194 



NESTS AND EGGS OT AV ST KALI AN BIRDS. 



or on the figs in gardens. Its agreeable note is a clear whistle from tenor 

 down to bass. Wliile the male bird is clad in a beautiful shining coat of 

 dark-blue, with eyes and base of bill to match, the female has only a 

 simple (olive-gi-cen) attire. The females, with probably immatiu'e males, 

 have been seen in flocks far from their summer abode. 



" Before nesting begins, the birds build up a play-gi-ound (bower). 

 The finest bowers are nearly izi all cases on the sunny side of a lying log, 

 the ground being strewn with moss, flowers, yellow and blue Lorj' Pan'ots' 

 feathers, small bones, and snail-houses, for about a yard in diameter. In 

 the middle is erected a bower about eighteen inches in height. When 

 completed, several birds of both sexes run round and through the archway 

 or avenue, picking up, in their joy, some of the nesting ( ? bower) materials 

 and tossing them about, and we may guess, in their own way, choose 

 partners. 



" As I was watching one day at Cunningham Gap, a fine male bird 

 with a withered fig-leaf in its bill, turning it over, became a prey to me. 

 Half a mile away from the spot I found the nest (but no eggs), ten feet 

 from the ground, in a small .scrub tree. The nest was made of dry sticks, 

 and lined with di-y leaves, and was rather shallow. Later, when residing 

 in the Bunya Mountains, I had the satisfaction of getting again a nest 

 \vith two eggs (usual complement), ten feet from the ground. — Date, 

 January, 1887." 



I conclude witli a brief account of a successful nesting outing that 

 Mr. S. W. Jackson enjoyed amongst these fascinating birds. The notes, 

 which Mr. Jackson was kind enough to write specially for me, are as 

 follow : — 



" On December 23i'd, 1896, I started from South Grafton and pro- 

 ceeded on my bicycle towards Cloud's Creek, some fifty-nine miles distant, 

 in hopes of finding some good eggs in the scrubs in those parts. However, 

 on reacliing my destination, after a good day's riding on my machine, 

 which was heavily loaded with tent, camera, rations, kc, I pitched my 

 camp, and afterwards had a stroll among the oak trees (two species 

 of Casuarina). In answer to the cries or calls of the Satin Bower Bird, 

 I walked about fifty j'ards from my camp, and was forced to stop at an 

 oak tree, my notice being called to a female Bower Bird which flushed 

 out from a cluster of mistletoe in the tree. On climbing, I found a nest 

 carefully concealed in the mistletoe, which contained three fresh eggs. 

 The nest was constructed of similar material, &c., to that of the Black- 

 throated Butcher Bird (Cracticus nigrigularis i, only lined with leaves of 

 the spotted eucalyptus instead of small twigs. 



" I carefully emptied the nest of its contents, but unfortunately the 

 nest could not be removed, on account of the sticks of the same being 

 so intermingled with the tvrigs of the mistletoe, the latter growing on a 

 very tliick limb. After making further searches, I succeeded in finding 

 mue more nests, all of which were built in oak trees, and in same position 

 as the first nest found, \vith the exception that four of them were built 

 in the upright forks of the oaks, and not in the mistletoe as the remaining 

 six were. In the nine nests found there were eggs in four of them, out 

 of which I got one fresh set of two, and a few addled eggs, the balance of 



