'r'!' 





PTILONORHYNCllUS. 37 



Adult female — General colour above, greyish-green,, the feathers of the hack hehig slvjhlly 

 tinged iciih blue on their margins, and those of the rump and upper tail-coverl-i more distinctly 

 7vashed with green : lesser and median u:ing-coverts slightly duller in colour than the hack, the greater 

 coverts and inner secondaries dull reddish-brown, washed ivith greyish-green, the latter and the 

 inner series ot' tlie greater coverts with an indistinct whitish tip: primaries and the remainder of 

 the secondaries dark brown on their inner irebs, golden-hroivn on the outer : tail golden-brown, with 

 a reddish shade on the outer webs of the lateral feathers : ear-coverts and cheeks brown, with a faint 

 greenisll-grey shade, and having narrow pale buff shaft streaks: throat light brown crashed ivith 

 greenish-grey and having darker edges to the feathers : remainder of the under surface pale yellow 

 washed with bluish-yreen,, all the feathers having a spot in the centre and a broad submarginal 

 edging of blackish-brown, the bluish-green wash being darker on the sides of the body : bill dark 

 brown tinged with olive; legs and feet olive-white; iris deep bine. Total length in the frih J. .'-5 

 inches, iving f!-f>, tail 4't>, exposed portion of bill 0-9, tarsus IS-'i. 



Distribution. — Eastern Queensland, Eastern New South Wales, \'ictoria. 



WITIIOL'T exception, the bo\ver-buildin,t; birds of Australia are the most extraordinary 

 and interesting group of birds found in the world. It is true that many species form 

 beautiful nests for the reception of their eggs, and rearing their young, but in no instance is 

 bird-architecture perfected so much as is seen in the wonderfully constructed play-houses or 

 courting-bowers of the family Ptilonorhynchidae. The love of the beautiful is always displayed 

 by these birds in the formation and manner of adornment of their playing-places, ^from the 

 primitive bower made bv the Regent Bower-bird in the northern coastal brushes of New South 

 Wales, to the commodious and aesthetically decorated structure formed by Newton's Bower-bird 

 in the tropical scrubs of the table-lands and mountain peaks of North-eastern Queensland. 



The Satin Bower-bird is the commonest species of this interesting family, being distributed 

 throughout the coastal scrubs and contiguous mountain ranges of Eastern and South-eastern 

 Australia, from Rockingham Bay in Queensland to the Qtway Forest in \'ictoria. The whole 

 of the rich coastal brushes of New South Wales, however, may be regarded as the stronghold 

 of this species, localities in which many wild fruit and berry -bearing trees abound, its range 

 extending inland as far as the western slopes of the Blue Mountains. In that coastal belt of 

 palm brush between Ourimbah and Wyong, on the northern side of the Hawkesbury River, 

 these birds are usually plentiful during the late autumn and winter months, congregating in 

 large flocks in company with Cat-birds and Regent Bower-birds to feast upon the abundance of 

 wild fruit and berries. Allowing for their being accompanied by their young, and that it is the 

 third or fourth season before the male acquires its full adult plumage, one cannot help being 

 struck with the large proportion in the sombre livery of the female and young male. I also 

 noted the same fact when in South Gippsland, \'ictoria, where these birds used to be fairly 

 numerous before the undergrowth had been cleared by selectors or devastating bush-fires. 



Wild fruits and berries constitute the greater portion of the food of this species, and it 

 is very partial to the berries of the ink-weed and the stinging-tree, to which diet is added 

 insects of various kinds. During the summer and autumn months the Satin Bower-birds 

 congregate in large flocks in orchards, and commit great havoc in the crops, attacking 

 principally the softer kinds of fruit, such as mulberries, peaches, apricots, bananas, oranges, and 

 mandarins. They also even pick a hole in the rind of lemons to extract the somewhat acid and 

 juicy pulp. Mr. J. A. Boyd informs me that near Eden, these birds do considerable damage 

 when the maize is just formed in the cob. 



The usual notes of the male resemble the noise made by small rapidly running cog-wheels, 

 accompanied by a deep hissing sound, this is followed by some very sweet clear notes, or those 

 of other birds are imitated, for they are excellent mimics. This is generally uttered when 

 paying attention to the opposite sex at the bower. With the exception of a harsh note of alarm. 



