Perching-Birds, made up mainly of South American birds, though two families are included that are represented in the Australian region--_viz._, Pittas (_Pittidae_) and New Zealand Wrens (_Xenicidae_). 2. Song-Birds. Birds of the second division are again divided into two:--A.: Abnormal Song-Birds. B.: Normal Song-Birds. The first group, Abnormal Song-Birds, comprises only the two remarkable Scrub-Birds (_Atrichornithidae_) of Australia. One of these inhabits West Australian scrubs only, while the other inhabits East Australian (Richmond River) scrubs only. The breast bone and the muscles of the voice apparatus are unusual. These birds are about the size of a thrush, and form "one of the most curious ornithological types of the many furnished by that country" (Australia). So far, no female bird has been examined, and little is known about these remarkable, noisy, scrub-haunting birds.