The lyrebirds are large passerine birds, amongst the largest in the order. They are ground living birds with strong legs and feet and short rounded wings. They are generally poor fliers and rarely take to the air except for periods of downhill gliding. The superb lyrebird is the larger of the two species. Females are long, and the males are a larger long—making them the third-largest passerine bird after the thick-billed raven and the common raven. Albert's lyrebird is slightly smaller at a maximum of (male) and (female). They have smaller, less spectacular lyrate feathers than the superb lyrebird, but are otherwise similar. Superb lyrebirds weigh around , while Albert's lyrebird weigh slightly lighter, at .
