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Albert's Lyrebirds are the smaller of two species of Australian lyrebirds. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Albert's Lyrebirds have a rufous-brown back, from the head to the rump. The front is grey-brown, except for the throat, which is rufous. The characteristic feature is the tail, with silvery filamentary feathers (that are dark-brown on top) on the inside and one outer "lyre" feather on either side. The lyre feathers are dark and plain. Female Superb Lyrebirds have a body plumage that is similar to males', but they have a long dark-brown tail, with feathers that curve downward at the end. They lack both filamentous and lyre feathers. Females have rufous flanks and a rufous vent. The bill of both sexes is dark-grey, the irises are dark and the feet and long legs are grey.

Twitcher's tip

Compared to Superb Lyrebirds, the males' outer lyre feathers are darker and plainer. The throat of Albert's Lyrebirds has a richer rufous colour than that of Superb Lyrebirds.

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Albert's Lyrebird is available HERE .

Albert's Lyrebirds reside only in a small area of the Great Dividing Range and its eastern slopes around the NSW/QLD border, from north-eastern NSW into south-eastern QLD, where they can be found in a semi-circular belt around Brisbane.

Albert's Lyrebirds have a strong preference for dense, wet forest (rainforest) and its edges, where they spend most of their time in leaf litter.

Where to look? How to find this species?

If, in wooded areas with dense undergrowth within their range, one gets the impression that there are many different bird species calling from one spot, all on or near the ground, it is most likely that one is listening to the mimicking calls of an Albert's Lyrebird.
This statement can be made because there is hardly any overlap in the ranges between Alberts Lyrebird and the Superb Lyrebird.

A. Ross-Taylor reports spotting Albert's Lyrebirds at O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, in November 2013 and again in May 2014.

J. Greaves reports finding Albert's Lyrebird at O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, in October 2015, when a sound recording was obtained.

M. Eaton reports spotting Albert's Lyrebird at Cunninghams Gap, Main Range NP, QLD, in June 2017, and at O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, in January 2020.