266 THE UNIVERSE. 



CHAPTER V. 



ARCHITECTURE INTENDED FOR ENJOYMENT. 



Maternal love, as we have seen, works prodigies, and 

 neglects nothing requisite for the welfare and protection of 

 the family. But we come now to birds which devote time 

 and labor merely to luxury and pleasure, and which, in- 

 stead of ingeniously-contrived nests, build elegant groves, 

 intended only for enjoyment, for promenades, tender pas- 

 times, and love-meetings. 



The most skilful of these builders of bowers, of these 

 ornithological Le Nostres, is the Spotted Chlamydera, or 

 bower-bird, which is very like our partridge. It may, 

 however, be distinguished at the first view by it deep- 

 colored plumage, set off by clear spots and a pretty rose- 

 tinted collar. 



The couple proceed in an orderly way to build their 

 arbor. They usually set it up in an exposed place, to en- 

 joy the sun and heat better. Their first care is to make a 

 pavement of rounded shells of tolerably equal size ; when 

 the surface and thickness of this are sufficiently forward, 

 they begin planting a little avenue of branches. For this 

 purpose they are seen bringing in from the fields fine 

 shoots of trees about the same size, the thick ends of which 

 they thrust firmly in between the interstices of the pebbles. 

 The birds arrange these branches in two parallel rows, 

 making them all bend one towards another, so as to re- 

 semble a miniature avenue. This improvised plantation is 



