216 



CONIROSTEES. 



grasses witJi which it is lined fixed firmly in their places : 

 tliese stones diverge from the mouth of the run on each 

 side, so as to form little paths, while the immense col- 

 lection of decorative materials, l)ones, shells, &c., are 

 placed in a lieaj) before the entrance of the avenue ; this 

 arrangement being the same at both ends. In some of 

 the larger bowers, which had evidently been resorted t(» 

 for many years, nearly half a bushel of bones, shells, and 

 similar objects had accumulated at each of tlie entrances. 



Fig. 89. — the spotted bower-bird. 

 {Chlamydera maculata.) 



These structures are frequently found at a considerable 

 distance from rivers, from the borders of which alone 

 the birds could have procured the shells and small i-ound 

 pebbly stones employed in their decoration. The col- 

 lection and transportation of these must therefore be a 

 task of great labour and difficulty ; and as these birds feed 

 almost entirely upon seeds and fruits, the shells and bones 

 cannot have been collected for any other purjjose than 

 ornament ; besides, it is only those that have been bleached 

 in the sun, or such as have been roasted by the natives, 

 and by this means whitened, that are made use of 



