^"'',n^,'^'] I'^nwARDs, Colour-Sense in Sa/iii Ihnver-Birds. QQ? 



scrub under close obserN-atiou for nearly six months, during,' which 

 tinu' the tlecorations c()ini)risi'd scraps of blue glass, pai)er, and 

 rag, purplcdiluc blossoms from the common flag, or iris, and the 

 wild plant known as "deadly nightshade" (Solanmn semi- 

 aymatimi), o\'er a dozen blue-bags filched from neighbouring 

 laundries, and blue tail-feathers from the Crimson Parrot. This 

 colour scheme was only varied by a few yellowish-green petals 

 from some flowering shrub, a couple of snail shells, a spicier egg- 

 cocoon, a scrap of diamond snake skin, and the whited skull of a 

 stray Duckling. I hung some scraps of scarlet serge on twigs 

 near the bower, ])ut, although these were pulled down, they were 

 not added to the decorations. . Red and yellow flowers and 

 feathers, too, were just as easily available, but the birds passed 

 tliem h\, faithful to their chosen colour. b'rom the vantage 

 ])oint of a garden fence near tlie scrul) tlie birds miglit often be 

 watched playing about their bovver, tossing the ornaments about 

 in tlieir beaks, and shifting them from place to place. Sometimes 

 the old male Satin-Bird, clad in glossy purple-black livery, came 

 alone, sometimes he was accompanied by a retinue of yellowish - 

 green females and young males. This bower was fashioned of 

 pliant twigs, tough stems from the yellow everlasting daisy, and 

 dry grass. It was eventually destroyed by heavy rains, and not 

 long afterwards another bower, also with ornaments of a blue 

 tint (built, I presume, by the same company of birds), was found 

 in scrub on the opposite side of the garden. The decorations of 

 this bower also included a number of blue-bags. Other observers 

 have also recorded the occurrence (mainly) of blue decorations 

 at Satin-Birds' bowers, but have not referred to this incident as 

 being pecuHar. A .fine specimen of the jungle tree known locally 

 as " white cedar" grew just outside the fence of this bush garden, 

 and near the bower. On the berries of this tree, when ripe, Satin- 

 Birds, Bell-Magpies, Wonga Pigeons, and large Doves (the intro- 

 duced Indian Turtle-Dove, I think), feasted royally. I grew a 

 crop of potatoes and maize in the garden, but, it being a season 

 of severe drought, the Satin-Birds occasionally ate the potato 

 leaves, and assisted Crimson Parrots, Bell-Magpies, opossums, 

 and wallabies in stripping the grain from a fair percentage of the 

 maize-cobs. The Black Satin-Bird, In' the way, often gave a 

 good exhibition of his powers of mimicry, reproducing very 

 accurately, I thought, the notes of the Laughing Kingfisher, 

 Crimson Parrot, and other birds. 



Referring again to this strange preference for l)lue, a Satin-Bird 

 was seen in another quarter (about a mile away from my bower) 

 looking over the flowers in a garden. The bird finally selected 

 a periwinkle blossom, purple-blue in colour, and flew off with it. 

 Red, yellow, and white flowers were available, ])ut tlie l)ird 

 passed them by. 



It may be noted that the eye of a Satin-Bird is blue, but 

 whether this circumstance has any influence or not in determ- 

 ining their choice of blue decorations I cannot say. 



