OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA. 249 



about according to the food supply. Native fruits form the 

 bulk of its diet, though, at the same time, it is fond of the 

 cultivated varieties. I am informed that Satin Bower-birds 

 daily feed upon the fruit of pittosporum trees, apparently with 

 keen enjoyment, whilst Sparrows that had indulged in the 

 same diet are often found on the ground beneath the foliage 

 quite stupefied, presumably from the effects of eating this 

 fruit. 



It takes many years for a male bird to get the glossy 

 plumage, and this is possibly why one seldom sees more 

 than two black males in a flock of fifty greenish birds. The 

 call of the Satin Bower-bird seems to proceed from a depth 

 in the bird's throat, and resembles the distant roll of 

 machinery. 



All Bower-birds agree in so far as they all build play- 

 grounds—the so-called baby cradle of the Aborigines. The 

 playground and its accompanying bower, from which the sub- 

 family gets its name, reveals a development of the aesthetic 

 quality rare even in birds. The bower is a structure built of 

 sticks and twigs, buried at the lower end in the soil and inter- 

 woven at the top to form a rough arch about 2 feet in height. 

 The appearance is like that of the half segment of a drain- 

 pipe with the domed portion uppermost. At each end of this 

 bower the birds heap up brightly-coloured berries, pieces of 

 broken glass, white bones, or any bright objects they may 

 find in the bush. In this gaily decorated structure, which is 

 generally well hidden in a thicket, the sexes meet— the male 

 to sport his finery and the female to admire the antics of her 

 partner. Kunning in and out of the bower they disport 

 themselves to their hearts' content, playing and gambolHng 

 just like a pair of cats. 



My esteemed correspondent Mr. Graham had a tame male 

 bird which he considered to be a weather prophet. Mr. Graham 

 writes : — " Twenty-four hours prior to rain or a change, 



