Unique to Australia, lyrebirds make up the family Menuridae, of which there are only two species. The superb lyrebird, Menura novaehollandiae, is found among the coastal gullies, mountain forests, granite outcrops and open timbered country from south-eastern Queensland to southern Victoria, in particular the Dandenong Ranges. The Prince Albert lyrebird, M. alberti, is restricted to the mountains and rainforests near the coastal border of Queensland and New South Wales. Both species have similar features, the males being about 90 cm long and the females 65 cm in length.
The male superb lyrebird has a long lyre-shaped tail with a web of filamentous central feathers, whereas the Prince Albert lyrebird lacks the lyre-shaped outer tail-feathers and is more rufous-brown in body colour. The females are smaller than the males and have no ornamental tail-feathers.