The male lyrebird's tail is not held as in John Gould's painting. Instead, the male lyrebird's tail is fanned over the lyrebird during courtship display, with the tail completely covering his head and back—as can be seen in the image in the "breeding" section of this page, and also the image of the 10-cent coin, where the superb lyrebird's tail (in courtship display) is portrayed accurately.
The male lyrebird's tail is not held as in John Gould's painting. Instead the male lyrebird's tail is fanned over the lyrebird during courtship display with the tail completely covering his head and back—as can be seen in the image in the "breeding" section of this page and also the image of the 10-cent coin, where the superb lyrebird's tail (in courtship display) is portrayed accurately.