^'°itm^'] XUBIJXG, The Satin Boiver Bird. 13 



the walls, ramming in a new stick, removing another, and set- 

 ting it down in a different place. Again he might he seen 

 standing in a meditative attitLide, or nihbling at some brownish 

 substance attached to his bill. When awa\' from iiis bower he 

 often kejit quiet for a long time, preening himself, and occasion- 

 ally uttering his long-drawn characteristic "cherru" call. The 

 flowers brought b}- him were those of Danipicra stricta, light 

 blue, and c|uickly shrivelling u]). and of Billardicra scandens, 

 yellowisli-green. 



I: was interesting to note tiiat, when he espied a green leaf 

 on the ])latform. he picked it up and threw it dut. the colour evi- 

 dently not fitting in his ilecorative scheme. 



On the 17th ( )ctober we observed the blue-black Satin fly down 

 to bower Xo. i, and found there, apart from articles previously 

 mentioned, the following additions: — 2 blue drawers of match 

 boxes, some fresh Billardicra blossoms, also one or two of Dam- 

 piera, blue glass, puff balls, and a larval shell. A little dis- 

 tance off a green Satin-Bird was picking at an orange peel. 



About 3 o'clock we reached bower No. 2, seeing our friend 

 moving about in various trees. The platform contained many 

 freshly-added snail shells. During the four visits he paid to 

 the bower, he behaved much as before ; among things brought 

 by him being a stalk with blue Dianclla blossoms, which grows 

 near by. Whilst he was absent 1 put two snail houses inside the 

 bower, to see what he would do. On his return, he promjjtly 

 took them out. and put them in their rightful place, on the ])!at- 

 forni. In one instance he flew into the small pine tree close to 

 the bower, and not more than three feet from me, and fearlessly 

 looked at me inquiringly with his beautiful lilac-blue, pink-ringed 

 eyes. An extraordinary bird ! 



On the 24th October. Ijower Xo. i was somewhat reduced, and 

 1 wondered if the bird was pulling it down to erect it elsewhere, 

 as on each visit we had found people camping near by. A green 

 .Satin in a tree was apparently feeding on insects picked from 

 underneath the bark. The blue-black Satin stopped for a time 

 in a flowering turpentine tree, from which he suddenly dived 

 down, passing my head at arm's length, and flew after the green 

 female. During a following thunderstorm, with some rain, I 

 could see him visit the playground several times, but he did not 

 allow me to get close. 



I then continued my journey. Xear the Upper Peach Trees 

 two green and a blue-black Satin were up on the hillside. The 

 two green ones came down ; one landed in a tree above me, the 

 other, in a long, planing sweep downward, went about a hundred 

 yards di.stant on the river. This seems a favourite mode of 

 flying with Satin Bower-Birds. One rarely sees them maki!ig 

 wing strokes during flight, except when flying upwards, whicli 

 they seem to avoid as much as ])ossible. If they want to get to a 



